Teams need to cut down to 53 players by next Tuesday, so it’s time for some lesser and overpriced players to shift teams – guys who were going to be released anyway.
Brian Robinson is the headliner. From the sound of it (with Robinson being asked not to practice) he’ll be released if they can’t find a trading partner. With him having a base salary of $3.4 million, I think it will be the former – he’ll be released, and then he’ll sign somewhere to compete for playing time.
In the rankings that just went out today, we’ve got a placeholder projection on Robinson, and then a committee projection for their other four main backs – Austin Ekeler, Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodridguez, with Jeremy McNichols perhaps picking up some stats as a fourth back.
Two AFC West wide receivers got shipped to new teams yesterday. Kansas City traded Skyy Moore to San Francisco for a Starbucks card, while the Broncos sent Devaughn Vele to New Orleans in exchange for fourth- and seventh-round picks.
The Vele trade is the more notable of the two. He actually had a solid rookie season, particularly considering he was just a seventh-round pick. Vele caught 41 of the 55 passes thrown his way last year. That’s 75 percent – 8th-best among wide receivers with a least 50 targets. He’s not a burner, but he’s big (6-foot-5) , and he catches what gets thrown his way.
The limited speed (I think) doomed Vele in Denver. With youngsters Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant looking like their ready to play more (and the team also having Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims) the opportunity to pick up a fourth-round pick became appealing.
I would think Vele might get on the field some for the Saints. He’s bigger than what they’ve got. Chris Olave has been prone to concussions, Rashid Shaheed is coming off an injury and Brandin Cooks seems to be running on fumes. Mason Tipton has played well in both of their previous games, but Vele is a lot bigger.
With Skyy Moore, the 49ers are rolling the dice, hoping he is better in their offense better than he fit in Kansas City. When he was drafted back in 2022, the hope was that Moore might become the leading receiver in that offense as they moved into the post-Tyreek era. That never happened.
In the last 15 years, I see 27 wide receivers selected in the first or second rounds who didn’t make it to the end of their rookie contracts. I don’t see any who were unloaded in this kind of a deal who then became stars.
In the chart below, the top four wide receivers all had some future success – A.J. Brown, Brandin Cooks, Sammy Watkins and Hollywood Brown – but those weren’t the same kind of trades. None of those receivers were simply given away.
On the list below, I see only one other receiver who put together a season with relevant numbers – Elijah Moore (who was the 52nd-best wide receiver after moving from the Jets to Cleveland in a deal that was a lot more substantial than this Skyy Moore giveaway).
| TRANSPLANTED RECEIVERS (last 15 years) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Prev | No | Yards | Avg | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2022 | A.J. Brown, Phil. | Ten. | 88 | 1496 | 17.0 | 11 | 303.6 | 5 |
| 2017 | Brandin Cooks, N.E. | N.O. | 65 | 1082 | 16.7 | 7 | 221.2 | 15 |
| 2017 | Sammy Watkins, LAR | Buff. | 39 | 593 | 15.2 | 8 | 146.3 | 41 |
| 2022 | Hollywood Brown, Ari. | Balt. | 67 | 709 | 10.6 | 3 | 156.0 | 44 |
| 2023 | Elijah Moore, Cle. | NYJ | 59 | 640 | 10.9 | 2 | 136.1 | 52 |
| 2018 | Phillip Dorsett, N.E. | Ind. | 32 | 290 | 9.1 | 3 | 81.9 | 88 |
| 2016 | Dorial Green-Beckham, Phil. | Ten. | 36 | 392 | 10.9 | 2 | 87.2 | 88 |
| 2022 | Laviska Shenault, Car. | Jac. | 27 | 272 | 10.1 | 1 | 72.7 | 95 |
| 2017 | Jordan Matthews, Buff. | Phil. | 25 | 282 | 11.3 | 1 | 59.2 | 99 |
| 2018 | Breshad Perriman, Cle. | Balt. | 16 | 340 | 21.3 | 2 | 62.2 | 103 |
| 2023 | Kadarius Toney, K.C. | NYG | 27 | 169 | 6.3 | 1 | 53.0 | 108 |
| 2010 | Ted Ginn, S.F. | Mia. | 12 | 163 | 13.6 | 1 | 41.4 | 117 |
| 2024 | Jahan Dotson, Phil. | Was. | 19 | 216 | 11.4 | 0 | 41.9 | 118 |
| 2020 | Zay Jones, L.V. | Buff. | 14 | 154 | 11.0 | 1 | 36.9 | 133 |
| 2013 | A.J. Jenkins, K.C. | S.F. | 8 | 130 | 16.3 | 0 | 21.6 | 133 |
| 2022 | N'Keal Harry, Chi. | N.E. | 7 | 116 | 16.6 | 1 | 24.6 | 142 |
| 2023 | Jalen Reagor, N.E. | Min. | 7 | 138 | 19.7 | 0 | 28.5 | 144 |
| 2011 | Donnie Avery, Ten. | St.L. | 3 | 45 | 15.0 | 1 | 13.5 | 147 |
| 2012 | Brian Robiskie, Det. | Cle. | 4 | 44 | 11.0 | 1 | 14.4 | 147 |
| 2021 | Dante Pettis, NYG | S.F. | 10 | 87 | 8.7 | 1 | 25.5 | 148 |
| 2014 | Greg Little, Cin. | Cle. | 6 | 69 | 11.5 | 0 | 12.9 | 155 |
| 2011 | Devin Thomas, NYG | Was. | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 0 | 6.7 | 160 |
| 2018 | Corey Coleman, NYG | Cle. | 5 | 71 | 14.2 | 0 | 12.6 | 165 |
| 2013 | Jonathan Baldwin, S.F. | K.C. | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 0 | 5.8 | 171 |
| 2024 | Dee Eskridge, Mia. | Sea. | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 0 | 7.4 | 176 |
| 2024 | Terrace Marshall, L.V. | Car. | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 0 | 7.1 | 179 |
| 2019 | Josh Doctson, Min. | Was. | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- | |
| 2025 | Skyy Moore, S.F. | K.C. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan