The Washington Commanders made the most noise at the NFL trade deadline, parting with starting defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Chicago Bears gave up a 2024 second-round draft pick for Sweat, and the San Francisco 49ers followed by trading a compensatory third-rounder for Young.
The two former first-round picks both will be free agents at the end of the league year.
Under the new ownership of Josh Harris — famed for green-lighting “the process” with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers — the 3-5 Commanders bid farewell to both Sweat and Young rather than trying to retain one or both on long-term deals. Tuesday’s trades will give Washington five picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 draft.
Young, 24, missed much of his second and third NFL seasons due to multiple injuries after winning Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020. He had five sacks in seven appearances (six starts) in 2023 and has tallied 14 sacks and 26 quarterback hits in 34 career games.
The 49ers (5-3), currently on a three-game losing streak, added Young to an imposing front seven that already features defensive end Nick Bosa, Young’s former Ohio State teammate and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Bosa was the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft, one year before Washington drafted Young second overall.
Sweat, 27, has recorded 6.5 sacks in eight games this season and is one of seven players with at least 5.0 sacks in each of the past five seasons.
Part of the motive for the Commanders to make the trades was the cap crunch surrounding their haul of first-round picks at the position. Washington had previously signed defensive tackle Jonathan Allen to a four-year, $72 million extension and his interior linemate Daron Payne to a four-year, $90 million contract.
Other trades reported or officially announced Tuesday before the 4 p.m. ET deadline:
–The Minnesota Vikings acquired quarterback Josh Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round pick from the Arizona Cardinals for a 2024 sixth-round draft choice.
The Vikings lost quarterback Kirk Cousins when he sustained a season-ending torn right Achilles injury on Sunday.
The Cleveland Browns had traded Dobbs to Arizona at the close of training camp as the Cardinals were forced to start the season without Kyler Murray, still recovering from ACL surgery.
Dobbs, 28, completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 1,569 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games for Arizona. He has thrown for 2,025 yards with 10 touchdowns and eight picks in 16 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans and Cardinals.
–The Vikings also dealt left guard Ezra Cleveland to the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick, per multiple reports.
Cleveland, 25, missed the past two weeks with a foot injury, and former Denver Broncos starter Dalton Risner has held down the position in Minnesota.
Cleveland was a second-round draft pick by the Vikings in 2020, and he started all 17 games in both 2021 and 2022. He has made 53 appearances (49 starts) in his three-plus years in the NFL.
–The Detroit Lions acquired wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones from the Browns in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2025.
Peoples-Jones, 24, has eight catches for 97 yards in seven games this season for the Browns, who drafted him in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. He hails from Detroit and played his college football at Michigan.
“We feel like he fits our style,” Lions coach Dan Campbell told reporters. “He’s smart and he can play multiple positions. … We just felt like he’d be a good fit for the team and the room.”
In four seasons with Cleveland, Peoples-Jones has 117 catches for 1,837 yards and eight touchdowns. His best season was 2022, with 61 catches for 839 yards and three touchdowns.
–The Buffalo Bills acquired veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas and a fifth-round draft pick from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a third-rounder on Tuesday, NFL Network and The Athletic reported.
Douglas, 29, heads to an AFC contender that lacked cornerback depth after Tre’Davious White suffered a torn Achilles and was lost for the season.
Douglas had one interception, one fumble recovery and 32 tackles in seven starts for the Packers (2-5) this season.
Green Bay is in rebuilding mode in Jordan Love’s first year at starting quarterback in place of Aaron Rodgers, while Buffalo (5-3) is in the thick of the AFC East race despite up-and-down performances.
–Field Level Media