Trade Rumors: Colts, Dolphins, Bears, Pats

Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton is indeed on the trade block, and while Indianapolis is receiving calls on their top offensive weapon, general manager Chris Ballard & Co. hold Hilton in “high regard,” tweets Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com. As such, a deal involving Hilton remains “highly unlikely.” That notion doesn’t come as a complete surprise, given that Hilton has still been productive even without quarterback Andrew Luck available, and remains under team control for several seasons at reasonable rates.

Let’s take a look at more surrounding the NFL’s trade deadline, which hits Tuesday at 4pm Eastern:

• The Dolphins are focusing on improving their offense via trade, and are more willing to exchange players than draft picks, sources tell Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. That Miami would be set on fixing an offense that ranks dead last in both points and yards per game comes as no surprise, but other teams are apparently more receptive to draft selection-oriented deals. Wide receiver, running back, and offensive line are all possible positions of need for Miami, and the “elephant in the room” is slot receiver Jarvis Landry, per Salguero. Landry has mentioned in trade talks before and has yet to be offered an extension, so it makes sense that the 2018 free agent could be on the table.
• Having already made one trade to acquired receiver Dontrelle Inman, the Bears are likely done making deals, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. The Inman deal was almost a necessity, as rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky needed some sort of offensive weaponry reinforcement following a four-completion day in Week 7. Acquiring more players is probably out of the question given Chicago’s position on the win curve, and dealing away veterans such as cornerbacks Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara would signal the raising of a white flag, something the Bears aren’t willing to do given their surprising 3-5 record, per Biggs.
• After shipping backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers earlier tonight, the Patriots are now on the hunt for defensive run-stuffers, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). In fact, La Canfora suggests New England could use their newly-acquired second-round pick in order to pick up a defender before tomorrow’s trade deadline. Of course, given that San Francisco’s second-rounder will likely be the No. 33 or 34 selection in the 2018 draft, the Patriots would likely be looking for a high-impact defensive player.
• Speaking of Garoppolo, the Browns apparently only offered a second-round pick “and change” in exchange for New England’s No. 2 signal-caller during the draft, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Some reports indicated Cleveland was willing to part with a first-rounder in order to land Garoppolo, but that apparently wasn’t the case.