Cardinals Urged to Trade WR to Chargers

The Arizona Cardinals could ship one of their pass-catchers away.

Aug 10, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Zach Pascal (0) against the New Orleans Saints during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are set to host the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7.

Perhaps they can get some business done.

Trade talks around the league are making progress as the Nov. 5 deadline slowly approaches. We've seen buzz start to pick up, and though the NFL still doesn't match the NBA in terms of hype and rumors on the final day of trading, it's slowly become a noteworthy event.

NFL insider Bill Barnwell recently highlighted a handful of trades that "make sense" - one of which was the Cardinals dealing WR Zach Pascal and a seventh-round pick to the Chargers in exchange for a sixth-round pick.

"Chargers fans who are excited about the team's 3-2 start and hoping to add playmakers for Justin Herbert might be dreaming about Tee Higgins being in a trade conversation here. That sort of big swing probably isn't happening at the deadline, but L.A. could stand to add a different sort of receiver in the days to come," wrote Barnwell.

"Pascal isn't exactly going to light up the stat sheet -- the 30-year-old doesn't have a catch across 37 snaps in six games. Where he excels, though, is as a blocker in the run game. After playing out his rookie deal with the Colts, he was a quietly useful part of the Eagles offense that went to Super Bowl LVII before he followed coach Jonathan Gannon to Arizona a year ago.

"While Pascal averaged more than 14 offensive snaps per game last season, that mark is down to just over six per game in 2024. That's probably about the point where he might be a better fit elsewhere. The Chargers are comfortable rotating their receivers in and out of the lineup and had nine different players catch a pass in the first 20 minutes of their Week 6 win over the Broncos. With added work on special teams, he would be an ideal fourth or fifth wide receiver to carry on game days as they try to compete for a playoff spot."

Trading Pascal would make sense for the Cardinals, as Arizona has a handful of receivers above him on the depth chart including Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch and Zay Jones. Xavier Weaver also made his debut last week and could play a bigger role as the weeks progress.

This probably isn't the trade fans expected Arizona to make considering the lack of defensive talent, though it's small enough to be considered a net win in terms of future draft capital.

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