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With the 2025 NFL trade deadline set for Tuesday, Nov. 4, every new deal from here on out will shape the playoff chase or accelerate a rebuild. Movement really began in early October, nearly a month before the deadline, when the Cleveland Browns sent Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals in a rare in-division trade as part of Cincinnati's effort to stabilize their quarterback room, and that was just the start of what figures to be a busy few weeks. Expect fringe contenders like the Steelers and Buccaneers to explore upgrades, while teams stuck near the bottom, such as the Jets and Saints, weigh offers for veterans who could bring back draft capital. To help you track all the NFL trade deals ahead of the deadline, we'll be logging every move in one place with concise analysis highlighting who got better, who got future assets, and what it means for the season ahead. Whether it's a blockbuster involving a former Pro Bowler or a depth move that fills a key injury gap, this page will be your running guide through deadline season. Steelers add to secondary with Kyle Dugger (10/28) Steelers get: Kyle Dugger, seventh-round pick Pittsburgh takes dart throw on former standout After two straight weeks of watching Pittsburgh's defense get torched, Mike Tomlin and co. have seen enough. On the same day they signed former Commanders starting safety Darrick Forrest to the practice squad, the Steelers acquired former Patriots starting safety Kyle Dugger in a late-round pick swap. Dugger, 29, collected nine interceptions from 2021-23 and signed a four-year, $58 million extension in the 2024 offseason. However, he played through an ankle injury last season, underwent offseason surgery and was behind the eight ball to start this season under new coach Mike Vrabel. Pittsburgh really needs the secondary help, though, after Jordan Love threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns in Week 8, and Joe Flacco threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns in Week 7. Dugger has solid speed and ball production on his resume, and with DeShon Elliott week-to-week with a knee injury suffered against Green Bay, he could see the field sooner rather than later. Patriots get: sixth-round pick New England moves on, moves up in draft We could write similar things here as we did for the Keion White trade below, which happened just minutes before this one. Dugger wasn't in the plans for coach Mike Vrabel and inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr, who is calling plays in defensive coordinator Terrell Williams' absence. In fact, like White, Dugger was inactive in Week 8, with Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson as the team's top safeties. Perhaps New England is making moves to add to their current roster after their 6-2 start, or perhaps it is continuing to build for the future. It's never fun or easy to move on from players who were significant investments, but it appears New England has opted for better fits in Vrabel's eyes -- or at least future draft compensation. 49ers acquire Keion White from Patriots (10/28) 49ers get: Keion White, seventh-round pick San Francisco hopes to bolster defensive front Nearly every part of the 49ers' roster has been hit by injuries, and edge defender is no exception. San Francisco lost Nick Bosa (ACL) for the season in Week 3 and ranks 30th in the NFL in pressure rate since. It should be noted that this move comes immediately after the 49ers lost to the Texans 26-15 and failed to sack C.J. Stroud despite his penchant for taking sacks behind a poor offensive line. Bryce Huff, the team's sack leader, also missed the game. Houston also ran for 157 yards in the win White, a second-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2023, showed some promise in last year's five-sack campaign, but he had fallen somewhat out of favor in New England this season, playing just 40% of the team's defensive snaps. He has a 4% pressure rate, one of the worst rates of any defensive lineman, but he had a 11.4% rate last year, so the 49ers are hoping a change of scenery will do him good. Plus, at 285 pounds, he should be able to hold up more sturdily against the run. Patriots get: sixth-round pick New England can move on thanks to impactful offseason additions White simply didn't end up being a fit for the new regime in New England, and with upgrades around him -- the team signed big-name free agents Milton Williams and Harold Landry III and is getting strong production from smaller signees K'Lavon Chaisson and Khyiris Tonga -- he became expendable. The Patriots' much-improved pass rush and Drake Maye's leap to stardom has helped New England get off to a 6-2 start, and it now can go on the hunt for an addition before the deadline or simply pocket the extra pick for next season as GM Eliot Wolf and coach Mike Vrabel continue to build their roster. Titans send Roger McCreary to L.A. (10/27) Rams get: Roger McCreary, conditional sixth-round pick L.A. bolsters defense with veteran corner Los Angeles is building on its strength. Already, the Rams are one of the top defenses in the NFL and have held opposing quarterbacks to an 84.6 passer rating, which is the sixth-lowest in the NFL. Despite that, the Rams have been dealing with injuries to the unit, with Ahkello Witherspoon on injured reserve. Now, they buy in on a former second-round pick who can play both inside and outside, and that versatility should be a welcome addition for Sean McVay. McCreary is in the final year of his deal, so this is currently looked at as a pure rental for Los Angeles, but it comes at minimal cost. They get a starting-caliber corner while simply moving down one round in the draft as they get a sixth-rounder in return, along with McCreary, while shipping out a fifth. Titans get: Conditional fifth-round pick Tennessee's sell-off begins The Titans are actually getting back their own fifth-round pick in this deal, per NFL Media. The Rams had acquired it in the deal involving Ernest Jones IV, but now get that selection back in their draft cupboard. However, it remains to be seen what the conditional aspect of this trade is, so that fifth-rounder could be the floor depending on how McCreary plays. Really, this is a move aimed at bolstering their draft board as the rebuild continues around Cam Ward and whoever they eventually hire as head coach. McCreary was a pending free agent and not in their long-term plans, so attaching a mid-Day 3 pick to an expendable player to move up a round is a prudent move. Jaguars, Browns swap cornerbacks (10/9) Jags get: Greg Newsome, sixth-round pick Lanky corner in final year of rookie deal This is a win-now move. Jacksonville gets a solid cornerback in Newsome, who has graded out well this year, allowing just a 52% completion rate as the primary defender, on track to be the best of his career. Through five Weeks, he's Pro Football Focus' 33rd-ranked cornerback out of 85 who have played at least 150 defensive snaps; Campbell is 57th. Newsome is in the fifth and final year of his rookie deal, so he's set to be a free agent at the end of this season. There's a significant scheme adjustment here, too, as the Browns play the highest rate of man coverage in the league by far, while Jacksonville is 23rd, but clearly the Jaguars see plenty to like in Newsome. Jacksonville does take on a $19.5-million dead cap hit in 2026, but that's a problem for a few months from now. Browns get: Tyson Campbell, seventh-round pick Solid starter getting a fresh start This is a depth improvement for Cleveland. Campbell had a strong 2024 season after signing a four-year, $76.5 million extension, but the new Jaguars regime clearly wanted to move on from him after a slow start to this season. A significant chunk of that deal has already been paid, meaning the Browns will get to look at Campbell for nearly an entire season and evaluate how he fits both now and in the future. Campbell has had some injury issues, but when he's healthy, he's a starting-caliber cornerback, and one who's under team control well into the future. Trade grades, full analysis Harbaughs do defensive business (10/7) Chargers get: Odafe Oweh, seventh-round pick Athletic but inconsistent edge rusher This is a win-now move for Los Angeles. Oweh broke out last season with 10 sacks in 2024 -- double his previous career high – but the 2021 first-round pick is yet to record a sack this season. His pressure rate this season – 10.3% – is slightly lower than his 11.7% last year, but neither are particularly impressive numbers; he was at 17.2% in 2023. Perhaps time had simply run its course for Oweh in Baltimore. He was playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal and will be a free agent this offseason. In Los Angeles, he'll play under innovative defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and hope to provide pressure both before and after Khalil Mack returns from an elbow injury. Through five weeks, Los Angeles ranks 19th in pressure rate. Ravens get: Alohi Gilman, fifth-round pick Reliable safety, plus a better draft pick I see this as a dart throw. Things have already gone majorly off the rails for Baltimore (1-4), and trading away a former first-round pick certainly wasn't on the Bingo card one month ago. But Baltimore has better depth and youth on the edge than it does at safety, where ArDarius Washington tore his Achilles during the offseason and Kyle Hamilton has been dealing with a groin injury. That left undrafted rookie Reuben Lowery to play every defensive snap of a 44-10 Week 5 loss to the Texans. Trade grades, full analysis Flacco gets new job, stays in Ohio (10/7) Bengals get: Joe Flacco, sixth-round pick Aging pocket passer hoping to raise the floor Sometimes, the NFL is about optics, and the Bengals trailing 28-3 at halftime and Jake Browning getting booed off the field after his third interception in an eventual 37-24 loss to the Lions in Week 4 was bad, bad optics. Enter Flacco, whom Cleveland benched after Week 4. Through five weeks, Browning was dead last in expected points added per dropback. Flacco was third-worst. The Bengals are hoping Flacco can provide a similar boost to the one he provided Cleveland in 2023, when it ended up making the playoffs thanks to a late-season surge. The Bengals don't have near the defense the Browns do, and the offensive line is a mess, but for a cheap price, it's a move that makes sense. If Flacco recaptures the magic, great. If he doesn't, this season was probably lost the moment Joe Burrow got hurt anyway. It's a total dart throw. Browns get: Fifth-round pick A modest gain in draft position Flacco was no longer part of the plan in Cleveland, which moves up a round in the draft. That's solid business for a team that's had its eye on the future essentially since this season began.
