As of this moment, the only evidence we have suggesting the St. Louis Rams are willing to deal Zac Stacy is a report by CBS Sports insider Jason La Canfora suggesting the team "likely fielded some calls about his availability." That's admittedly thin, but given the circumstances, expect to hear more of that rumor as we close in on Tuesday's NFL trade deadline.
NFL trade rumors: Zac Stacy, Doug Martin could be dealt
Rumors of the Rams dealing Stacy are unsubstantiated at this point, but make too much sense to ignore. Catch up on the latest reports as the trade deadline closes in.
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Stacy has slid to No. 3 on the depth chart behind Benny Cunningham and rookie Tre Mason and is getting fewer and fewer touches. A week after going without a single carry against Seattle, Stacy had just five for 17 yards Sunday against the Chiefs. It's clear that the Rams are accelerating their plan for Mason, the third-round pick who has led the team in carries each of the last two weeks (he went for 85 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries against the Seahawks).
If the Rams have indeed moved on from Stacy, they should be able to get a decent return on him in the trade market. He’s just 23 and coming off a 973-yard, seven-touchdown rookie season, though the value of running backs in today’s NFL continues to decline.
Likelihood: 3/10 - The chances of this happening remain low until we hear substantiated reports of either the Rams’ willingness to deal or interest from other teams. But trading Stacy makes enough sense that it’s worth keeping an eye on.
The Dolphins are the latest team to jump into the Martin sweepstakes. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that the team has dialed up the Buccaneers to gauge their interest in dealing the former Pro Bowl running back.
Likelihood: 5/10 - Whether the Bucs really want to part ways with a 25-year-old runner who has shown promise as a feature back is an argument in itself, but there's no denying that a deal with the Dolphins make sense. Miami needs to replace the injured Knowshon Moreno and they need more than just Lamar Miller to do so. There's also the fact that Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey was working for the Bucs front office when they drafted Martin in 2012. An ankle injury that knocked Martin out of Sunday's game could complicate things, however.
The Eagles fixed half of their safety problems with the offseason signing of Malcolm Jenkins, but they're still looking for an upgrade over Nate Allen on the strong side. Rumors that the Titans are shopping Griffin have been out for a while, leading NFL Network's Ian Rapoport to make the connection.
Saw @ProFootballTalk say #Eagles looking for a safety. Belief is #Bucs Dashon Goldson and #Titans Michael Griffin can be had at right price
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 26, 2014 Likelihood: 6/10 - As Titans blog Music City Miracles points out, it’s a move that makes sense for both sides:
Griffin really doesn’t seem to fit in this defense. He seems uncomfortable and hasn’t made any real plays this season. If a team is willing to give up a high Day 3 pick, then I have a hard time imagining a situation where Webster talks himself out of making a trade.
Rapoport claimed last week that the Titans were fielding calls for Washington, but developments on Sunday have altered the outlook of a deal. On one hand, Washington’s value is up after going for a season-high 68 yards on Sunday; on the other, the wide receiver suffered an AC joint sprain in the loss to Houston.
Likelihood: 6/10 - This all comes down to the severity of the injury. Assuming it isn’t serious, dealing Washington makes too much sense not to happen. He’s 31, in the last year of a $26.8 million deal and recently lost his starting job to Justin Hunter. This was probably somewhere around a 7/10 midway through Sunday’s game, but the late injury drops the likelihood a bit.
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