Copyright The Ringer
For once, the NFL’s trade deadline delivered. The league didn’t collectively execute more trades on Tuesday than it has in recent years (in 2022, a record 12 players were moved in 10 total deadline trades), but boy, did Tuesday’s deals move the needle. We throw around the word “blockbuster” a lot when it comes to sports moves, but we got two that qualify, both involving the New York Jets, who dealt their two best defensive players, cornerback Sauce and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, to the Colts and Cowboys, respectively. In this year’s trade deadline period (we’ll include a slew of deals made in the last week), several Super Bowl contenders fortified their rosters, a couple of quality wide receivers found new homes where they might be even more productive, and a few teams made it clear they’re already focusing on 2026. These are the winners and losers of the 2025 NFL trade deadline. Winner: The Jerry Jones Content Machine Diante Lee: Every Cowboys fan had to have awoken with a knot in their stomachs on Tuesday morning after Dallas’s two-score loss to a bad Cardinals team that was playing with backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett on Monday Night Football. Combine the team’s terrible defensive effort with Jerry Jones’s vague statement earlier Monday that he’d already agreed to a trade, while declining to reveal any details beyond it being a move that would “address some of the things that have been our shortcomings,” and you had to know Tuesday was going to be a very interesting day in the DFW. There’s been only one shortcoming in Dallas this year: the entire defense, which is on pace to be one of the worst we’ve ever seen. So when I woke up this morning to see that the Cowboys had traded for Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson, I had a sinking feeling that Jerry had sold us a false bill of goods, and he was counting on an off-ball player who had been benched by the second-worst defense in the league to fix Dallas’s problem. Only Jones was far from finished. Later Tuesday, he made a blockbuster deal to trade for Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The Cowboys are sending New York a 2026 second-rounder and a 2027 first-rounder along with defensive tackle Mazi Smith, whom Jones drafted in the first round in 2023. Now that we’ve passed the deadline, we assess all of Dallas’s big 2025 moves in the aggregate. Jones essentially traded edge rusher Micah Parsons and Smith for Williams, defensive tackle Kenny Clark, and a first-round pick. We may have mocked Jones for the Parsons trade in August (and were justified in doing so), but now it is possible that the net return helped Dallas ultimately break even. And if you’re considering the contracts, there’s an argument that Dallas might be the winners in the end. Jones said last week that one player alone wouldn’t fix this defense, and that’s probably right, but getting better players was the only way to address Dallas’s defensive issues, and Williams is a damn good step in the right direction. He’s consistently one of the best run defenders in football, and he thrives as an interior pass rusher when he’s able to get one-on-one opportunities, something he should be able to get in Dallas. Big picture, the trade for Williams makes sense given the Cowboys’ timeline. This is a team with a championship-caliber offense, and fans were (rightfully) mad at Dallas for trading away Parsons for future picks because there was a real opportunity to compete in the NFC this season. Quarterback Dak Prescott doesn’t have time to wait on roster development. That was the entire reason why the Cowboys traded for George Pickens in the offseason, and why getting an impact player like Williams is a justifiable move. Jones is 83 years old, and acknowledged in a radio interview on Tuesday that with his age comes increased urgency. “My immediate tomorrows are a big thing to me,” Jones said. “I am supremely responsible for where we are right now. There is no question about that. I accept that. That doesn't deter me from wanting to get it done and get it done now, this year.” Jones’s words and actions are aligned now, and with Williams and Wilson in the fold, Dallas has a real chance to be a competitor in the NFC playoff race—and it means I won’t be scrambling to change the channel every time this defense takes the field. Winner: Yet Another Jets Rebuild Anthony Dabbundo: The Jets used the 2025 trade deadline to arm themselves with more future draft capital than any other franchise. Their fire sale is a signal that the team has turned its attention to 2026 and beyond. Within a couple of hours on Tuesday, the Jets traded their best two defensive players—cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts, and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams—for a haul of future picks. The Jets now own five first-round picks and three second-rounders in the next two drafts. All of this draft capital is important because the Jets are still searching for a franchise quarterback. Justin Fields is under contract through 2026 (and will carry a $23 million cap hit next year), but he’s clearly not the solution, and his hold on the current starting job is tenuous. The new front office, led by first-year general manager Darren Mougey, now has plenty of flexibility to make a QB splash, whether that’s in the 2026 or 2027 draft or on the trade market should a veteran starter become available. It came at the cost of unloading two of the team’s most recognizable and productive defensive players. But while Williams and Gardner were excellent individual players, it’s not as if the Jets had a good defense with them this season. The Jets are 25th in EPA per drive allowed through the first eight games of the Aaron Glenn era. While you don’t want to make a habit of trading away elite players at premium positions while they are in their primes, the return sets the Jets up to build a much deeper roster and to invest more draft capital into an offense that has struggled with the forward pass in a handful of games this season. And by trading Gardner and Williams, the Jets are able to further reset their salary books. Gardner signed a four-year, $120.4 million contract extension just four months ago, but because of the timing of the contract (it was finalized after June 1) and the way it was structured (with the new money kicking in next season), the Jets will take on only about $20 million in total dead money in 2025 and 2026. Williams, meanwhile, is in the third year of a four-year, $96 million extension. Dallas will take on the remainder of Williams’s salary, while the Jets will absorb dead-money hits of $13.24 million for the remainder of 2025 and $9.8 million in 2026, according to Over the Cap. The Jets will enter the offseason with a lot of cap space, plenty of draft capital, and an opportunity for this new regime to build a roster as they see fit. Not only did the Jets acquire draft capital, but the additions of Mazi Smith from Dallas and Adonai Mitchell from the Colts were prudent moves. Smith was a former first-round draft pick who simply hadn’t worked out his first two years in Dallas. Mitchell is a talented wide receiver who had been the odd man out in a crowded WR room in Indianapolis. Between his drops, penalties, and a costly goal line fumble, it seemed that the Colts had grown tired of Mitchell halfway into his second season. But he was a second-round pick for a reason (notably his speed and route-running ability), and he remains excellent at creating separation. Taking chances on potential reclamation projects as trade throw-ins is a solid way of doing business. And now both are a part of yet another Jets rebuild. Losers: The (Non-Colts) AFC Contenders Steven Ruiz: While a few NFC teams swung big trades, the Colts were the only AFC playoff contender that even tried to get meaningfully better at the trade deadline. The Ravens, Chargers, and Jaguars were able to address their injury concerns with some last-second deals, but Dre'Mont Jones (who is going to Baltimore for a fifth-round pick), Trevor Penning (who’s headed to Los Angeles for a sixth-rounder), and Jakobi Meyers (who was traded for a fourth and a sixth) probably won’t swing the AFC playoff race. Despite plenty of rumors that the Chiefs, Bills, Patriots, and Broncos could be active at the deadline, all four teams stood pat. The inactivity from New England and Denver makes some sense. Both teams are still bringing along young quarterbacks who have yet to hit their respective primes. It’s still too early in the process to mortgage the future. Both teams are probably still a productive offseason—and perhaps another year of quarterback development—away from true Super Bowl contention. The Broncos reportedly called Miami about Jaylen Waddle, but Sean Payton told reporters the team decided it was content with its current group of pass catchers. That was probably the prudent decision. While Waddle would have added some juice to the Broncos’ passing game, getting receivers open downfield hasn’t been a big issue for Denver. (They’re getting open; Bo Nix just can’t consistently connect on those deep balls.) The Patriots, meanwhile, had been linked to A.J. Brown because of the Mike Vrabel connection, but that never seemed like a realistic target, and any other trades New England could have made would have been to add depth. It’s a little more puzzling for Kansas City and Buffalo, two teams with annual Super Bowl expectations and a number of glaring holes on their rosters heading into the second half of the season. The Chiefs could have used an edge rusher, and there were several players thought to be available, including Jaelan Phillips (who wound up in Philadelphia), Trey Hendrickson, and Jermaine Johnson. If Kansas City doesn’t get any in-house improvements from its pass rushers, it will be up to Steve Spagnuolo to scheme up pressure once again. That didn’t turn out well for the defense last postseason. The Chiefs also could have used an upgrade at running back, but they’re heading into the stretch run with Kareem Hunt and an oft-injured Isaiah Pacheco. The Bills were reportedly in the market for a defensive tackle and a field-stretching receiver to unlock a dormant deep passing game. They ended up with neither, sitting back and watching as Dallas pulled off its blockbuster trade for Quinnen Williams and Seattle swooped in for Rashid Shaheed. The price for a player like Williams was way too steep for the Bills, but Seattle was able to land Shaheed (who was exactly what Buffalo’s pass game needed) for two day-three picks. Buffalo could have easily afforded that and thrown in an extra pick for good measure. The Bills and Chiefs are still considered the favorites in the AFC, but it would have been nice to see some sense of urgency from two teams who are currently looking up at first place in their respective divisions. Winner: Seahawks Receiver Depth Danny Heifetz: The Seahawks obliterated Washington 38-14 on Sunday, then won again in much subtler fashion on Tuesday when they sent fourth- and fifth-round picks to the Saints for receiver Rashid Shaheed. The trade reunites Shaheed with Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who was in the same role with the Saints last season. New Orleans gets a good return on Shaheed, who is set to become a free agent after this year and was unlikely to return to the team’s zombie cap situation. But for the Seahawks, this move helps them rise to the highest level of NFC contenders. In his four NFL seasons, Shaheed has gone from an unheralded, undrafted free agent to one of the league's premier deep threats. He played well for the Saints last year before a season-ending meniscus injury—he was essentially tied for seventh in the NFL in yards per route run with Cincinnati wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. And under Kubiak in 2024, Shaheed added to his route tree, proving himself capable of running underneath patterns rather than just acting as a deep-threat speedster. Seattle paid up in part because it didn't have many other options. Its offense is humming with Sam Darnold at quarterback, but the Seahawks’ receivers are dropping like flies. Just this week, Cooper Kupp (heel), Jake Bobo (Achilles), and Dareke Young (quad) all missed the team’s Monday-night matchup with the Commanders. Rookie receiver Tory Horton has been a touchdown machine, playing mostly in three-receiver sets and now stepping into two-receiver sets to replace Kupp. But Shaheed will provide the team with a more experienced option, and far more depth for a Seattle offense that clearly excels when throwing from two–tight end sets under play-action, no matter how much head coach Mike Macdonald says he wants to run the ball. Shaheed makes one of the league’s most dangerous passing attacks even better. Losers: The Untraded Lindsay Jones: This year’s trade deadline is notable for the marquee players who probably should have been traded but weren’t. That list starts with Jets running back Breece Hall, who has arguably been the team’s most productive offensive player this season and is on the final year of his rookie contract. The Jets got a massive return for Gardner and Williams, so why did they seem to be sticklers for trade value when it came to Hall? Are the Jets really going to re-sign him to a much more expensive contract after this season? That feels like it would be an unwise use of resources for a new regime on the cusp of a total rebuild. For his part, Hall seemed quite unhappy throughout the day—with multiple now-deleted posts on X, including one after the 4 p.m. ET deadline in which he said that he was “happy for [Williams and Gardner] but man im sick rn.” Of course, Hall wasn’t the only player who might have been expecting a trade call that didn’t come. Other big names staying put include Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle, and two Saints: receiver Chris Olave and running back Alvin Kamara. In the case of Hendrickson, the Bengals were reportedly holding out for a first-round pick in return for a player who will turn 31 years old next month and is on an expiring contract. For comparison, when edge rusher Von Miller was traded to the Rams in 2021, it cost Los Angeles just a second-rounder and third-rounder (while Denver paid part of Miller’s remaining salary). Even with Hendrickson, who led the league in sacks last season, the Bengals are last in defensive DVOA and falling further and further out of playoff contention. It is extremely unlikely that Hendrickson will be a Bengal in 2026, so it feels like organizational malpractice not to get something—even a second- or third-round pick—for him that the team could use to fill the many holes it’ll have on the defensive depth chart next year. Winner: Trevor Lawrence Danny Kelly: No team was more badly in need of reliable veteran pass catching help at the deadline than the Jaguars, so the decision to send fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2026 to the Raiders in exchange for Jakobi Meyers was an absolute no-brainer. Sitting at 5-3, Jacksonville is still within striking distance of the 7-2 Colts in the AFC South—but they’re not going to catch up with Indy or compete for a wild-card spot without more consistent play from the passing offense under Trevor Lawrence. For the most part, head coach and play caller Liam Coen’s passing attack has operated in fits and starts this year; Lawrence has flashed his immense upside at times, with precision throws and big plays, but he’s stumbled badly at others. He also hasn’t been helped out much by his teammates, who can’t stop dropping the ball, committing procedural penalties, and giving away untimely turnovers. Now that unit is dealing with a rash of injuries that could erase any hope for progress in the second half of the year. Rookie receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter is on the injured reserve with a knee injury he suffered in practice last week, and his timeline to return is murky; 2024 first-round pick Brian Thomas Jr. is dealing with an ankle injury and could miss time as well. Dyami Brown (concussion) and Tim Patrick (groin) are also banged up, and starting tight end Brenton Strange has been on the IR since Week 5, with no clear return date in sight. An experienced, sure-handed playmaker like Meyers is exactly what the doctor ordered for this reeling Jaguars passing game. Meyers has been relatively quiet in the disastrous Raiders offense this year, but he has a strong history of consistent production (four straight seasons with 800-plus yards, including a 1,000-yard campaign last year) and should have no trouble hitting the ground running with the Jags as he reunites with former Raiders wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett. Meyers can line up on the outside and in the slot, has strong hands, and brings veteran savvy as a route runner that will give Lawrence a target who will get open and secure the ball in high-leverage situations. He can operate as the team’s no. 1 in the short term as Hunter and Thomas get healthy, then slot in as a complementary piece in the longer term. Winner: The Eagles’ Super Bowl Aspirations Sheil Kapadia: The Eagles’ big move was trading a 2026 third-round pick to Miami for edge defender Jaelan Phillips on Monday morning. If I’m general manager Howie Roseman, that's a deal I'm doing every time. The Eagles have a chance to get back to the Super Bowl, and their pass rush has been mediocre by just about every metric. Phillips gives them a quality starter, and he played for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in Miami, so the scheme fit should be relatively seamless. Phillips is in the last year of his deal and has a lengthy injury history, so this very well could be a short-term situation. Regardless, it's a swing worth taking. Elsewhere, the Eagles added corner Jaire Alexander and nickel Michael Carter II. These moves are essentially dart throws. I'm sure Roseman would have loved to add a quality starting outside corner, but none of those guys got moved except Sauce Gardner, and that trade was quite expensive. For Philadelphia’s defense, the second corner spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell is probably the weakest part of the roster. The Eagles could now move Cooper DeJean outside full time and play Carter in the slot. Or maybe Alexander, the former Packer and Raven, will be a pleasant surprise, but at this point in his career, that's highly unlikely. In other words, the Eagles don't have a great solution at CB2. But if you're reading this and thinking, "That's a trivial problem," well, I'd agree. This isn't a perfect team, but the Eagles still have the best roster in football and as good a chance as any NFC team to get to the Super Bowl.
