Well, that was kind of disappointing, wasn’t it?
Heading into Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, we expected a flurry of moves spurred by championship contenders recognizing their flaws and mediocre teams looking to the future. What we got instead was a small spattering of trades that may or may not have had any bearing on the 2023 season, with everyone turtling and mostly playing it safe. Go figure.
But it wasn’t a completely uneventful day.
A Super Bowl 58 favorite added a high-upside pass-rusher. At the same time, the league’s worst marquee team metaphorically drove circles around in the parking lot while a superstar receiver in Nevada resigned himself to an aimless future. And we can’t forget the smart, understated move from a western New York squad addressing a major defensive need.
Let’s break down For The Win’s the winners and losers of the 2023 NFL trade deadline.
Winners: The 49ers keeping their Super Bowl hopes alive
Before Tuesday’s deadline, the 49ers were in shambles. They had lost three straight games with Brock Purdy and a vaunted defense looking pedestrian. They resembled a shell of a team many thought would contend for Super Bowl 58.
That may no longer be a concern.
With Chase Young in the fold, San Francisco has an embarrassment of defensive game-wreckers. If everyone stays healthy, I struggle to consider who will be able to block a front seven of Fred Warner, Javon Hargrave, Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, Arik Armstead and Young. I’m not even sure the rival Philadelphia Eagles are prepared for this onslaught.
Questions will remain about Purdy and a secondary that really could’ve used another viable starter on the boundary. But the 49ers are betting that they’ll be much better when Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel return from injury and that Young will be enough to sand over their defensive issues. After all, who needs to cover receivers if the quarterback never has time to throw the ball?
I don’t blame them in the slightest.
The Lions, by adding a reliable playmaker for Jared Goff
For the most part, these Lions were complete. They had great offensive and defensive lines. A running back duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs could be considered the ultimate smash-and-dash pairing in pro football. And they arguably possessed the league’s top slot receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown, with above-average quarterback Jared Goff slinging the ball to him. Oh, and head coach Dan Campbell has been pushing all the right buttons.
But what this team was still missing was consistent playmaking on the outside. In his return from a gambling suspension, Jameson Williams has been a disappointment so far. The former first-round pick has just six receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown on 15 targets in four games. That isn’t going to cut it for a Lions team vying for the NFC North title and then some.
Trading for Donovan Peoples-Jones won’t completely fix the Lions’ lack of outside receivers. But I can’t complain about a contender adding a guy who’s shown he can catch over 60 passes and nearly 840 yards in a functional offense. And especially for the princely sum of a sixth-round draft pick. He’ll be a great safety valve for Goff and an excellent complement to St. Brown.
I will always remember this Donovan Peoples-Jones walkoff TD against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Do great things, DPJ. #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/8cHBzp2wTE
— Nick Pedone (@NickPedone12) October 31, 2023
Shoutout to Detroit general manager Brad Holmes for capitalizing and helping his roster with a shrewd deal.
The Seahawks, by finishing Pete Carroll's second successful rebuild
We never doubted Pete Carroll. (Or at least we shouldn’t have.)
He traded Russell Wilson — the finest quarterback in Seattle’s franchise history — and, in less than two years, already has the NFC West leader and a bona fide Super Bowl contender. After adding stalwart defensive lineman Leonard Williams at this deadline, I struggle to look at this Seattle group and see much fault in its grand plan.
The #Giants got a two and a five for Leonard Williams, who is now a member of the Seahawks
Williams had 22.5 sacks, 204 pressures, and 38 tackles for a loss with the Giants since Wk 9 of the 2019 season.
He's still just 29 years old.
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) October 30, 2023
Already the NFL’s finest cornerback pairing, Devon Witherspoon and Tariq Woolen should continue wreaking havoc on the back end. If Williams lives up to his rental end of the bargain, it’s hard to see how that corner duo doesn’t force a lot more takeaways in a critical stretch run. That defense, led by Bobby Wagner, is airtight now. The only real question mark remaining for Seattle is whether Geno Smith stays consistent enough to elevate this team to championship-contending status. He has shown he can be alarmingly streaky at times, and Seattle is betting a lot on its investment in him.
The good news is that the Seahawks, with Williams in the fold, are so talented that it might not even matter.
The Bills, by papering over their secondary
Trade addition Rasul Douglas probably won’t be the medicine that cures all for an ailing Buffalo defense. On a struggling Green Bay Packers defense, Douglas allowed a 109.0 passer rating in coverage this year. But I have a hunch that the dip in production had a lot more to do with Green Bay’s ineptitude than Douglas’s individual prowess on the boundary.
The Bills seem to believe the same thing:
Rasul Douglas did a lot in a relatively short time with the #Packers, but nothing greater than this… pic.twitter.com/c83i4H9SId
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) October 31, 2023
At his best, Douglas is a lead-by-example leader who can handle tough one-on-one assignments and provide great run support for 60 minutes. You will find fewer better pure Yeoman than the veteran cornerback. He won’t seamlessly replace the injured Tre’Davious White, but he doesn’t have to. He’s a solid starter on a Bills defense that needed more secondary talent to make a hopeful run at February’s Super Bowl. Head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane know exactly what they’re getting into.
Josh Harris, by putting his fingerprints all over the sports teams he owns
Josh Harris owns three major American sports franchises: the Washington Commanders, the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils. He spent Tuesday giving a greenlight on respective new eras in Washington and Philadelphia. The 76ers traded formerly disgruntled star James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers. Meanwhile, the Commanders offloaded their edge pass-rushers in Sweat and Young, leaving themselves more flexibility for a balanced roster down the line.
Whether all of these moves work out is a different story altogether. But at least Harris is starting some of his teams off with a relatively clean slate.
Harris is, you guessed it, trusting the process:
Trust the process 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/v8FP79UWxO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 31, 2023
Losers: The Bears, whose plan is entirely incoherent (or just nonexistent?)
The Bears began Tuesday by angering their No. 1 cornerback, Jaylon Johnson, into a trade request following failed contract negotiations. After apparently fielding calls all day, he ended up staying in what is probably a fractured relationship for the time being.
Stay tuned on whether the Bears can actually repair it.
They also traded for Sweat. He’s a good player who fills a massive need, but why is a 2-6 team surrendering a second-round draft pick for a second-tier 27-year-old defensive end who needs a handsome contract extension? Sweat has all the leverage in the world in any negotiations with the Bears now. Should a deal fall through and he leaves in free agency this March, Chicago is going to look mighty silly after a senseless deal.
Montez Sweat will likely have strong leverage in any extension talks with the Bears. As one league source noted, unless it’s at his price, why make a long-term commitment to a team with such an unclear future — at HC, at QB, with defensive scheme, etc.?
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) October 31, 2023
The cherry on top of all this is the 49ers undercutting the Bears and getting Young at a cheaper price — a younger player with a higher performance ceiling. I truly don’t know what direction this bumbling marquee franchise plans on heading. But Tuesday was a whirlwind that reeked of Chicago leaders not being on the same page with each other and with their players.
That doesn’t remotely bode well for whatever it is they have planned.
Davante Adams, who is stuck in the purgatory known as Las Vegas
Look, Davante Adams signed up for this. He wanted to go to Las Vegas so he could play with his college friend, Derek Carr. The Raiders were under no obligation to keep Carr around or do anything else to keep Adams happy. This is just the business, and Adams is no more immune than any bog-standard superstar.
That said, it really sucked to watch Adams play out his Raiders frustrations on Monday night. It’s extremely obvious Las Vegas is no longer in a position to accommodate the arguably top receiver in the sport. Adams is 30, and the Raiders need a full-scale rebuild (with a new quarterback), putting both parties on different timelines. Why the Raiders didn’t even entertain trading Adams — who they seemingly (and easily) could’ve gotten a first-round draft pick for — is beyond me.
The league office should just step in and rule that Davante Adams is a free agent, and the Raiders get the 33rd pick in the draft. No financial ramifications for Vegas. No trade necessary. Just do what’s right for the sport.
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) October 31, 2023
Not even considering a trade boggles the mind, and it makes me feel even sorrier for the future Hall of Famer.
The Vikings, who settled and played it way too safe at quarterback
The Vikings were in dire straits after Kirk Cousins’ season-ending Achilles injury. After trading for former Arizona Cardinals’ backup Josh Dobbs, they remain in dire straits. Nothing meaningful has changed in the Twin Cities.
Dobbs is a serviceable player who might be elevated by Jordan Addison, Brian Flores’ sound defense and Justin Jefferson when he returns. But he was Arizona’s backup for a good reason. In 2023, Dobbs has averaged less than six yards per pass attempt. That puts him in the “elite” company of Zach Wilson (6.1) and Daniel Jones (5.9). Ultimately, giving up just a sixth-round pick won’t hurt the Vikings much. But it’s apparent this organization is already looking ahead to 2024 while holding a longshot lottery ticket on Dobbs it hopes might pay off.
Well, at least that scenario would be interesting:
we're getting a josh dobbs vs. taylor heinicke playoff game this year https://t.co/7WemynIH4C
— KP (@KP_Show) October 31, 2023
All of us football lovers, for hoping this trade deadline wouldn't be "dead"
I gotta be candid. I was hoping for so much more from this trade deadline.
A bevy of contenders could’ve taken bigger, more calculated swings. Meanwhile, squads that are definitely going nowhere over-evaluated their chances of turning 2023 into something fruitful. As a result, the biggest move of the day might have been the 49ers trading for a pass rusher with serious past knee issues. (Deep sigh)
Why didn’t the Titans trade DeAndre Hopkins and Derrick Henry? Rookie Will Levis is promising, but I’d be willing to bet he isn’t saving their season. Why did the mediocre Broncos stand pat on guys like Jerry Jeudy and Justin Simmons? Betting on a mid-30s Russell Wilson is foolhardy. Why didn’t the Chiefs go after another receiver for Patrick Mahomes with a golden chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions? Kansas City won’t get chances like this all the time.
I thought we were long past the days of NFL teams being timid and not seeing the forest for the trees with midseason improvements. I guess I was wrong. This whole deadline felt like a giant missed opportunity. For their fanbases’ sake, I hope the teams that neglected to participate meaningfully don’t regret it.
