Packers and Titans have a perfect player-for-player trade sitting right there, and it will intrigue fans from both sides
Green Bay and Tennessee are going through different roster-building timelines, so a trade involving Dontayvion Wicks and Roger McCreary could be ideal for both sides.
The trade deadline is quickly approaching, and it’s time for NFL teams to make sincere evaluations to determine where they are and where they want to go right now and in the future.
The Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans are in obviously different positions, with contrasting needs and plans, a combination that creates intriguing trade possibilities over the next few weeks.
This trade proposal, for instance, would be a player-for-player deal. The Packers would send wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks to Nashville, and in return would acquire cornerback Roger McCreary.
Our Titans beat writer, Easton Freeze, and Packers beat writer, Wendell Ferreira, discuss why a trade like that would be smart for both sides.
Are the Titans actual sellers?
Easton: The national perception of the Titans at the deadline will probably be “fire-sale team,” but my understanding is that they don’t exactly plan on fitting that description. Frankly, there isn’t a ton of fat available to trim on this roster, and there aren’t many positions they can afford to sell starters at and still hope to field a team. Everything they do is in service of Cam Ward. So every potential trade boils down to the same question: Is X return worth more than keeping Y player from helping make Ward’s 2025 more comfortable?
That’s why the most likely trade chips for Tennessee will be veterans on expiring contracts at specific positions, mostly on defense.
Are the Packers actual buyers?
Wendell: GM Brian Gutekunst has said he doesn’t truly believe in windows, and the Packers are a process-oriented franchise. They traded for Micah Parsons because he makes sense for now and for the future. I don’t believe the Packers would want to give up more draft capital than they already did, since they are without a first next year from the Parsons deal and without a sixth-rounder for acquiring offensive lineman Darian Kinnard.
That said, a player-for-player trade could be more feasible for Green Bay. It’s a way for the Packers to fill a need with an objectively solid player without giving up draft capital. Gutekunst always says that you have to be careful when trading picks for veterans, because it’s a double cost — the draft capital, which generates a four-year contract with controlled cost, plus the salary cap space used to absorb the player. He only does that if it really makes sense. But in this specific case, it’s a reasonable contract and without more draft capital involved, excluding both factors that would scare the Packers away from a deal.
Why does it make sense for the Titans to trade Roger McCreary?
Easton: McCreary fits that bill, and he has one of the most proven track records of starting-caliber play on this roster. The 35th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft has played in 53 games and started 36, primarily as a slot corner.
His rookie contract is up after this year, and I’m not sure he’s in this front office’s team-building plans. His soundness in coverage looks like it should be undercut by his first percentile (yes, literally 1%) arm length, but on the inside, it’s not often a problem. He’s also played a healthy dose on the boundary in a pinch, where his lack of length crops up more often, but he compensates with anticipation and athleticism well enough to survive.
I wouldn’t call him the most likely player to be traded on this roster simply because the Titans already shipped starting CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. to the Jets this season, and L’Jarius Sneed is back to playing good football, but should still be considered fragile until further notice.
Like I said, you need bodies to field a unit at the end of the day. The reason why McCreary could be moved is that rookie Marcus Harris is behind him on the depth chart, and he profiles similarly to McCreary. He could be a player this staff would like to get more reps down the stretch of a rebuilding season, and moving McCreary would allow for that.
Why does it make sense for the Packers to trade Dontayvion Wicks?
Wendell: Wicks has had only 12 receptions for 129 yards through five games, and that’s with the Packers missing Christian Watson for every game, Jayden Reed for three and a half games, and with Matthew Golden and Savion Williams only getting acclimated to the NFL. The former fifth-rounder has an impressive ability to create separation and has avoided drops that killed his 2024 season, but if he can’t make a huge impact while Watson and Reed are out, it’s hard to project much improvement with less volume.
Contract-wise, it would be smarter for the Packers to trade away Romeo Doubs, who’s in a contract year and might not be extended. But Doubs has been a much more important part of the offense, and Green Bay simply can’t afford to take him off the offense right now in the middle of a contending timeline. Wicks is under contract through 2026, which is actually more valuable to the Titans after all.
The Packers already have Watson, Reed, Golden, and Williams under contract for 2026, so it’s reasonable to move on from Wicks even if the possibility of keeping Doubs is still up in the air.
Why do the Titans need a receiver?
Easton: The Titans’ primary interest is in additional draft capital that would allow them to restock the homegrown, cost-controlled cupboard that Jon Robinson left barren in the early 2020s. But I think a player like Wicks would be of great interest to them. Calvin Ridley’s future with this squad is growing dimmer, and his contract has an out after 2025 that looks increasingly likely to be exercised by GM Mike Borgonzi.
But Ward needs targets he can trust, and Wicks has three years under his belt in a sophisticated offense. Would he serve as this team’s WR1? Obviously not. But he would be a valuable young role player that Ward could grow with, and his cost control for one more season adds to his value.
Why do the Packers need a cornerback?
Wendell: Keisean Nixon has been exactly what the Packers expected from him, but Nate Hobbs and Carrington Valentine certainly have not. The defense has generated a lot of disruption upfront since acquiring Parsons, but offenses have exploited a weak cornerback group to some degree.
I wouldn’t say McCreary is the perfect trade target because he’s more of a slot, which the Packers have several, but his alignment flexibility to move outside is something Green Bay truly values — and that’s why the team gave Hobbs a four-year, $48 million deal in free agency.
McCreary doesn’t have the athletic profile the Packers would prefer, but they don’t care that much about it when the player has already been in the NFL — the pro scouts act differently than the college department.
The Packers would be losing a full extra year of Wicks, and McCreary has an expiring deal. Still, the rest of the season would be enough time for Gutekunst to gather more information and decide whether to extend the cornerback. Meanwhile, the defense would have a competent player to help it navigate an otherwise difficult depth situation.
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