The NFL’s latest trade deadline featured eight Tuesday trades, but a total of 22 in-season swaps occurred this year. Some teams made multiple trades; several others stood pat. Two of the biggest trades in deadline history went down this week.
While not quite on the Herschel Walker/Eric Dickerson level, the Sauce Gardner blockbuster rivaled the Rams’ Jalen Ramsey addition from 2019. Like the Ramsey exchange, the Gardner value brought two first-rounders and another asset (wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, in this case) for a 25-year-old All-Pro cornerback. Barely an hour later, the Jets followed through with a teardown by sending Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys for first- and second-round picks and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
As we detailed Wednesday in the latest Trade Rumors Front Office post, the Jets’ perspective brought strong value for young players toiling on a downtrodden team. The three first-rounders plus the 2026 second will give New York’s new decision-makers a chance to retool while having assets to either find a quarterback in the draft or trade for a veteran. While it will be difficult to replace Gardner and Williams, the Jets’ Darren Mougey-Aaron Glenn regime made the decision to cash in their top assets to launch a true rebuild — one that suddenly features plenty of QB ammo.
From the Colts’ perspective, Gardner brings an accomplished starter at a young age. Indianapolis received a player signed through 2030, though New York’s contract structure on the July extension limited the Gardner dead money to $19.75MM — far less than the Dolphins just took on for Ramsey or what the Saints absorbed upon trading Marshon Lattimore last year.
The Colts, after building from within for years, now have three high-cost DB contracts added this year in the Gardner accord and those given to Charvarius Ward and Camryn Bynum. Tied for the best record in the AFC (at 7-2), the Colts made a move and watched the Patriots, Broncos, Bills and Chiefs hold off on buyer’s trades.
Dallas’ stance is a bit more complicated. The Cowboys went from trading Micah Parsons for two first-rounders ahead of his age-26 season to acquiring Williams, who will turn 28 in December. The team still has three first-round picks between 2026 and ’27, but sending the higher-value ’27 first to the Jets strips away a prime asset for a player not on Parsons’ level.
Jerry Jones harped on the team’s run defense upon acquiring Kenny Clark in the Parsons trade, but that unit has faceplanted this season. Williams joins Clark and Osa Odighizuwa in a suddenly pricey Dallas D-tackle corps, and the longtime Jet had angled for a contract rework — something the Cowboys may now have to navigate.
The Cowboys also added Logan Wilson, after trying to grab Quincy Williams from the Jets in a two-brother trade, but the younger Williams brother represents the obvious talking point here. Dallas’ interior D-line is well stocked. Will Quinnen Williams help transform a sub-.500 Cowboys team in the way Amari Cooper did after the team surrendered a first at the 2018 deadline?
Deadline day also brought two wide receiver moves. The two wideouts most likely to be traded were, in fact, dealt. The Jaguars gave up fourth- and sixth-round picks for the Raiders’ Jakobi Meyers, a deal that may have crystalized the Rashid Shaheed market. Shaheed cost the Seahawks fourth- and fifth-round choices.
Meyers will help the Jags replace Travis Hunter and provide some stability in a receiving corps also dealing with a Brian Thomas Jr. injury. Shaheed joins a surging Seattle squad, reuniting with 2024 New Orleans OC Klint Kubiak, and will be an interesting complementary piece for All-Pro candidate Jaxon Smith-Njigba. With Smith-Njigba, Shaheed, Cooper Kupp and rookie Tory Horton, the Seahawks look to have one of the NFL’s best receiving cadres.
Jacksonville also engaged in a cornerback swap, prying contract-year cover man Greg Newsome from the Browns in October. Newsome has started two games with the Jags and has incentive to perform well this season, as he is uncontracted for 2026. Tyson Campbell is signed through 2028, giving the Browns some cost certainty — albeit now carrying two upper-crust CB contracts, along with Denzel Ward‘s — at a premium position.
Cleveland did not aggressively sell, keeping its guards, David Njoku and other rumored trade assets, though they did do Joe Flacco a solid — to Mike Tomlin‘s chagrin — by trading the demoted QB within the division. Flacco immediately became the Bengals’ starter and has rejuvenated Cincy’s offense.
The Jags also collected fifth- and sixth-round picks from the deadline’s top buyer. The trade-happy Eagles finished their 2025 by making 12 trades (excluding pick-for-pick transactions). In-season, Philadelphia made four. Following the Bigsby move, the defending champs acquired cornerbacks Michael Carter II and Jaire Alexander during their bye week, before sending the Dolphins a third-rounder for Jaelan Phillips. Philly now has Brandon Graham and Phillips in an edge-rushing corps housing Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt. Carter and Alexander provide potentially better answers compared to Adoree’ Jackson and Kelee Ringo alongside Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
The Rams quietly bolstered their CB contingent by obtaining Titans contract-year slot player Roger McCreary, while Tennessee also sent Dre’Mont Jones to Baltimore. The Ravens added Jones and Alohi Gilman, the latter becoming an immediate starter and helping maximize All-Pro Kyle Hamilton. Jones, who has 4.5 sacks this season, replaces Odafe Oweh — traded to the Chargers in the Gilman swap — in Baltimore’s OLB rotation. A former 3-4 defensive end, Jones gives Baltimore some pass rush options after Gilman supplied them with a deep safety. Gilman is also in a contract year.
While the Dolphins did not dive into full sales mode, retaining Jaylen Waddle and Bradley Chubb, after parting with longtime GM Chris Grier, they did obtain a third-round pick for Phillips — who is in his fifth-year option season. The Chargers also added two more trades before the 3pm buzzer Tuesday, most notably adding Trevor Penning — a three-position starter for the Saints — for a late 2027 draft choice. A contract-year blocker, Penning will be an option for a battered Bolts’ tackle corps.
The Steelers’ long-rumored wide receiver quest did not lead to a deal, but the team did add veteran safety Kyle Dugger, who had fallen out of favor with the Patriots despite signing an eight-figure-per-year extension as a transition-tagged player in 2024.
Who do you think did the best job at this year’s deadline? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
Da Bears. Oh wait…I mistakenly thought the question was “Who farted best at trade deadline?”
That seems to me to definitely be the Steelers.
Ehh, we weren’t gonna make the playoffs this year anyways now that everyones hurt, might not have anyways cuz our strong division. No point in buying right now if it’s gonna cost us future assets
Have to disagree that it was inevitable that the Steelers don’t compete this year. The team has some deep flaws, but they led their division until their roster holes burned them into the hold that they’re currently in. The other AFCN teams have also disappointed this year. There’s a very good chance that the Steelers could have made the playoffs, and given the fact that there hasn’t been a truly dominant team in the AFC (or even the NFL) this year, I wouldn’t take it for granted that a Steelers team with a half decent offense would have been hopeless in competition.
I was talking about the bears, or that’s what my reply was intended for
Oh, I apologize.
The Jets just strapped on turbo boosters to their rebuild.
Hard to rate a trade of skilled for picks until a couple of years after those drafts. In the meantime, they’ll be without a couple of their most skilled players, and hope the guy who thought Justin Fields was a starter doesn’t mess up the picks.
Dont sleep on Mazi and Mitchell either, think theyre low-key gonna end up being great value for the Jets
Goodell: “With their first pick in the 2026 draft the Jets select Buzz Lightyear…link to youtube.com
I’m still puzzled by the Jets not trading Hall, otherwise they nailed it as a seller.
Not trading Quincy is even weirder, considering they traded his brother and were about to bench him.
They could tag Hall if they don’t extend him. As for Quincy, I’m not sure what happened there. When he’s on, he has an incredible motor. His play just hasn’t been there this year.
Yeah, there’s a path to Hall remaining a Jet even if it’s unlikely, and I can see not wanting to lower your price just to see him blow up down the stretch for a Super Bowl contender. But with Williams, they at least could have gotten *something* for him. Heck, Saleh needs another linebacker right now.
Maybe either Dallas wanted Quincy as a throw in or acted like they were doing the Jets a favor in taking him too and wanted to drop the first to a second.
Good point! I forgot about him. Definitely weird.
Cooper would’ve been pissed had the Jets immediately traded the RB who won a game for them going into their bye.
A reminder that NFL clubs do not pander to the mouth-breathing incels that populate fan forums and talk radio.
Really throwing some stones in glass houses there Chucky.
I’m a little disappointed that he didn’t bad mouth the tabloids this time 🙂
The Jets, but if I’m a fan my hope has to be that the front office and coach have the knowledge, experience and foresight to really put together a talented group.
That’s a big hope
Considering the GM and coach thought Justin Fields was a solid QB, Jets fans had better pray for a miracle.
Its easy to say the Jets, but they could still screw up the picks, or blow it on coaching up who they aquire. Hard to give up the talent they did but the Cowboys overpayed for Williams.
From the reports I have read, the Ravens got a good deal on Gilman, while Oweh has helped the Chargers.
I agree with all of that, except to add that that I don’t think that the Williams price tag was as bad as the Gardner tag. Gardner is a great player in his young prime, but that was a huge trade for Indy’s future draft prospects.
I’m tempted to say the Jets, but you have to ask what they’re left with right now. Two of those three firsts might go to fill the gaps left by two foundational players (Williams isn’t the youngest anymore, but he’s not old yet, either), and even if not, there’s not much long term talent to bet on being there in four years or so when these picks can be properly evaluated. It doesn’t feel like a move up, but it is good ammunition for a reset. In that respect, it’s tempting to pick New York.
I actually might pick the Chargers, though. No big moves to deprive them of needed draft capitol, but they made a few cheap deals for needed pieces or former tempting talents. Gilman’s been good in Baltimore, but L.A. did at least get something for a contract year player in that regard, so it’s not that bad. As for Owen, all of his sacks this year have come in a Chargers uniform, so they did get some production out of it, too.
The definite losers for me are the Steelers. No team in the National Football League has an obvious a position need as Pittsburgh does at WR2. The secondary looked better with Ramsey at safety this past week, but that front seven has been way too up and down for me to trust them to keep the games low scoring. Baltimore getting Jackson back and Cincy find great offense with Flacco (albeit, in the face of an awful defense) means that Pittsburgh is in even narrower straits in their division. Rodgers has played well, but at his age, you can’t expect him to make big plays to compensate for the lack of separation downfield. Marquez Valdez-Scantling is not enough to alleviate those issues, and it feels like the Steelers let some decent options pass them by in this trade deadline.
*Oweh, not Owen. Damn autocorrect to the underworld.
Given Pittsburgh’s situation, I’m surprised they didn’t mortgage a bit of the future to take a chance on trying for a SB title, too. To me, the team is too flawed to win it. The moves they’ve made seem to suggest they believe differently though, up until holding pat at the deadline. It’s just an odd time to stand down.
Agree, 100%.
Not sure how the Jets fared the best. Tearing down your roster for picks isn’t a good thing. They had (past tense) a good defense, and had playmakers on offense. Two seasons ago AR15 was the missing piece. Now this?
True, but both Williams have disappointed this year, with Quinnen disgruntled and getting older. His brother has been hurt. They still get a talented receiver but losing Gardner was tough, so those two first rounders have to make an impact.
They didn’t disappoint under Saleh, but did under this new HC? What changed? My guess is the new HC doesn’t work out and all this is for nothing. He can go back to being an average DC.
Jets are in full tank mode…aiming for yet another QB flop in the 1st round
Howie Szn
Patriots ownership won this trade deadline by not making moves and keeping their cash.
Wonder if Indy tried to push ARichardson on NYJ instead of one of those 1sts
Not sure why so many Cowboys votes…unless they’re from Cowboys fans
Yeah, that’s gotta be Cowboys fans that are excited about adding a big name player after subtracting such a big name earlier.
While the Jets fared the best, they will still pull a Jets and completely mess up their haul. Either by taking an overrated QB, firing someone too quickly, or some other typical way. They keep doing it.
Johnson is the common denominator. Anyone who tells his quarterback that he “f’ing sucks” is making things much harder on anyone’s development.
Colts just got one of the best, if not the best corner in football and gave up an offensive piece that hasn’t panned out for them.
The number one scoring offense just got significantly better on defense by making a huge move. Set themselves up to be a very tough team to beat.
285 Cowboys fans cucked to within an inch of their lives.