With one month remaining before the NFL’s Nov. 4 trade deadline, all is quiet on the major quarterback front across the league.
Sources tell CBS Sports that backup quarterbacks Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson and Anthony Richardson have not garnered interest from other teams as the league plays its Week 5 games.
All three quarterbacks were Week 1 starters last year, but now they have been relegated to backup duty on their respective teams. Despite rumored interest in varying levels for members of this trio, sources say there is nothing cooking on any potential movement for the backups with the Falcons, Giants and Colts.
The least likely out of the three to be traded in the next month is Richardson. Sources immediately shot down the potential of a trade out of Indianapolis in the next few weeks.
Daniel Jones is the frontrunner for Comeback Player of the Year through four games, but that doesn’t mean the Colts are ready to move on from Richardson. GM Chris Ballard has said quite the opposite, and the former No. 4 overall pick is expected to remain with the Colts through the trade deadline and this season. Richardson is in the third year of his four-year rookie contract, and the Colts picking up his fifth-year option seems unlikely at this current point.
The Giants have not actively shopped Wilson since benching him in Week 4, sources say, but the league at large understands he could be dealt. The acquiring team would owe Wilson only the prorated portion of his $2 million base salary while giving up what sources believe would be a Day 3 draft pick.
New York is less likely to deal third string quarterback Jameis Winston after signing him to a two-year contract in the offseason.
In Atlanta, there has been little in the way of calls on Cousins, the highest-paid backup quarterback in the league today. Cousins lost the starting job last year after signing a four-year, $180 million contract that includes a $27.5 million guaranteed salary this year.
Teams around the league believe the Falcons would want an interested team to eat most of Cousins’ salary. Though one source pointed out that if no one has called to ask, how would anyone know?
Cousins also has a no-trade clause, so even if an interested team emerges willing to meet whatever Atlanta’s demands would be, the veteran quarterback will have to greenlight the deal in order for it to happen.
The Bengals have stayed true to their word in sticking with Jake Browning as their starter as they hope for a Joe Burrow return in December. That is despite two blowout losses with Browning as starter and an AFC that, for now, appears weakened. Cincinnati is historically not known for making trades of any sort, especially those in season. And so the phones have remained cold since the team added Mike White and Sean Clifford to the roster.
Cincinnati is the team with the greatest need at quarterback through the first quarter of the season. In New Orleans, Spencer Rattler goes for his first victory in 11 tries while rookie Tyler Shough waits for his chance. Sources don’t believe the Saints will be in the market for a veteran quarterback in what is quickly being revealed as a rebuilding season. But the NFL is known to have an injury rate of 100 percent, and more need could arise in the coming weeks.
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The NFL will have at least 40 different quarterbacks start games by the end of Week 5, which will be tied for the most since the league saw 42 starting signal callers through five weeks in 2019.
Teams also have little reason to part with their backups right now. That quarterback is one play away from being in the game, and any future draft pick doesn’t help the team on the field in 2025.
What will factor into the equation as the weeks go on will be teams that are planning for the future. Personnel executives and scouts across the league have not been impressed by the 2026 quarterback draft class so far, with no one yet emerging as a sure-fire top-five selection in April’s draft.
“This quarterback class is a lot of hype without a lot of substance,” one evaluator said. “Underwhelming.”
Quarterbacks under contract for 2026 could hold more trade value next spring than they do now if the rookie talent pool continues to look poor. Teams with those quarterbacks are all watching the same Saturday product and know the price could be even higher the longer everyone waits.
