NFL Trade Rumors: Patriots, Ravens, Seahawks Interested In Devin Hester?
By Josh Hill
Devin Hester is past his prime and has more days behind him than he does ahead, but this season has seen a resurgence and his trade value is rather high.
The Atlanta Falcons are going nowhere this season, as they’re currently 2-6 and sinking fast in the NFC. Even if they somehow win an absolutely terrible NFC South, they’re likely to get bounced rather quickly in the postseason and miss another shot at a Super Bowl.
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Just like last season, the Falcons are out of things — less so than last year — at the trade deadline and they have assets that could fetch some return. Trade value isn’t what it is in other sports, but the NFL values deep draft picks which may result in some late round picks getting swapped at the deadline.
Devin Hester is a name to keep an eye on in this regard, as Jason La Canfora from CBSSports.co notes that the Falcons would be wise to listen to offers on their veteran returner since he’s not likely to be around much longer anyways.
"Devin Hester, however, would undoubtedly have demand, and with a $1M base salary and $2.5M next season, he could be more than a rental for a contending team. His work at receiver has been better than ever and a team like Seattle (Paul Richardson now being used in the base offense more), Baltimore (too many fumbles from Jacoby Jones), maybe even New England (used four different kick returners already), could use a spark in the return game."
It’s hard to see the Falcons as sellers though, as they seem on the cusp of turning things around. They were a delay of game call away from being 3-5, but that’s still a depressing thought. All you need to do though is make the playoffs and get hot at the right time, which means keeping Hester might not be a bad idea.
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