Five trades NFL teams should make before the deadline

Tuesday marks the NFL trade deadline and the last opportunity for teams to make a big in-season shake-up.

Deadline deals are rare for myriad reasons: salary-cap concerns, scheme questions and a general unwillingness to bet on or against a player at midseason. But the few trades that do happen can change the outlook of the league considerably.

We asked our NFL staff for the trades they'd like to see happen. Here are our answers:

           Is it time to save Calvin Johnson from Detroit, which appears close to sucking the star receiver into a black hole of irrelevance for the next few years? Megatron, 30, isn’t the Megathreat he was just a few seasons ago and only has one 100-yard receiving game in 2015. But as he showed in that 166-yard effort against the Chicago Bears two weeks ago, he has enough juice to still be a gamebreaker and deep threat who can turn an outcome. Why not ship him to the San Diego Chargers, who could use a downfield threat and red-zone target, and might just like added star power if they’re playing in Hollywood next year. Perhaps most importantly, the Chargers have the cap flexibility to absorb Johnson’s enormous contract for the next few seasons. -Nate Davis