NFL Trade Deadline: All Quiet On The Cardinals Front, Should It Be?

The NFL Trade Deadline is 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 18. Unlike the MLB or NBA trade deadlines where a flurry of last second deals is the norm, the NFL Trade Deadline tends to pass without much notice. This year, however, we have already seen a couple of interesting deals go down. With the Arizona Cardinals at 1-4 should GM Rod Graves be looking to move some veterans and stock up on draft picks?

The NFC West has been involved in two of the three big trades so far this season. The Seattle Seahawks sent LB Aaron Curry to the Oakland Raiders. Perhaps the Raiders are paying homage to their deceased leader, Al Davis, as they made another move to fill their QB need with Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals.

The other big move was the St. Louis Rams sending a sixth-round pick (could turn into a fifth-round pick if conditions are met) to the Denver Broncos for WR Brandon Lloyd. Lloyd will be an unrestricted free agent after this season so the Rams are basically renting his services to try and jump start Sam Bradford and the Rams anemic offense.

The Arizona Cardinals haven't been mentioned in any NFL Trade Deadline rumors and are unlikely to make a move. If they were interested, however, they could consider moving a veteran at a position with depth and try and land draft picks for the future.

The Cardinals problem, they don't many good options to pull that off.

On offense, they could maybe entertain a deal for TE Jeff King on the theory that Todd Heap and rookie Rob Housler provide solid options. Both Housler and Heap are more receiving than blocking tight ends and King has played well. It's an unlikely move and there are no other positions on offense where you see excessive depth that would bring back a draft pick.

On defense, the obvious place to look is outside linebacker with veterans Joey Porter and Clark Haggans. Both are signed to reasonable contracts and will (we believe) be free agents after this season. If there were a team in contention looking to add a veteran pass rusher, these are two names that theoretical could be discussed. The problem is neither has been effective pass rushers in the last two seasons.

Neither Haggans (34) or Porter (34) are part of the long-term future and it's soon going to be time to throw young Sam Acho and O'Brien Schofield into the fire. If a team were desperate enough at the position, Haggans or Porter could bring back a late round pick...maybe.

The only other player that might be worth some trade consideration would be Dan Williams at nose tackle. Williams is still very young and has upside but the Cardinals have also been impressed with rookie David Carter and also have veterans Nick Eason and Vonnie Holliday who can fill in. It's an unlikely trade, but if a team called with a great offer, we assume the Cardinals would have to listen. 

We'll keep our eyes out for any rumors, but the chances are great that the 2011 NFL Trade Deadline will pass without any action in Arizona.