The 2026 NFL Trade Deadline is on November 10th, just before the end of Week 9 action. The deadline being a little later in the season could make the moves even more significant, as the playoff races in both conferences heat up, and it’s pretty easy to see the divide between the best and worst teams in the sport.
We’ve already seen some pretty notable trade deadline moves, and more are sure to be on the horizon. In our latest deadline workout, we made three league-changing moves that will make the deadline even more entertaining.
Some of these moves may be unlikely, but that’s also part of the point here – we’re being quite aggressive with our trade proposals, but we have strong reasons for creating them. Let’s dive right in – three deadline moves we’d like to see happen and change the league.
Three 2026 trade deadline moves that will shake up the NFL
Justin Herbert to the Minnesota Vikings for four high draft picks
How about this one? While a trade is unlikely, there may already be a framework for a potential trade if the Los Angeles Chargers begin to entertain the idea:
“The Chargers quarterback is unlikely to be traded despite their 0–7 start. Herbert is signed through 2029 and has largely been a top-10 quarterback throughout his career. This year has been a disaster for him on both an individual and team level, and he leads the league with 10 interceptions.
However, a front-office executive told our Gilberto Manzano that a Herbert trade would have to include at least three first-round picks, along with other items, such as lower picks and/or established players. The executive pointed to the Deshaun Watson trade and the Bears-Panthers trade, which centered on the No. 1 pick in 2023 and ended up being the Bryce Young selection.” — Gilberto Manzano and Matt Verderame
The Minnesota Vikings have the draft capital for something like this, and they also have a Super Bowl-caliber defense. Kyler Murray just hasn’t played well this year and may not be a great fit in Kevin O’Connell’s offense. In fact, Carson Wentz might be the better option going forward.
The Vikings are 6-1 on the season and are clearly in a position to make the playoffs at the very least, but Murray’s play clearly limits this team’s ceiling. The Chargers likely have no desire to trade Herbert, but he’s clearly a broken, struggling player right now, and with this roster’s poor build overall, getting four high draft picks back could be worth moving on from their veteran QB.
There’s not much to like on the Chargers’ roster right now, as they’ve already had plenty of quality starters far from competing for a Super Bowl, which is the whole point of bringing Jim Harbaugh back in 2024. Minnesota, despite having a winning tenure under O’Connell, has had a major QB instability, and the way the team can’t last any longer the season is ultimately – the team.
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