Arizona - John Skelton, San Francisco - Alex Smith, Seattle - Matt Hasselbeck and St.Louis - Sam Bradford. Besides for Bradford, the rest of the projected starters leave a lot to be desired. However, once the lockout is over and trades can happen, I can see the NFC West being extremely active in acquiring QB's. So these are my projected trade ideas.
Trade 1
Kevin Kolb to Seattle for two 2nd rounders and Matt Hasselbeck (essentially do a sign and trade). Lets look in to the reasoning of each team in this trade, and why it makes sense.
For Seattle - They need a new QB, the fact that they didn't draft any in April is telling to me. In this trade Seattle would get a young potentially franchise QB. Not only this, but they get a QB who is familiar with the West Coast Offense, so even in a shortened offseason, the transition to Seattle won't be too difficult for Kolb.
For Philadelphia - I'm thinking behind the scenes in Philly that Kolb has been hinting at wanting out. He feels he deserves a starting job and he won't get that in Philly. So in this scenario, Philly gets two 2nd rounders and they get an excellent veteran in Hasselbeck. Should Vick go down during the season Hasselbeck would be an ideal back up for Andy Reid.
Trade 2
Carson Palmer to Arizona for 1st and 3rd round picks.
For Arizona - I keep reading on ESPN how the Cardinals will go get Kolb, but the better fit is definitely Carson Palmer. Now of course you guys reading will quickly think, "oh but the Bengals won't trade Palmer!" well I say read my post titled "The Carson Palmer Dilemma". Now the price is quite steep from a Cardinals perspective, but they showed how good they can be with an established veteran QB. Palmer has more years in him than Warner did when he took over the starting gig in Arizona. You know Fitzgerald is pushing for a big move to get a QB and not drafting a QB tells me they are looking at trade options. Ken Whisenhunt cannot afford another season like last year. They go with the big splash, and something tells me this move will keep him in Arizona for some time.
For Cincinnati - Andy Dalton is the QB of the future in Cincy, there is way too much bad blood between Carson Palmer and the Bengals organization to stay together. Eventually the Bengals will wise up and trade him. In this scenario they get some nice picks to build their franchise from. Odds are Cincy won't be too competitive starting the rookie Dalton. So having two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks (explained later) and two 3rd round picks should go a long way to getting them back in playoff contention.
Now, not all the trades in this division will involve QB's, lets take a look at what else I think should happen.
Trade 3
Chad OchoCinco and 4th round pick to St. Louis for a 2nd round pick.
For St. Louis - Lets face it Sam Bradford needs weapons. He did a solid job with some not so spectacular options at WR. OchoCinco would instantly become the best WR on the team, would provide a reliable productive target for the young Sam Bradford and honestly, he would bring some media attention to the Rams. They have almost become forgotten after so many awful seasons. Now they are ready to take the leap in to the big stage.
For Cincinnati - Its rebuilding time in Cincinnati, and they need a fresh start. They need to move on from Palmer and OchoCinco. Opposite to St. Louis, Cincinnati needs less unnecessary attention in the media while they get this team rebuilt. I can't imagine OchoCinco being too happy to get passes from a rookie with little to no workouts in the offseason. This trade helps give Cincy 2 picks in each of the first 3 rounds.
As for San Francisco, I don't project any major trades to occur for them and I don't think they should be looking for a big trade. Their future at QB is Colin Kaepernick, and they have a nice surrounding cast for him on offense with Gore, Vernon Davis and Crabtree. I do see them looking in Free Agency at a CB like Ike Taylor or Jonathan Joseph.
