The NFL trade deadline used to be like any other Tuesday in the middle of the season. That’s no longer the case.
An expanded playoff field and evolving attitudes among general managers across the league have led to extended volleys of in-season trades the likes of which the NFL has never seen. 2022 saw All-Pros like Christian McCaffrey and Calvin Ridley swap out their lockers. With a vast middle class of teams competing for a spot in Super Bowl 58, 2023 promises more of the same.
We’ve already seen a handful of deals made in the lead-up to the October 31 trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET. More are likely to come. And when they do, we’ll have them all here — along with instants grades, reaction and analysis along the way.
The Bills add badly needed cornerback depth
The deal
- Buffalo Bills acquire: CB Rasul Douglas, 2024 fifth round pick
- Green Bay Packers acquire: 2024 third round pick
Douglas was found money as an in-season off-the-street pickup for the Packers in 2021. That earned him a three-year, $21 million contract, but he’s been unable to sustain the All-Pro caliber form he displayed in that breakthrough season. 2023 has been especially difficult, as he’s allowed a 109.0 passer rating in coverage while allowing nearly two-thirds of his targets to be caught.
At 29 years old, he’s got gas left in the tank. The question is whether another change of scenery can revitalize him for a Buffalo team in need of defensive reinforcements.
The grades
- Buffalo Bills: C+
- Green Bay Packers: A-
Wow, that’s a decent haul on a day where other starters were moved for Day 3 picks and pick swaps. It works for the Packers, since they’re 2-5 and Eric Stokes is primed to come off injured reserve in the next three weeks. Douglas was a great find, and he continued to pay off by delivering a Day 2 draft pick on his way out the door for a rebuilding team.
Things are less rosy for the Bills, who dealt a significant future asset — a swap that will likely cover around 50 picks right around the range where reliable prospects are vanishing from draft boards — for a veteran whose play has declined each of the last two seasons. But it’s easy to see why this was necessary. Tre’Davious White is out for the season. Dane Jackson is allowing a 120.8 passer rating in coverage. Kaiir Elam has been bad enough since being drafted 23rd overall in 2022 that he ended up in trade rumors this month.
So Buffalo overpaid for a player who has thrived after changing teams in the past and who, even in a diminished state, may be its best cornerback. With the Bears asking a first and third round pick for Jaylon Johnson, this was a viable alternative in a suddenly pricy market for defensive back help.
Jared Goff and the Lions rescue a useful wideout from the Browns' stagnant passing game
The deal
- Detroit Lions acquire: WR Donovan Peoples-Jones
- Cleveland Browns acquire: 2025 sixth round pick
Peoples-Jones had 834 receiving yards in 2022, but a 2023 breakthrough was not to be. He languished in a subpar passing offense and fell out of favor, recording only 18 targets through seven games despite playing 83 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. Now he’ll get the chance to revive his career playing in an offense that already performed a much larger resuscitation by pushing Jared Goff back to Pro Bowl form.
The grades
- Detroit Lions: B+
- Cleveland Browns: C-
The Lions get a 24-year-old wideout with a track record as a useful option further down the depth chart — and now he and Josh Reynolds get to settle in as WR3/4 types behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and, Detroit hopes, Jameson Williams. He also gets to be insurance in case Williams continues to have a muted impact on Sundays, having served as a solid deep threat his first two seasons in the league.
Cleveland, on the other hand, subtracts a weapon from an already undermanned offense. Peoples-Jones didn’t have much to do in the Browns’ playbook this fall, and dealing him gets something back for a pending free agent who clearly wasn’t in the team’s future. But it really wasn’t much, and it feels like he could have been more of an asset in the receiving game for a team with playoff aspirations than a late Day 3 pick 1.5 years from now.
Oh good, the 49ers pass rush got even scarier by adding Chase Young
The deal
- San Francisco 49ers acquire: EDGE Chase Young
- Washington Commanders acquire: 2024 third round pick
The Commanders didn’t exercise the fifth-year option of Young’s rookie contract, making it likely 2023 would be his last season with the team. Their teardown continued Tuesday as he joined fellow edge rusher Montez Sweat out the door in a deal with the Niners. It was the second straight season with a big name addition for San Francisco, who followed up 2022’s acquisition of Christian McCaffrey by adding the 2020 defensive rookie of the year.
The grades
- San Francisco 49ers: B+
- Washington Commanders: B
Young is capable of greatness, but his career has been derailed by injuries. While he’s performed well in seven games this fall, half his sack total (2.5) came against the awful offensive lines of the New York Giants and Chicago Bears.
His load just got lightened by joining another powerful defensive front. He’ll team with Nick Bosa (19 quarterback hits in eight games) to create the kind of edge pressure that will send passers right into the teeth of Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead in the middle of the line. If he can stay healthy, he’ll bring the kind of pressure that will reduce the lift done by an uneven cornerback rotation.
The Jacksonville Jaguars add a solid piece to the interior of their offensive line
The deal
- Jacksonville Jaguars acquire: OG Ezra Cleveland
- Minnesota Vikings acquire: 2024 sixth round pick
Trevor Lawrence’s 6.6 percent sack rate is a career high and his 2.0 seconds of pocket time per dropback are a career low. Travis Etienne’s 2.2 yards before contact per carry ranks 28th among 41 qualified runners and is down from 3.4 the year prior.
The Jaguars needed blocking help and get some here with Cleveland. He’s more polished in the zone run game than as a pocket protector, but he’s a capable starter who’ll bring relief for Jacksonville’s playoff run — and the price was right.
The grades
- Jacksonville Jaguars: B+
- Minnesota Vikings: C+
Cleveland was approaching free agency, and with a potential reset on the way the Vikings opted to sell him for draft assets. With Kirk Cousins out for the season, Minnesota recouped the sixth round pick it swapped away to acquire Joshua Dobbs — a meager return, but better than nothing.
The Jaguars get a half-season rental at a position of need at a low cost. This deal favors Jacksonville, but there’s something to like on both sides.
The Vikings get a 2023 starter to fill in for Kirk Cousins (just not a good one)
The deal
- Minnesota Vikings acquire: QB Joshua Dobbs, 2024 seventh round pick
- Arizona Cardinals acquire: 2024 sixth round pick
The good news: Minnesota found a starting quarterback to replace an injured Cousins. The bad news: it’s Dobbs, who was just benched for fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune following a five-game losing streak filled with poor performances and blowout defeats.
The grades
- Minnesota Vikings: C
- Arizona Cardinals: C-
The Vikings got a veteran quarterback, which they needed even if he isn’t the fix they’d hoped. The Cardinals got something for Dobbs, though it set the cost of his 1-7 record as a starter at one full round of draft value — albeit on Day 3. Read the full grade breakdown here.
The Chicago Bears become buyers, for now, by landing Montez Sweat
The deal
- Chicago Bears acquire: EDGE Montez Sweat
- Washington Commanders acquire: 2024 second round pick
Sweat was approaching free agency and it’s clear Washington didn’t consider it in its future plans — a blueprint that may include a complete teardown under new franchise owner Josh Harris. Rather than sit and wait for a potential 2025 third-round compensatory pick, the Commanders sold early to a Bears team that’s currently tied for last place with a 14.4 percent pressure rate in 2023. Sweat has 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss already this fall — including two sacks and four TFLs in his last two games.
The grades
- Chicago Bears: B
- Washington Commanders: A
Sweat is a boon to a struggling pass rush and the first domino to fall before a busy offseason — Chicago is set to have a league-high $110 million in estimated salary cap space next spring, per Over The Cap. Extending him will be the next step. As for the Commanders, this is tidy compensation for a player they weren’t going to pay in 2024.
The Seahawks beef up their defensive front (and further vindicate Dave Gettleman, somehow)
The deal
- Seattle Seahawks acquire: DL Leonard Williams
- New York Giants acquire: 2024 second round pick, 2025 fifth round pick
Four years after being traded at the deadline for third and fifth round picks, Williams was once again dealt — this time for second and fifth round selections. Finally, proof former general manager Dave Gettleman was playing the long game all along. Williams hasn’t been able to replicate his breakout, 11.5-sack 2020 season but remains a beast to deal with who can sew havoc inside and out from his spot along the defensive line.
The grades
- Seattle Seahawks: A
- New York Giants: A+
For a full grade breakdown, click here.
The Eagles boost their secondary with Kevin Byard
The deal
- Philadelphia Eagles acquire: S Kevin Byard
- Tennessee Titans acquire: S Terrell Edmunds, 2024 fifth round pick, 2024 sixth round pick
Injuries and attrition had left safety a glaring weak spot in an otherwise powerful defense. Adding Byard, a two-time All-Pro, helped shore up Philadelphia’s secondary and provided veteran leadership for a young group. Best of all, the cost was relatively low for another Howie Roseman special.
The grades
- Philadelphia Eagles: A-
- Tennessee Titans: B
For a full grade breakdown, click here.
The Chiefs bring back a familiar -- and frustrating -- wideout
The deal
- Kansas City Chiefs acquire: WR Mecole Hardman, 2025 seventh round pick
- New York Jets acquire: 2025 sixth round pick
The Chiefs lacked firepower in their receiving corps. The Jets didn’t have much use for Hardman. So the two teams executed a low-wattage swap that brought Kansas City’s second round pick back to town in time to muff a punt in an upset loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 8.
The grades
- Kansas City Chiefs: C
- New York Jets: B-
It’s hard to get worked up over a wideout with 25 receiving yards on the season to date and a ~25 spot swap late on Day 3 of a draft 1.5 years in the future. But hey, the Jets got something for a player who had no future with the team, so they get the edge here.
The Falcons add a rotational defensive line piece to an underrated defense
The deal
- Atlanta Falcons acquire: DL Kentavius Street, 2025 seventh-round draft pick
- Philadelphia Eagles acquire: 2024 sixth-round draft pick
Street is effectively Grady Jarrett insurance, who tore his ACL against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, ending his season. No one will confuse Street for a difference-making superstar up front, but he essentially had no role on the stacked Eagles’ defensive line. The former New Orleans Saint will likely start for Atlanta the rest of the way and perform admirably for someone acquired for a late-round draft selection. This deal isn’t much to write home about for Philadelphia except for Howie Roseman adding a future draft selection to likely use in other trade negotiations.
The grades
- Atlanta Falcons: B-
- Philadelphia Eagles: C
