Under-the-Radar Trade Candidates This Summer
Could these veterans be on the trade block at the end of camp?
By Dan Saia
We all know the popular names that have been floated in trade rumors this offseason when it comes to the Green Bay Packers: Jaire Alexander, Romeo Doubs, Malik Willis, and to a lesser extent, Rasheed Walker. But what about some of the lesser-discussed names that could peak the interest of other teams? With training camp and preseason battles likely running until the final days of camp, there are players on the roster who could lose their standing — whether due to poor play or a teammate outshining them. Instead of keeping them around in diminished roles, it might make more sense for the Packers to explore trades, gaining draft capital while also freeing up salary.
Sean Rhyan
As we sit here just before OTAs kick off, Sean Rhyan is penciled in as the Packers’ starting right guard — a role he’s held for the past two seasons, playing nearly every snap. So why would Green Bay consider trading him?
Over the last two offseasons, the team has invested heavily in the interior offensive line. Jordan Morgan, Anthony Belton, and Aaron Banks have all joined the unit — Morgan and Belton via high draft picks, and Banks on a lucrative four-year, $77 million free-agent deal. All three happen to play guard.
Banks is surely a lock at left guard with that contract, with Elgton Jenkins expected to slide over to center. Morgan missed most of his rookie season in 2024 due to a shoulder injury, but Green Bay will surely want to see a return on their first-round investment soon.
Belton is a massive presence, and if he puts together a strong training camp and preseason, he could be part of the “best five” linemen that Matt LaFleur frequently talks about. If that happens, Rhyan may find himself on the outside looking in. With 2025 being the final year of his rookie contract, Rhyan could have value as a starting-caliber offensive lineman — a rare commodity just before the season begins.
Kingsley Enagbare
One of the biggest disappointments for the Packers in 2024 was the pass rush — plain and simple. It was inconsistent and often invisible, especially in key moments. If Green Bay wants to be a serious NFC contender, disrupting the quarterback must become a priority.
Kingsley Enagbare was a major letdown last year. Despite playing 511 snaps (47% of the defensive total), he ranked just 68th in snaps among 211 qualifying edge defenders — and a poor PFF grade of 56, which placed him 140th out of those same 211.
Toward the end of the season, he was being overtaken by Brenton Cox Jr., who not only started out-snapping him but also appears to have more upside. The Packers also doubled up on pass rushers in the draft, selecting Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver — both of whom they’ll want to get on the field.
With Rashan Gary needing support and this being a make-or-break year for Lukas Van Ness, there will be intense competition for snaps. Like Rhyan, Enagbare is in the final year of his rookie deal, and his modest $3.5 million cap hit could make him an attractive flier for a team looking to revive a pass rusher with a change of scenery.
Emanuel Wilson / Chris Brooks
Okay, I’m cheating a bit by lumping these two together, but it makes sense — they’re neck and neck entering training camp in the battle for the third running back spot behind Josh Jacobs and MarShawn Lloyd in my opinion.
While it’s possible the Packers keep four backs, I would lean against that. It’s more likely they’ll prioritize an extra corner, or linebacker for special teams, or keep an extra offensive lineman for depth due to the sheer amount they have drafted over a fourth running back.
Both Wilson and Brooks bring something valuable to the roster. Wilson has flashed as the better runner and pass catcher out of the backfield, while Brooks stands out in pass protection — a skill neither Jacobs nor Lloyd has excelled in. In a pass-heavy league, Brooks’ blocking could be a reason the team opts to keep him.
Instead of cutting the loser of the running back 3 battle and hoping to stash them on the practice squad, it might be wiser to trade one and keep one of the undrafted free agents on the PS. Plenty of teams suffer backfield injuries in camp, and either of these guys could be appealing insurance.
Roster crunch time always leads to some tough decisions, and while marquee trades grab headlines, the shrewd moves often come from dealing solid depth pieces. For the Packers, parting with a few under-the-radar veterans before Week 1 could help them build for the future — without weakening the present.
-Dan Saia
Comments (20)
TarynsEyes
May 22, 2025 at 02:44 pm
I asked this question a few articles ago, Who are the guaranteed starters that don't need to worry about his job. Eliminate those players, and you'll have a list of players who can be released, traded at any given moment, if a good enough reason arises, a good offer, lack of production, non-growth toward expectations, etc.
As much as the many believe that this team is filled with must-keeps, the larger number of them are releasable, not necessarily tradable, and a reason why this team cannot seem to get beyond the wild card playoff spot with any kind of dominance, to move closer to an SB at any one position, excluding those whose salaries create the by default scenario
Heyward
May 23, 2025 at 12:34 pm
Fair comment. The Packers have more good players than most teams, but they don't have enough great players. That combination usually gets a team a bunch of wins from September through December but not many wins in January.
Leatherhead
May 23, 2025 at 12:59 pm
It's not just starters, Taryn.
First, let's remember that if we're drafting guys and then cutting them two years later, that's pretty inefficient and an indictment of our personnel department. It creates dead money. It's a wasted draft pick. That's how Cleveland does business, and it's not a model I'd like the Packers to follow.
You get to suit up 45 guys, including the long snapper, the punter/holder, and the kicker. That leaves 42, and a balanced squad of 21 offensive and defensive guys you dress each game. Additionally, there are 8 other guys on the 53 man squad who can be suited up.
On offense, for example, we have Love and Willis, Jacobs and Wilson , at TE, Kraft and Musgrave, the 5 starting offensive linemen, the 3 main backups, and the WR group of Doubs, Reed, Wicks, Golden, Williams.........
These guys are ALL going to make the 21 man active roster. That's 19 spots. They aren't all "starters", but these are the guys you're going to suit up for games. And as soon as somebody is injured, the backup is a starter.
Defensively, I'm pretty confident that barring an injury in training camp or a trade, you'll see these guys dressed for defense: McKinney, Williams, Bullard, Nixon, Hobbs, Valentine, Cooper, Walker, McDuffie, Hopper, Clark, Wyatt, Van Ness, Gary, Enagbare, Brooks, and Wooden. That's 17 guys. I'd expect one of the Day 3 rookies to play, and somebody will have to line up at NT, but again, not that many spots.
It's not about a starter, and you don't release guys you have under contract just because you think some Day 3/UDFA rookie is going to better. That's a waste of resources.
We're returning most of the players from a pretty good team last year. This is what they call building a veteran squad that's been through stuff together.
Bitternotsour
May 23, 2025 at 01:39 pm
a young veteran club at that.
JDH1313
May 22, 2025 at 03:32 pm
I would like to see a trade with Cleveland for Hendricks so maybe give them Elgton Jenkins & Kingsley Enagbare and a 2nd rd in next years draft!
HawkPacker
May 22, 2025 at 05:20 pm
How old is Hendricks? I heard that could be an issue that maybe he is close to past his prime.
PackerBackerAZ
May 22, 2025 at 05:57 pm
If you mean Trey Hendrickson of Cincinnati, he'll be 31 on Dec 5th.
LeotisHarris
May 22, 2025 at 07:27 pm
Ted Hendricks will be 78 on November 1st.
LLCHESTY
May 22, 2025 at 08:24 pm
Two things always spring to mind when I think of Ted "kick 'em in the head" Hendricks. The 7 blocked kicks in '74 for the Packers is insane. The other thing is his finding the homeliest woman in Santa Rosa to be Queen of the Raiders parade at the end of their training camp. Naturally he was the King. Villapiano said he dug up some doozies. 🤣
My mom was neighbors with a older woman in Madison a while back that told me a couple stories about being "friends" with Stabler back in the 70s. She had what you would call very ample assets.
bean
May 23, 2025 at 09:06 am
Don't be so chintzy. Without any consideration as to whether the pack can pay Hendricks, here's the trade I'd offer. Two former first rounders in Gary and Quay plus whatever pick needed from next year's draft, including our first-round pick, to seal the deal. Man, the draft we took Quay and Wyatt with our 2 first round picks was a disaster.
LLCHESTY
May 22, 2025 at 08:37 pm
No way you trade Rhyan when the OL has an unusually healthy season last year, unless Glover or Telfort shows massive improvement in TC. My guess is Enagbare might bring a 5th round for 6th round swap and no one is trading for Brooks.
Coldworld
May 23, 2025 at 08:20 am
Rhyan has taken snaps at C as well. If Jenkins gets hurt or there is a dispute over his contract, Rhyan could well be the next man up or at least the major competition for Monk.
Even if Rhyan doesn’t win the battle at G or C, he’d likely be the next man up at all 3 interior positions on game day: certainly he would be the most experienced.
Sure, someone could pop out of the wood work and surprise us, or Gute could acquire a C during the summer. Until one of those things is real though, I don’t see Rhyan being someone they are likely to consider trading either.
I could see a low value trade at DL or DT, simply through numbers. On the OL though I think it’s a contest to winnow out the best core, both for current roster depth and to develop on the PS for next year and beyond, at T, C and G. My guess is that they realized that the depth and upside was inadequate and decided to fix it.
We might be able to trade Emmanuel Wilson after last year, but I’d have to ask why on earth we would trade a guy who had more yards per carry after contact than Jacobs last year. He’s more valuable to us spelling Jacobs. Brooks we could probably get to the PS. He’s a moderate athlete who just does things pretty well. Teams seldom trade for those or guarantee 3 weeks on their roster.
PhantomII
May 22, 2025 at 08:50 pm
The only trade I want is for Hendrickson.....or a top 3 #1 WR...but that ship has sailed. Everywhere else I'm good with what we have unless a top 5 DL somehow wiggles free...any of those situations takes this team to another level and I'm tired of waiting to be disappointed in a NFCC game. Get-r-done Gute.....GPG
Starrbrite
May 23, 2025 at 10:28 am
Me too Phantom—Hendrickson is the prize.
BuckyBadger
May 23, 2025 at 10:30 am
Top 5 players don't tend to wiggle free. Hendrickson is old, wants to be paid to much and the Bengals won't give him away. He is gonna want a ton of guaranteed money similar to what Crosby got. I wouldn't trade for that. I would rather pick up Clowney for a year.
PhantomII
May 24, 2025 at 05:10 pm
LOL. Back to back 17 sack seasons. How many YEARS since we have seen 2 packers players put up that much? I think younger Smiths several years ago. I think our Defense will be better....just not double digit sack better from one player.
BuckyBadger
May 23, 2025 at 08:44 am
Depth matters as well. None of these players will fetch much in a trade and probably be better for the team when (not if) injuries hit.
TXCHEESE
May 23, 2025 at 10:21 am
We found out unfortunately in the playoffs how important OL depth is. Although I don't discount the any of the players mentioned couldn't be traded, I think BG believes in having sufficient depth. If they are borderline 2nd tier, it may come down to their ability to contribute to ST that will determine their cut/trade status.
Ferrari-Driver
May 23, 2025 at 11:45 am
I'm a little concerned about Jenkins wanting to rework his contract with two years remaining. If he were to hold out, Sean Rhyan is a possible center replacement so I would be reluctant to offer him up in a trade agreement, at least until the issue with Elgton Jenkins becomes a non-issue.
GregC
May 23, 2025 at 12:33 pm
I really don't see how this could become a holdout when he is set to make so much money. I think that for now he is just not practicing for fear of an injury while he is negotiating. I hope they figure something out in the next couple weeks that is beneficial to both parties.