If there are lists out there that speculate over NFL wide receivers who might be available in a trade, the Washington Commanders need to be poring over those lists.
Another possible trade target for the Commanders popped up on June 22 from Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, who placed Buffalo Bills wide receiver Josh Palmer on his trade big board just a little over 1 month out from training camp.
In this case, the price would be more than right, with the cost of Palmer tagged as a conditional 2027 6th round pick — meaning if Palmer performs, the language in the trade would essentially bump it up to a 2027 5th round pick.
The Bills signed Palmer to a 3-year, $29 million free-agent contract before the 2025 season.
“Palmer was limited by ankle and knee injuries, and he did have some bright moments, but the 26-year-old’s production never quite matched his price point,” Knox wrote. “Palmer recorded a career-low 303 receiving yards in 2025. Now that the Bills have added D.J. Moore and rookie Skyler Bell, they may be willing to get out from under Palmer’s contract. Now that June 1 has passed, Buffalo can save $10.1 million in 2026 cap space by trading him. And while Palmer’s 2025 season with the Bills was underwhelming, he’d still have value to another receiver-needy team.”
The Commanders are receiver-needy in the worst way possible.
Josh Palmer Rare Canadian to Make NFL Roster
Palmer, 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, is the rare Canadian to make an NFL roster. He starred in high school in Ontario before transferring to high school football powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for his final 2 seasons.
Palmer was a 3-star recruit and landed at Tennessee, where he seemed on the verge of stardom until his senior season got shortened to 9 games in 2020 because of the pandemic. In 4 seasons, Palmer never had more than 500 receiving yards in a single year, but was still drafted in the 3rd round (No. 77 overall) by the Los Angeles Chargers. NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein had Palmer projected as a 4th-round pick.
“While he was hurt by inconsistent quarterbacking during his time at Tennessee, the production totals are still disappointing,” Zierlein wrote in 2020. “However, the more tape you watch of Palmer, the more you like him. He has size, clearly works on refining his route-running and has a good understanding of how to help himself with contested catches. While he doesn’t appear to have great long speed, he did beat future NFL cornerbacks at Georgia (DJ Daniel) and Alabama (Patrick Surtain Jr.) down the field for scores. He’s an instinctive pass catcher on all three levels with above-average ball skills, but beating press and finding separation will be his toughest challenges in the NFL.”
Josh Palmer Consistently Produced With Chargers
Palmer showed he could be a reliable WR2 over his 1st 4 seasons playing behind Chargers star Keenan Allen, including career highs of 72 receptions for 769 yards in 2022.
Over 4 seasons, Palmer averaged 51 receptions for 571 yards, along with scoring 10 total touchdowns. Those are respectable numbers for a WR3 and even more so for Palmer when you consider he missed 9 games due to injuries over the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Commanders Trade Pitch Lands $29 Million AFC Wide Receiver