4 teams whose NFL trade deadline fates will be decided in Week 9

We're officially in November, which means we really start to learn who teams are across the NFL. The early-season rust has worn off for some squads, and the early-season luck has worn off for others. With the NFL trade deadline looming on November 5th at 4 PM EST, a flurry of moves seems possible after Week 9 and these four teams might decide which path to take based on how they perform on Sunday.

Indianapolis Colts

What are the Colts? Does anyone know? A Sunday Night Football showdown against the suddenly cold Minnesota Vikings could give us a better picture.

Benching young quarterback Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco could mean a few different things; it could mean the Colts have already punted on the season and just want to look passable on the field, or it could mean that the front office actually thinks Flacco gives Indy the best chance to win.

The strangest part about these Colts is that with a win on Sunday, they'd be one game out of the top spot in the AFC South. One game out of the division lead in November is not a "seller" position. It would feel like a precarious spot for a team that has been wildly inconsistent this year, but why not add some pieces to see if Joe Flacco can make some magic happen in Indianapolis? What a bizarre sentence in 2024.

New York Giants

The Giants should already be in sell mode, but a loss in Week 9 would simply solidify that knowledge. New York has looked fine in a couple of games this year, but for the most part, the Giants offense has been painful to watch, scoring just 14.6 points per game entering Week 9. Rookie Tyrone Tracy has been a bright spot, but can't singlehandedly lift this unit out of the gutter.

This team has some players that could warrant decent returns, too! Azeez Ojulari is perhaps the hottest name on the trade market and Darius Slayton is a productive wide receiver that contenders would love to add. There's no reason to keep pretending like this season can turn around, and a loss to the upstart Commanders should finally signal that for this franchise.

Cincinnati Bengals

Week 9 might be an inflection point for the Bengals, who currently sit at 3-5, a full three games behind the division-leading Steelers. Luckily for Cincy, the brutally bad Raiders are on the schedule in Week 9, and a win to get to 4-5 before a Thursday night showdown with Baltimore would return some hope to this team and fanbase.

A loss though should put the Bengals squarely in "sell" mode. Hypothetically sitting at 3-6 after a loss to a bad team, the Bengals should trade wide receiver Tee Higgins before the day ends and look to move off some other players, too. Cincy has its quarterback, but a 3-6 record in an AFC North that apparently has two real contenders might be too much to overcome. A full-on rebuild isn't necessary, but it's fine for Cincy to admit this season is a bit of a wash and move on to next year with some extra draft picks in its pocket.

Denver Broncos

Every time the Broncos win, we all kind of shrug and go "Okay, that was a little random, congrats though." But they've done that so many times this year (Denver is 5-3) that maybe it's not random anymore! Maybe Denver is actually kind of good and we should start expecting them to compete every week.

Bo Nix looks more comfortable week-by-week (his passer rating in the last four games is massively improved from his first four) and the Broncos defense has looked elite at times and good most other times. Is this a stroke of luck, a flash in the pan for Denver? Maybe, but even if that's the case, why not fully embrace this surprising start and buy at the trade deadline? A win against Baltimore in Week 9 would almost certainly push Denver into "buy" territory, but even a loss might do the trick. Denver is overachieving — but achieving nonetheless. Give Bo Nix some extra weapons to work with and see how far this team can go before it has any expectations.