The NFL has been awash in trades this offseason. It's unlike anything we have seen in this league before, largely due in part to factors stemming from the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement and the rising salary cap. The former wiped out a large chunk of the middle-class veterans around the NFL while also making cheap rookie contracts the preferred method of roster construction. 

Abundant salary cap space for virtually every NFL teams means no need to simply cut high-priced, average starters. As an example, consider Robert Quinn, traded from the Rams to the Dolphins this offseason. Five years ago, Quinn is cut, no question, as Los Angeles tries to save $10 million in cap space. No one's would have taken his contract back. Now, Les Snead can easily find a partner, minimize the dead cap (Quinn will cost them less than $1 million in 2018) and get some assets in return. 

Quinn will actually be the largest active cap hit for Miami, but he pales in comparison to Ndamukong Suh's dead cap hit of $22 million, which really tells you everything you need to know about how much cap space teams have to work with. 

At any rate, these factors all contributed to a bunch of trades. But NFL teams might not be done, especially with GMs and coaches about to spend three days clustered together in Orlando for the NFL Annual Meetings. 

Let's look at some trades of veteran players that could still make sense, starting with a popular safety out in Seattle. These might not happen -- trades are hard. But they're all realistic/conceivable/not impossible based on need for the various teams and salary-cap implications involved. 

Earl Thomas to the Cowboys

The rumors of a Thomas trade have been circulating ever since the Seahawks signaled the end of the Legion of Boom era. If Richard Sherman can be released and sign with the 49ers, anything is on the table. But it's not as simple as simply swapping him, which is where Dallas comes in. 

Part of trading for Thomas involves locking the All-Pro safety to a long-term deal. Not only does he have just one year left on his deal, but Thomas is going to require some decent capital to pull away from Seattle. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reported from the combine he believes the Seahawks would "demand some value" in exchange and threw out the idea of Seattle netting "a few Day 2 picks" in exchange for Thomas. The Seahawks currently have exactly zero second- and third-round draft picks, so additional resources in that regard would be welcome. 

Dallas should feel pretty good about being able to lock Thomas down, though, with the safety actually asking Dallas to trade for him at the end of 2017. From the draft perspective, it's difficult to imagine Dallas giving up No. 50 and No. 81 in a swap for Thomas. Certainly you'd think No. 18 is off the table; if Seattle wants to secure a first-round pick for Thomas, it's hard to imagine Dallas making the move. 

But it's also not hard to see Jerry Jones getting involved, seeing Thomas as a critical piece that could shore up the back end of a young secondary and make the Cowboys title contenders again overnight. 

The Cowboys lack of cap space, most of which is tied up in several big superstars, may be an issue. Worth noting: cutting Dez Bryant would save $8.5 million, the exact amount of space Thomas would take up. Dallas could also re-work Dez's deal and then negotiate a longer contract with Thomas to free up room and improve the secondary. This trade feels very much in the realm of possibility. 

The Panthers and the Steelers (although they just signed Morgan Burnett) stand out as other options who are contenders and need safety help.

Mike Gillislee to the Buccaneers

Remember the halcyon days of figuring out how Bill Belichick was going to handle his running backs? It was Week 1 in 2017 and Mike Gillislee plunged in for three scores, cementing his place in the Patriots Ring of Honor and the Fantasy Football Hall of Fame. He only scored two more times, once the following week and then not again until Christmas Eve. Along the way he was inactive a bunch, ultimately ending up with worse numbers than he had in 2017 when in Buffalo. 

New England took some hits in free agency with the departure of Dion Lewis, but they also added Jeremy Hill, who is basically, uh, Mike Gillislee, a plodding goal line back who isn't going to catch a bunch of and/or any passes when the Patriots are running their offense outside the red zone. The Patriots also have James White and Rex Burkhead and will probably add someone in the draft. 

The Buccaneers, on the other hand, don't have a guy who can tote the rock in between the tackles after losing Doug Martin. Jacquizz Rodgers has extended his career in a magic fashion in Tampa, but it's him and Peyton Barber and Dalton Crossnan with Charles Sims unsigned. Barber could start, but Tampa still needs depth and/or a guy at the goal line.

These teams have swapped players in the past -- plenty of them actually -- and Gillislee would be cheap, at just $2.18 million next year. (That may make him too cheap for New England to give up.) The Patriots have been plenty active in the veteran trade market too, even a full season ahead of the curve on everyone else, which is probably not that surprising. 

Eli Apple to the 49ers

Dave Gettleman said at the combine he's giving the young cornerback a "clean slate" but that doesn't mean Apple is safe on this roster. His 2017 was a disaster: he nearly walked out on the Giants when he got blasted in a film session, he was called a cancer by teammate, he was suspended by the team and he was fined for tweeting from the sidelines. Please show me Gettleman's face when he read that headline. 

Apple, a former first-round pick, has shown a skillset worthy of a starting cornerback and has two years left on his rookie deal. He's just 22. Lots of people were jerks when they were 22 and became better people by the time they were 24. 

The 49ers appear interested in competing out of the gate in 2018 and already added Richard Sherman at cornerback this offseason. Dontae Johnson remains unsigned, so why not offer a mid-round pick to Gettleman for a potential starting corner who can learn under the wing of one of the best in the game. 

C.J. Anderson to the Dolphins

We still don't have a firm grasp on what the Dolphins are planning to do this offseason, so why not have them trade for another running back? Anderson was once a target of Miami's with his former coach Adam Gase trying to ink the running back to an offer sheet. For whatever reason, John Elway matched and Anderson's stuck around in Denver. 

Anderson has two years left on his deal at $4.5 million per year, so maybe Miami doesn't want to dive into the deeper end of the running back pool, but he would be a very nice complement to Kenyan Drake in that backfield and give Ryan Tannehill another weapon capable of catching passes lined up behind him. 

The Broncos seem intent on rolling with Devontae Booker as their feature back, with De'Angelo Henderson behind him. This type of trade would allow both sides to get the result they want in terms of the running back depth chart while aligning Anderson with the team who wanted to sign him in the first place. 

Coby Fleener to the Ravens

When the Saints jammed their foot into free agency (it wasn't quite a toe dip) to sign Fleener a few years ago, it felt like they might have found a long-term weapon at the position to replace Jimmy Graham. Not quite. Fleener has caught less than 75 passes for less than 1,000 yards in his two seasons with the Saints and was the SIXTH leading receiver last year. He's been phased out of the offense, if he was ever phased in.

His contract isn't ideal: Fleener's set to have a cap hit of $8 million next year, followed by $9 million in 2018 and $9.1 million in 2019. Yeesh. Fortunately, there's an easy out in the deal after 2018, when cutting him can create almost $6 million in cap space. 

Baltimore is desperate for tight end help. Nick Boyle, Maxx Williams and Vince Mayle isn't going to get it done, and the Ravens are running out of options after missing out Jimmy Graham, Trey Burton and Eric Ebron in free agency. 

They could be in really bad shape when it comes to pass catchers had they not gotten lucky and landed Michael Crabtree after Ryan Grant failed his physical. As it is, the Ravens still need more weapons for Joe Flacco, and Fleener, for all his struggles would at least give them some upside. They don't have a ton of cap space, so maybe they try to re-work the deal? This is a make-or-break year for the Ravens, it feels like, so why not gamble on a former high pick who can upgrade the tight end position.