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Dave Ventresca's expert dynasty fantasy football trade advice. Six aging fantasy football players to sell in dynasty leagues before the start of the 2025 NFL season.
With the 2025 NFL Draft fast approaching, dynasty gamers have been burning the midnight oil studying the incoming rookie class. Evaluating rookies is one of the most important parts of dynasty fantasy football and is imperative if you’re trying to replace your aging veteran players.
Speaking of veteran players, it’s also essential that dynasty managers take the time to identify aging assets that they should try and liquidate. You never want to be stuck “holding the bag” on an older player. It’s usually better to get ahead of things and get out a year early rather than a year late.
Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X, and check out RotoBaller.com for all your fantasy football needs. Here are six aging players to trade away in your dynasty fantasy football leagues.
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Joe Mixon - RB, Houston Texans
Mixon enjoyed a fine first season with the Houston Texans. He eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the fifth time in his career and scored 11 rushing touchdowns. Mixon would go on to finish 2024 as the half-PPR RB13.
Joe Mixon high-stepped his way to a second TD 😱 pic.twitter.com/lZWSKBnh28
— ESPN (@espn) November 19, 2024
While that was all well and good, he does enter his age-29 season in 2025, and Mixon once again failed to improve upon his career 4.1 yards per carry last year in Houston. It’s also worth pointing out that the Texans have an out in his contract following the season. Houston can cut Mixon after the 2025 season and incur only a $2 million dead cap hit. If his game starts to decline, Houston may decide to move on from him.
Yes, Mixon had a fine 2024, but this is a prime example of getting ahead of a potential drop in value. With the incoming rookie running back class loaded with talent, there’s a very realistic possibility that Houston will draft Mixon’s successor in the 2025 NFL Draft. Look to move Mixon off your roster, as his status with Houston could be on shaky ground following the 2025 season.
Aaron Jones - RB, Minnesota Vikings
Jones recently re-signed with the Minnesota Vikings on a two-year, $20 million deal. It’s understandable why Minnesota would want to keep Jones around, as he ran for a career-high 1,138 rushing yards in 2024. He also caught 51 passes for 408 receiving yards and scored seven total touchdowns. Jones would finish 2024 as the PPR RB15.
AARON JONES LEAPT INTO THE STANDS AFTER HIS 50TH CAREER RUSH TD 💪 pic.twitter.com/CECRe0VRit
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 17, 2024
It's also worth noting that Jones touched the ball a career-high 306 times last year. 2025 will be his age-30 season. Minnesota has said it wants to avoid overworking him this year. To that end, the Vikings recently acquired running back Jordan Mason in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. Mason was quite good filling in for Christian McCaffrey last year as he averaged over five yards per carry and ran for 789 yards to go along with three touchdowns.
The fourth-year back also finished higher than Jones in a variety of metrics. Mason scored better in Next Gen Stats' rush yards over expected (RYOE), rush yards over expected per attempt (RYOE/ATT), PFF elusive rating, and PFF rushing grade.
All of this is not to say that Mason is a threat to overtake the RB1 crown from Jones. However, he is a major threat for touches and will limit Jones’ upside. The team has made it clear it wants to lighten Jones’ workload and has stated it acquired Mason for specifically that reason. This means Jones' numbers will almost certainly take a step back from his 2024 totals.
Jones also enters the danger zone for running backs as he’s set to turn 31 years old in December. This is the area where a running back’s game can fall off a cliff seemingly out of nowhere. Jones got plenty of volume-based production last year, but his workload is set to be scaled back. Combine that with the possibility of age-related decline, and the thought of keeping Jones on your roster suddenly requires a heavy dose of Pepto Bismol.
Find a trade partner and do what you need to do. A 2025 third-round rookie pick might not sound like much in return, but it might do the trick. There are plenty of talented running backs available late in rookie drafts this year who are worth gambling on over an aging running back stuck in a potential committee.
Cooper Kupp - WR, Seattle Seahawks
Kupp is coming off another disappointing season. He tied a career low by averaging just 10.6 yards per reception last year and averaged his lowest receiving yards per game since his rookie year in 2017. Injuries might be taking their toll, and he hasn’t resembled the same player we saw win the Triple Crown back in 2021.
The Seahawks don’t seem to agree and were comfortable giving Kupp a three-year, $45 million contract this offseason. It was a head-scratching move, considering the downward trajectory of Kupp’s career over the last few years. It’s now unclear how Kupp will fit schematically playing alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba. There are also major issues to consider with Kupp’s new signal-caller, Sam Darnold, following his disastrous end to the 2024 season.
Overall, there are just too many factors working against Kupp to expect a return to form. This situation is undoubtedly a downgrade compared to what Kupp had playing in Sean McVay’s offense. Find someone in your league who still believes in Kupp, and make a trade. That might sound difficult, but you’d be surprised how many dynasty managers have trouble forgetting the past and accepting a player’s new reality. Just make sure you get Kupp off your roster before the bottom completely falls out.
Deebo Samuel Sr. - WR, Washington Commanders
2024 was not Samuel’s best season. The six-year veteran butted heads with teammates throughout the year and was forced to overcome a midseason bout of pneumonia. He only caught 51 passes for 670 yards and averaged the fewest receiving yards per game of his entire career.
This was the turning point for Deebo Samuel this year. His approach with the media was different after this, especially coming off his not enough touches tweet.
Fans booed him after this drop and I’m sure he heard it loud and clear. pic.twitter.com/ME3Va6Ov3X
— Matt Lively (@mattblively) February 9, 2025
There was more going on behind the scenes in 2024. Samuel requested that the team trade him this offseason, and San Francisco would eventually trade him to the Washington Commanders.
49ers trading WR Deebo Samuel to the Commanders for a 5th-round pick. (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/V5hiStDf66
— NFL (@NFL) March 1, 2025
It remains to be seen if Washington knows how to deploy Samuel properly. He has played such a unique role in the 49ers offense throughout his career. Samuel is not a typical receiver for the fact that he’s not a great route runner or separator. So, this could make it difficult for him to find success if he’s not deployed in the same role that Kyle Shanahan created for him in San Francisco.
Samuel struggled down the stretch last year, and the 49ers were willing to let him leave. They only received a fifth-round pick in return and took on $31 million in dead cap money by moving him. All of this sure looks like a major red flag.
Find someone who still believes in Samuel and use his name value to cash out. Trade returns won’t be the same as they were a few years ago, but they’ll be better if you move him sooner rather than later.
Tyreek Hill - WR, Miami Dolphins
2024 was Hill’s worst season in recent memory. Take out his injury-shortened 2019, and Hill posted his lowest totals in receiving yards and touchdowns since his rookie season. It culminated with a PPR WR18 finish. This was not what dynasty managers were hoping to see from Miami's WR1.
There are some legitimate reasons here for an owner to expect better results in 2025. However, it looks like Hill declined quite a bit last year. Let's compare some of Hill's advanced metrics from the last two seasons, courtesy of Fantasy Points Data Suite:
2023
38 percent targets per route run (TPRR)
4.05 yards per route run (YPRR)
31.3 percent target share
44.2 percent air yardage share
2024
25 percent TPRR
1.99 YPRR
20.1 percent target share
38.4 percent air yardage share
While a few of these scores are quite good, there was a significant drop in some categories. Hill's raw stats can be explained by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missing multiple games. However, many of these metrics indicate he wasn't the focal point of Miami's passing game. This is a stark contrast compared to previous years.
It’s reasonable to expect Hill to post a better fantasy finish in 2025. That is certainly within the realm of possibilities. But this feels like another case where it’s better to get out a year early rather than a year late. If you can find someone in your league who’s still bullish on Hill, you should pursue a trade.
Even though he reneged on his end-of-season trade request, we now know there is a part of Hill that’s not happy being in Miami. Who knows how this will play out in the season if Tagovailoa gets hurt again or Miami struggles. Time for dynasty managers to pull the plug and move on without Hill.
Aaron Rodgers - QB, Free Agent
Rodgers has had yet another drama-filled offseason. He had expressed an interest in returning to the Jets, but the Jets' new regime decided they were better off without him and would eventually release him. This made Rodgers a free agent for the first time in his career. He briefly flirted with signing with the Minnesota Vikings, but that looks to have passed as Minnesota seems committed to J.J. McCarthy as its QB1.
The team most closely linked to signing Rodgers throughout the offseason has been the Pittsburgh Steelers. While that is sure to make some Pittsburgh fans roll their eyes, there seems to be enough smoke surrounding this situation that we can expect Rodgers to eventually sign a contract with the Steelers.
Once this news becomes official, that will be the ideal time to move Rodgers. There is sure to be at least one quarterback-needy owner in your league who might be willing to gamble on Rodgers. That will probably be the case more so in Superflex dynasty leagues. That’s not to say you can't move Rodgers in single-quarterback leagues, but he’s likely to have more of a market in leagues where you start multiple quarterbacks. If you're able to successfully move off Rodgers in a single-quarterback league, then more power to you.
Don’t expect much in return, given Rodgers’ age and declining play. Depending on how desperate the other manager is, you might be able to land a couple of late-round rookie picks for the future Hall of Fame signal-caller.
Given the strength of this incoming running back class, it’s not the worst idea to flip a declining Rodgers in exchange for a couple of lottery tickets to potentially nab the next Bucky Irving.
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