The NFL trade deadline has come and gone as teams have made their moves and prepare for the second half of the season.
Pittsburgh pulled off not one, but two deals prior to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline. The Cowboys, despite trying to right the ship following a 3-5 start, made the most puzzling deal of the day. Conversely, one of Dallas’ top rivals, the Commanders, made one of the day’s biggest deals. The Lions also made a splash as they look to stay atop the NFC’s proverbial food chain.
Trades made
- 49ers acquire: Khalil Davis
- Texans acquire: 2026 seventh-round pick
Davis is heading from a 6-3 Houston squad to a 49ers team that is 4-4 despite a barrage of injuries so far. Specifically, Davis can help the 49ers with their goal line run defense. While they are just sixth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, San Francisco is 27th in the league in touchdown runs allowed (10).
- Seahawks acquire: LB Ernest Jones IV
- Titans receive: LB Jerome Baker, 2025 fourth-round pick
This trade occurred well before the deadline. Jones has logged 24 tackles since moving from Nashville to Seattle. Seattle has yet to win a game since acquiring Jones. Baker has yet to play for the Titans. He recorded 37 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in five games this season with Seattle.
- Vikings receive: Cam Akers, 2026 conditional seventh-round pick
- Texans receive: 2026 conditional sixth-round pick
Another trade that went down way before Tuesday’s deadline. Akers, who toted the rock 40 times in five games this season for Houston, didn’t touch the ball during his first two games with the Vikings. He did contribute to Sunday night’s win over the Colts with 46 yards on 6 carries.
- Cowboys receive: Jonathan Mingo
- Panthers receive: 2025 fourth-round pick
One of Tuesday’s most surprising trades, the Cowboys gave up a ton for a player that has just 55 career receptions. The second-year wideout has just 121 yards on 12 receptions this year and has caught less than half of his targets.
Baltimore gets a former two-time Pro Bowl cornerback who they surely hope will help bolster what is currently the league’s 32nd-ranked pass defense. While his career has been sidetracked by injuries, White was one of the league’s premier defensive backs prior to those injuries. A 2017 first-round pick, he picked off six passes and broke up 26 more during his first two years in Buffalo. He made All-Pro in 2019 after recording a league-best six interceptions while helping Buffalo clinch a wild card playoff berth.
Pittsburgh’s already talented defense has added another piece to the puzzle. In Smith, the Steelers are getting a versatile, accomplished pass rusher with 68.5 career sacks under his belt. Smith will provide necessary depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith and alongside Nate Herbig. (Trade grades)
- Steelers acquire: Mike Williams
- Jets acquire: 2025 fifth-round pick
The Steelers finally land wide receiver help before the deadline, acquiring Williams from the Jets in exchange for a fifth-round pick. Williams’ veteran presence will only help George Pickens and the Pittsburgh offense as they push for a high playoff seed. (Trade grades)
- Commanders acquire: Marshon Lattimore, 2025 fifth-round pick
- Jets acquire: 2025 third-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick, 2025 sixth-round pick
The Commanders landed the four-time Pro Bowl cornerback right before the trade deadline. Lattimore, who turned 28 in May, has three more years remaining on his current contract, including 2024. He has recorded 30 combined tackles and two passes defensed in seven games played this season. Injury issues are a legitimate concern, as Lattimore hasn’t played a full season since 2018. The Saints were expected to consider selling pieces after a 2-7 start, which led to the firing of head coach Dennis Allen on Monday. (Trade grades)
Cincinnati adds another back to its stable with Zack Moss (neck) out indefinitely. The Bears move on from Herbert, who fell out of the backfield rotation behind D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson. (Trade grades)
- Lions acquire: Smith and 2026 seventh-round pick
- Browns acquire: 2025 fifth-round pick and 2026 sixth-round pick
The Lions are making a push for the Super Bowl and needed EDGE help after losing Aidan Hutchinson to injury. (Trade grades)
The first-place Cardinals add pass rush help, while the Broncos get rid of an oft-injured player for a pick. (Trade grades)
- Vikings acquire: Robinson, 2026 conditional seventh-round pick
- Jaguars acquire: 2026 conditional fifth-round pick (could become fourth)
The Vikings fill a huge need at left tackle after losing star Christian Darrisaw for the season with a knee injury. Robinson is a free agent at season’s end and Jaguars are moving in another direction with Walker Little. (Trade grades)
The Ravens add another weapon for Lamar Jackson, who already has Derrick Henry, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Zay Flowers. The Panthers remain in rebuilding mode and deal away their leading receiver, who is headed toward free agency at the end of the season. Check out the grades from the trade, here.
Kansas City is the first team to start 7-0 after winning back-to-back Super Bowls since the 1990 San Francisco 49ers, according to CBS Sports Research. That 49ers team reached the NFC Championship, but they lost to the New York Giants just two wins away from a three-peat. No team has three-peated in the Super Bowl era, since 1966, but that’s exactly what the Chiefs are attempting to do with this move for New England’s former 2020 second-round pick.
The Chiefs have a pretty consistent pass rush in that their 38.9% quarterback pressure ranks as the sixth best in the NFL, but they are struggling to finish those rushes with sacks. Kansas City’s 15.0 team sacks this season are tied for the seventh-fewest in the NFL, and their 6.1% sack rate is the 11th worst in the league. They have struggled to get consistent pass rush production outside of edge rusher George Karlaftis (3.0 sacks) and All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones (3.0 sacks). Uche’s two sacks now rank as tied for the fourth most in Kansas City while his 13 quarterback pressures stand alone as the fourth most along the Chiefs pass rush.
The transaction makes all the sense in the world for a 2-6 Patriots squad looking to load up on draft capital as they rebuild around 2024 third overall pick quarterback Drake Maye.
- Chiefs acquire: Hopkins
- Titans acquire: 2025 conditional 2025 fifth-round pick (can become a fourth-round pick)
Despite sitting with an undefeated 6-0 record at the time, Kansas City was in desperate need of adding a wide receiver in the aftermath of losing both Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice for the year. Hopkins comes in and gives Patrick Mahomes a high-ceiling weapon as they look for the NFL’s first-ever three-peat.
Meanwhile, the deal makes sense from a Tennessee standpoint as they are 1-5 on the season at the time of the trade and Hopkins was in the final year of his deal. With the 32-year-old not on the team’s timeline for its current rebuild, it was a logical move to gain some assets for him before he left in free agency. (Trade grades)
- Jets acquire: Adams
- Raiders acquire: 2025 conditional third-round pick (can become a second-round pick based on performance)
Adams has to be named an All-Pro, or be on the active roster for the AFC Championship game or Super Bowl for the pick to be elevated from a third to a second for the Raiders.
In three games this year with the Raiders, Adams has caught 18 passes for 209 yards and just one touchdown. He missed the past three games due to a hamstring injury, but made his Jets debut in Week 7 — finishing with three catches fro 30 yards. The grades on the Adams deal can be found here.
- Bills acquire: Cooper, 2025 sixth-round pick
- Browns acquire: 2025 third-round pick, 2026 seventh-round pick
The 30-year-old Cooper just reworked his contract with the Browns ahead of the 2024 season, but goes from one of the NFL’s worst teams to a potential AFC title contender in Buffalo. Cooper logged a career-high 1,250 receiving yards for the Browns in 2023, his second straight 1,000-yard campaign.
Cooper had 24 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns with the Browns. He had four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown in his debut with the Bills in Week 7. The grades on the Cooper deal can be found here.
In six games this season with two official starts, Robertson-Harris has recorded seven combined tackles, two sacks and four QB hits. He was in his third season with the Jaguars, and actually signed a three-year, $30 million extension last year after recording a career-high 3.5 sacks from the interior in 2023.
Harris had five tackles in his Seahawks debut as a reserve defensive tackle.
Robertson-Harris went undrafted out of UTEP in 2016, and signed on with the Bears. In five seasons with Chicago (2017-20), he recorded 75 combined tackles, 7.5 sacks and 30 QB hits. The trade grades for Robertson-Harris can be found here.
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Author: Jeff Kerr
November 5, 2024 | 6:01 pm
