To top off our Monday coverage of Week 8, we have a quick look at where things stand with less than 24 hours left until the trade deadline.
• The Giants deserve credit for their creativity in offloading defensive lineman Leonard Williams—because in getting the return for him that they did, the devil was in the details.
On the surface, getting a 2024 second-rounder and ’25 fifth-rounder for Williams, a versatile and good-not-great player, seems like a masterstroke. And it is just in a way you may not realize. As part of the deal, the Giants agreed to knock the remainder of Williams’s base for ’23 down to the minimum (more than $9 million of the $10 million he has left in a contract year) and pay the difference in a signing bonus.
That essentially means the Giants bought higher picks, which, to me, is a creative and smart way to use cap space that you’ve already spent, and real money that you’ve budgeted to spend.
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In a lot of ways, this deal is set up like the Rams’ deal to land Von Miller in 2021, when the Broncos agreed to eat most of Miller’s remaining money for the year in exchange for Los Angeles sweetening the package going back to Denver—it wound up being ’22 second- and third-round picks. In case you’re scoring at home, the Broncos wound up with linebacker Nik Bonitto, center Luke Wattenberg and linebacker Drew Sanders with those selections.
• I’m a little surprised there hasn’t been more action on the pass rushers on the market, with Vikings edge Danielle Hunter, and Washington’s Montez Sweat and Chase Young as the biggest names. I think offering a second-rounder for any of those guys could get those teams to move. And to me, if Williams went for more than that, then my sense would be that Hunter, Sweat or Young would be a steal for the price.
The lukewarm interest at that level won’t help the Patriots move Josh Uche, either—though New England has had advanced talks on an Uche trade with a couple of teams over the past few weeks (Uche’s injury does make things more complicated now). New England has also had interest in safety Kyle Dugger.
• Jets coach Robert Saleh spoke the truth Monday when he candidly offered his team would love to find some help up front this week, but “no one is trading offensive linemen.” Bottom line: It’s hard to find them, and so teams that have them generally don’t give them away.
That said, one idea I’d support would be to call the Cardinals about D.J. Humphries. The soon-to-be 30-year-old (he hits that milestone in December) is under contract through 2025, and has stayed healthy this year after a rocky ’22. The key here? Arizona has its left tackle of the future, Paris Johnson Jr., playing on the right side now, which would give first-year GM Monti Ossenfort some flexibility to flip a true starter at the position.
Now, I wouldn't make a deal unless I was getting a really good return, if I were Ossenfort. But I think for a few teams, the Jets included, it’s worth making the phone call.
• It sounds like the Chiefs are planning to stand pat at the deadline, which follows their pattern in recent years to keep draft capital intact—knowing they’ll need cheap labor to fill out the roster around their more expensive stars. And, yes, the receiver position has come up for them. But for now, the plan is to bank on recent second-rounders Skyy Moore and Rashee Rice developing.
• We’ve mentioned in the past few weeks the availability of Terrace Marshall Jr. and Donte Jackson, but Brian Burns remains the most interesting name. Burns’s camp and the Panthers haven’t had any significant contract talks in about two months, and were far apart back then. With just 10 games left on his contract, it seems less likely that Carolina gets the kind of offer the Rams gave them in 2022 (’24 and ’25 first-round picks, along with a second-round selection). And if they do? I’d imagine—despite reluctance to listen much on Burns with other teams—they’d have to talk.
• The Titans playing Thursday night makes their position a tad more complicated in navigating the next 24 hours. But, again, they’re listening to offers on their contract-year guys, and there are a lot of good ones in that category. Though a lot of folks stay fixated on Derrick Henry and DeAndre Hopkins, defensive linemen Teair Tart and Denico Autry might be the more likely candidates to be moved before 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
• Philly GM Howie Roseman has been active on the phones, and my sense is it’s both to see whether there’s big game out there for him to hunt, and to look for some off-ball linebacker help. On the latter, both Minnesota’s Jordan Hicks (a former Eagle) and Denver’s Josey Jewell (who played for Philly DC Sean Desai’s mentor, Vic Fangio) could fit the bill.
