The lead-up to the Nov. 5 NFL trade deadline has already featured a good deal of action, as wide receivers Davante Adams, Amari Cooper, DeAndre Hopkins and Diontae Johnson all changed addresses within the last two weeks. Monday, the Kansas City Chiefs added pass rusher Josh Uche via trade with the New England Patriots to further bolster their defense.

The names of a number of prominent players, like the Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby and Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett, have bounced around the rumor mill in recent weeks. Barring a change of mind by their team decision-makers, however, neither of these marquee pass rushers is going nowhere.

Intrigue continues to swirl around several other players who find themselves stuck on losing teams or in a logjam for various reasons. Rival teams with championship aspirations or gaping holes for the immediate or long term could enter the market for roster additions.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the most prominent players/potential trade candidates being discussed in NFL circles, followed by a prediction of whether they will find themselves on the move or staying put by next week.

Prediction: Staying put

Young faces an uncertain future in Carolina despite the fact the Panthers moved up to take him first overall in 2023. Benched after two games this season, he sat for the next five before returning to the starting lineup last week after Andy Dalton suffered a sprained thumb in a car accident. Young delivered another mixed bag in the 28-14 loss to the Denver Broncos, completing 24 of 37 passes for 224 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The 2025 draft class isn’t teeming with top-level quarterback talent, so debate has swirled about how willing other teams would be to offer up something for Young. The Panthers, however, don’t seem ready to admit just yet that they erred so greatly in their Young selection. They’ll likely hang onto him and let him play out the string in hopes that he displays improved decision-making and execution.

Would Detroit, Atlanta or Arizona make a deal for Jadeveon Clowney? (Bob Donnan / Imagn Images)

Prediction: Moving on

A high-level pass rusher can turn a good defense into a great defense, and teams with championship aspirations could look to make a move at the deadline to increase their chances of achieving their goals this postseason. NFC front-runner Detroit needs pass-rushing help with Aidan Hutchinson lost to injury for the season. Atlanta, which leads the NFC South, also needs help at edge rusher. Arizona, which remains in the thick of things in the NFC West, also has been calling teams in search of pass-rushing help.

The 31-year-old Clowney’s skills are being wasted in Carolina, where the Panthers rank among the worst in the league on defense. A year after tying a career high with 9 1/2 sacks for the Baltimore Ravens, Clowney has only one sack for Carolina. Clowney still has something left in the tank and can help a team in the pass-rushing department. Part of the problem is how bad the Panthers are against the run. Opponents are taking advantage and running at Clowney, who at this stage in his career seems less than enthusiastic about serving as a run stopper. Clowney is believed to prefer an exit, and given the opportunity to stockpile picks for their talent-depleted roster, the Panthers will probably oblige.

Prediction: Staying put

The sixth-year veteran has fallen out of favor just one year after signing a three-year, $30 million contract with Chicago. He started 11 games last season, and two of the five he has appeared in this season, but has been a healthy scratch the last two weeks. The Bears would like to move on from the 28-year-old Davis, and he could probably step in for a team with injuries along the interior of its offensive line. But it’s hard to see a team willing to part with much for a player now reduced to a backup guard. The Bears say they still value Davis because of the depth he provides, and they just might have to settle for keeping him unless another team becomes desperate.

The Browns may keep Za’Darius Smith in hopes of a strong run in the season’s second half. (Ken Blaze / Imagn Images)

Prediction: Staying put

Teams have called the Browns about numerous players. And while it’s already been made clear that Garrett is untouchable, his bookend — Smith — leads the team with five sacks and is generating interest. The Browns could listen to inquiries about the 32-year-old Smith, but there’s a hesitancy to unload him as well because of a belief within the organization that a season turnaround isn’t out of the question. That belief will likely prompt the Browns to hang onto Smith.

Prediction: Staying put

The 31-year-old Smith hasn’t gotten as much playing time as he would like this season under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, so his name has recently come up in the trade rumor mill. The Packers are winning games and still view Smith as a valuable member of their pass-rushing rotation, however. With 2 1/2 sacks, he’s one of six Green Bay players with at least two sacks this season, and his 10 quarterback pressures rank second on the team. The Packers aren’t inclined to weaken their pass-rushing unit by subtracting talent as they find themselves in a heated NFC North race with Detroit and Minnesota.

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Prediction: Moving on

Despite back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to kick off his career, Etienne has seen his workload diminish this season, thanks in part to a few nagging injuries and the simultaneous ascension of Tank Bigsby. At 2-6, the Jaguars can kiss any playoff aspirations goodbye, and they would do well to send Etienne to a team in need of improved running back depth now to get a head start on the roster implosion that is sure to come this offseason.

Prediction: Moving on

The Adams acquisition makes Williams expendable in New York. Williams spent the first half of the season working his way back into the flow after recovering from surgery to repair an ACL torn in Week 3 of the 2023 season. The usually sure-handed veteran had 11 catches for 160 yards on 19 targets in six games, but then didn’t receive a target on Sunday despite logging 36 snaps. Williams, who has averaged 57 catches for 879 yards (15.5 yards per reception) and five touchdowns a season, certainly could help improve the depth of a team looking to mount a postseason run.

(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos of Bryce Young, Travis Etienne and Mike Williams: Brooke Sutton / Getty Images, Gary McCullough and Adam Hunger / Associated Press)

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman won the 2024 World Series MVP with a performance that included four home runs, which extended a streak of six straight World Series games with a home run, dating back to his 2021 run with the Atlanta Braves. 

His walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning of Game 1 against the Yankees was the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. 

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) reacts after hitting a RBI single against the New York Yankees in the fifth inning during game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)

Freeman didn’t hit a home run in the Dodgers’ 7-6 Game 5 win, but came up with a huge base hit to extend a five-run fifth inning, in which Los Angeles erased a 5-0 Yankees lead. 

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, center, left, celebrates at home plate after hitting a game-winning grand slam against the New York Yankees during the 10th inning in Game 1 of the baseball World Series, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Freeman gets his second World Series ring and his first World Series MVP. He has helped lead the Dodgers to the World Series after joining the team in March 2022 after making the decision to leave Atlanta. 

The Dodgers won the World Series in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, but this is their first title in a full season since 1988.

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Game 1 — Yankees 5, Dodgers 3

Game 2 — Yankees 10, Dodgers 3

Game 3 — Dodgers 9, Yankees 8

Game 4 — Dodgers 3, Yankees 2

Game 5 — Yankees 2, Dodgers 1

Game 6 — Dodgers 8, Yankees 6

Game 7 — Yankees 5, Dodgers 2

Two of the most memorable plays in baseball history brought the Dodgers wins in Game 4 and 6, but the Yankees stood tall when the Series ended. In Game 4, Yankee pitcher Bill Bevens, although he averaged a walk an inning, had allowed no Dodger hits and only one run entering the last of the ninth. Bevens retired two in the ninth, but walked his ninth and 10th batters (one intentionally), then lost both his no-hitter and the game as Dodgers pinch-hitter Cookie Lavagetto doubled home Spider Jorgensen and Eddie Miksis to even the Series at 2-2. The Yankees won Game 5, but the Dodgers won a dramatic Game 6. The Dodgers built an early 4-0 lead, but the Yankees took the lead in the fourth. The Dodgers regained the lead, 8-5, in the sixth, but with two on in the bottom of the inning, Joe DiMaggio hit a long fly to left that looked like a sure homer. Left fielder Al Gionfriddo — in what turned out to be his last major league game — raced to the bullpen fence (415 feet from home plate) to rob DiMaggio of the home run. New York scored a run in the ninth, but thanks to Gionfriddo’s catch it was not enough to win the game. In Game 7, the Yankees won, 5-2.

Memorable moment: DiMaggio kicking at the infield dirt after Gionfriddo’s catch, a rare on-field show of emotion by DiMaggio.

Pitching stars: Spec Shea was 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA in two starts for the Yankees. Hugh Casey was 2-0 with one save in six relief appearances for the Dodgers.

Batting stars: Joe DiMaggio hit two homers but batted only .231 for the Yankees. Outfielder Johnny Lindell led New York with seven RBIs, hitting .500. Pee Wee Reese hit .304 with four RBIs for the Dodgers.