The Cardinals could trade one of their pass-catchers, Zach Pascal to either the Ravens or Chiefs this season. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell believes Pascal could be on the trading block since Arizona sits at 2-4 and may be far away from postseason contention. Arizona will take on the Chargers in week 7 but their season is pretty much over since they have an adequate offense and one of the worst defenses. The Cardinals could look toward the future and trading someone like Pascal may bring them some decent draft capital.
Originally selected as an undrafted rookie, the Commanders took him in their practice squad in 2017 before traveling through Titans, Colts and Eagles as a journeyman. The Cardinals brought in Zay Jones and rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. so they could look to build off of these receivers making Pascal expendable. They have enough receivers for Kyler Murray to work around like Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch. Pascal isn’t lighting in a bottle but he doesn’t have a single catch through six matchups.
However, most teams will probably just want to trade for a receiver to rotate around. This is why he could find a better fit with the Ravens or Chiefs since they’re closing to playoff contention and Pascal doesn’t need to be a full-time starter.
Tanking Cardinals Could Trade “Hidden Gem” Zach Pascal to Ravens, Chiefs
More Weapons for Lamar Jackson
The Ravens have a powerful offense despite losing Odell Beckham Jr. but they signed Derrick Henry to keep the momentum for the passing attack ferocious. After extending running back Justice Hill, he could take some of the credit for Lamar Jackson’s success since he’s an easier dump-off type of gadget to keep moving the football. Baltimore finally has enough weapons in the pocket for a championship run but it wouldn’t hurt adding someone like Pascal.
However, in John Harbaugh’s world, nothing lasts forever and Mark Andrews slowing down is a prime example of that. Nelson Agholor and Rashod Bateman still have their inconsistency issues but adding Pascal to reinvent the passing game behind Zay Flowers could give them some extra life. Pascal is nobody special but a team like the Ravens could bring out the best in him. He doesn’t need to be like Torrey Smith out there but his presence and blocking abilities should be able to give Baltimore some extra depth.
Rotating Kansas City
Patrick Mahomes hasn’t been the same player winning back-to-back Super Bowls for this franchise. However, they still were able to make it to 5-0 but in reality, they probably should have a losing record. The Chiefs will have to survive the rest of the year without Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown but someone like Pascal coming in rotation could be a fine insurance policy. They missed out on Davante Adams and Amari Cooper so it’s fair to say they probably won’t target a high-profile wideout.
Diontae Johnson and Mike Williams are still on the board but the chances of adding any of them might be low. The Chiefs are doing fine without their best playmakers since Kareem Hunt is thriving and rookie Xavier Worthy is holding down stomping grounds. However, they should bring in Pascal in a reserve role to help receivers like JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore. Pascal doesn’t need to be explosive but be a reliable player to get some crucial downs and move the chains.
