5 players who weren't dealt at the NFL Trade Deadline but will be this offseason

The 2024 NFL trade deadline has officially come to pass, which means rosters are more or less set the rest of the way (minus your standard fringe free agent dealings). Several noteworthy names changed teams, including Marshon Lattimore, Mike Williams and Za'Darius Smith, but several also survived the chopping block.

NFL front offices never enter hibernation. It's a year-round gig, which means a player surviving one trade deadline seldom etches their future in stone. The offseason looms large for several soon-to-be free agents or draft busts.

Let's dive into five players who did not change teams on Tuesday, but who could end up in trade conversations a few short months from now when the league year resets.

5. RB Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars

Travis Etienne was a popular name in trade rumors leading up to the deadline, but the wayward Jacksonville Jaguars failed to offload the former first-round pick. The running back position has declined in value lately, but several wannabe contenders (cough, cough, Dallas Cowboys) really needed reinforcements in the backfield. Etienne, whose contract expires after the 2025 season, would've been an affordable solution for a number of teams.

There's really no excuse for Jacksonville to hang on this long. Etienne won't re-sign or extend his contract for the 2026 season. Tank Bigsby, the Jags' second-year RB, has been taking off in recent weeks. Etienne is still a major talent, but Bigsby has been the more explosive weapon all season. He's also younger and less expensive, so there is every incentive to hand him the reins.

What makes this especially confusing is Jacksonville's place in the standings. The Jags are vying for the No. 1 overall pick, not trying to crack the postseason. That offense has been a mess all season despite the recent mega-contract for Trevor Lawrence. Tearing the roster down to its studs and rebuilding is the way to go, especially with players like Etienne, who aren't going to stick around long enough to see the Jags get good again.

Expect Etienne to change teams in the summer, even if his trade value takes a slight hit with just one guaranteed year left on his contract. Whether it's the Cowboys or another contender looking to rent an exceptionally talented 25-year-old in the backfield, somebody will force Jacksonville to bite the bullet.

4. WR Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos

Back-to-back 100-yard performances made Courtland Sutton borderline untouchable at the trade deadline. The Denver Broncos are 5-4 with the postseason in sight, which means Sutton was always going to finish out the campaign in orange and blue. As for next season, however, there is much less clarity about Sutton's future.

The 29-year-old's cap hit jumps from $7.8 million to $20.1 million in 2025. That's not egregious for a potential WR1 on a contender, but there's a reason Sutton was a popular theoretical trade target all summer. The Broncos aren't keen to break the bank on a new contract and Sutton becomes an immediate holdout-or-trade candidate once the 2024 campaign concludes.

His future could depend on how Denver's season ends. Bo Nix is really coasting on a winnable schedule and quality teammates, but he appears to put putting more pieces together with each passing week. Sean Payton finally has a winning team on his hands, but if Denver gets outclassed down the stretch — or even just blown out in the playoffs — that could put a damper on any desires to keep Sutton around.

Watch out for April's NFL Draft to see if Denver targets Sutton's replacement with an early draft pick. There are certain luxuries to building your team around a rookie quarterback — Nix's miniscule contract frees up money elsewhere — but the Broncos have a complicated cap sheet, still weighed down by Russell Wilson's excised albatross. Don't be shocked to hear Sutton's name in trade rumors soon enough.

3. QB Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts benched Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco this week, a decision that has already aged poorly. Flacco was mostly quiet in Indy's Sunday Night Football loss to the Vikings, completing 16-of-27 passes for 179 yards and an interception. The notion that 39-year-old Flacco would ball out and produce gaudy numbers on a weekly basis was always misguided.

It has been a difficult sophomore campaign for Richardson, completing 44.4 percent of his passes and throwing more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (four). That said, jumping ship after 10 starts is a comical overreaction from a Colts team far too eager to achieve mediocrity. The Colts would have been better served seeing the Richardson experiment through, even if it meant a losing season.

We can only react to the present at hand, though, and Flacco has claimed the starting gig in Indianapolis. There is a sense that Richardson is still the long-term answer at quarterback, but that almost never works. Once a player is benched, the clock starts ticking.

Flacco should be one-and-done in a Colts uniform, but there's not much preventing Indianapolis from drafting or signing Richardson's full-time replacement in the offseason. Richardson's raw talent is such that he would still return a fair amount of value in a trade. He deserves a coaching staff that believes in him, and the Colts are clearly second-guessing their first-round investment. Don't be shocked if this comes to a head in the offseason.

2. QB Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders benched Gardner Minshew (again) this week as their season spirals down the drain. This time, with Aidan O'Connell hurt, it was Desmond Ridder who got the call. It's unwise to expect great results from Ridder, but he did outperform Minshew in his limited window of opportunity. There's a good chance that Minshew remains glued to the bench the rest of the way.

Las Vegas signed Minshew to a modest two-year contract in the offseason, but he's already trending toward QB3 status in a mediocre QB room. If O'Connell and Ridder hold an edge, there just won't be an incentive to bring him back in 2025. Other teams can talk themselves into an established, high-level backup quarterback, but Minshew has already sullied his reputation in Sin City.

We can also assume that quarterback will be a position of interest for the Raiders front office in next year's NFL Draft. If the Raiders add, say, Carson Beck or Cam Ward to a roster that also includes O'Connell and Ridder, Minshew's exit will be implied.

Minshew was in the Pro Bowl just last season. Perhaps the aforementioned Colts want him back. That last bit is a joke, but in all seriousness, Minshew has a solid reputation around the league and he's destined to catch the eye of a different front office. He's on a fairly inexpensive contract and could appeal to teams steeped in uncertainty at the QB position.

1. QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers kept former No. 1 pick Bryce Young through the trade deadline, which was expected. Young looked solid in Sunday's win over the Saints, giving Carolina some momentum going into the second half of the season. He's still more of a long-term option than Andy Dalton, so the Panthers aren't going to throw this season away without an attempt at meaningful player development.

That said, it's difficult to imagine Young reaching a point of stability in Carolina. We haven't seen enough from him individually, and the roster around him won't get better. Young's iffy footwork and troubles under pressure will continue to plague him the rest of the season. If Carolina was comfortable turning the offense over to Andy Dalton less than two years after drafting Young first overall, it's a sign of how strongly that organization feels about him.

We know there is trade interest in Young, who was No. 1 on more than just Carolina's boards in the 2023 draft. The right QB-needy team could take a flier on Young, especially with such a weak upcoming rookie class at the position. When your best options are Shedeur Sanders or Quinn Ewers, suddenly the prospect of testing Young in a new environment becomes immensely appealing.

The Panthers, meanwhile, seem destined to go in a new direction eventually. This offseason is a good break-off point. Smash the reset button, draft a quarterback in the top five, sign a decent veteran backup plan, and try to put a half-decent roster around them. All the ways Carolina failed Young were preventable. Hopefully the Panthers' next rookie quarterback doesn't suffer the same fate.