In Two Trades, Gray Acquires Lamar Miller, Sterling Shepard
Something lit a fire under Gray and now the league’s hot stove is heating up.
In a flurry of trade activity Thursday, Gray acquired both Lamar Miller and Sterling Shepard in two separate deals involving Josh and Trevor. The first of the two, which featured the two higher-profile players, included a swap of fourth-round pick Lamar Miller for fifth-rounder Josh Gordon. (Yes, Josh traded for Josh.) That deal was followed later in the day by the swap of backup RB Austin Ekeler for Trevor’s ninth-round pick Sterling Shepard.
In a series of moves likely designed to shake things up, Gray has remade his roster with Miller as a probable starter and Shepard as a bye-week fill-in or flex option with upside given the recent injury to Evan Engram. After a third straight week at the bottom of the Power Rankings and a 1-2 start, it’s a move to win now as waiting on Gordon to make his first start or Ekeler to potentially replace an injured Melvin Gordon is not a luxury that Gray has.
Meanwhile, as a team owner in first place that is leading the league in scoring, Josh can afford the additional risk that comes with rostering Josh Gordon. If it doesn’t work out, he still has three RBs (Alvin Kamara, Carlos Hyde and Tevin Coleman or James White) that he’d likely start ahead of Miller anyway. And if it does work out, he’s suddenly replaced the lost production from last week’s trade of A.J. Green.
Finally, for Trevor, the trade for Austin Ekeler fills a position of need. Three weeks into the season, Trevor ranks last in RB scoring with a scant 9.3 ppg from the position. It’s early, but that would rank 83rd out of 84 seasons in league history. That lack of RB scoring is thanks in part to a draft that featured just three RBs, one of which was Duke Johnson who has been so ineffective that even a RB-needy owner like Trevor has since dropped him. Were it not for the play of free agent Phillip Lindsay, Trevor would be in even more dire straits. Ekeler at least gives him an option in the coming bye weeks.
But regardless of the outcome, I think the larger story is that this season may be shaping up to be one of the most active in league history. In fact, I’m already regretting these trade posts as I may struggle to keep up. (I literally had a different cover image comped up that I had to scrap when Gray processed his second trade of the day.) As it stands now, this is already our third trade of the season in just the third week. For reference, last year there were six trades total with the first not coming until Week 7. The league record is 14 trades in 2015.
In the weeks ahead, it will be interesting to see how these moves shake out. Gray still needs Leonard Fournette and Devonta Freeman to return from injury, but Miller and Shepard are buy-low candidates with the chance to change things for the last-place owner. Meanwhile, Josh is banking on a return to form for Josh Gordon that he displayed in 2013 (when he last led Gray to a championship). And Trevor is just hoping for 10 points out of the RB position. (Is that so much to ask?!) And while they may not seem like blockbuster moves, these incremental trades can be key to improving a roster one asset at a time.
And judging by how Gray’s backup QB Jared Goff responded on Thursday Night Football with 38 points, it appears that at the very least Lamar Miller and Sterling Shepard’s new teammates are fired up.
The trade market may soon be too.
