Andrew Buller-Russ
The 2025 NFL trade deadline was later than the NFL has ever seen after franchise owners agreed to push it back from after Week 8 to after Week 9. The extra week may have helped contribute to what ended up being a very eventful day of NFL trades, including multiple All-Pros.
Several teams in position for a playoff spot upgraded their rosters. Others, like the Dallas Cowboys, aggressively made multiple trades, including a blockbuster. Meanwhile, the New York Jets are officially hitting the reset button as they enter a full rebuild.
Now that the NFL trade deadline is over, it’s time to set the winners apart from the losers. Who won and lost at the deadline?
Winner: Jacksonville Jaguars + Jakobi Meyers
The Jaguars already had two effective receivers in Travis Hunter and Brian Thomas, but the former is set to miss multiple weeks with an injury. Now Jakobi Meyers comes in, giving Trevor Lawrence a very respectable pass-catching corps when everyone is at full strength.
Loser: Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins wanted a trade, but he’ll finish out a second season as the backup to Michael Penix Jr. Barring an injury, he’ll have a tough time convincing anyone he’s capable of being a high-end starting quarterback again. Yet, had he been traded, Cousins may have been able to parlay a strong late-season performance into another respectable payday.
Winner: Seattle Seahawks
Sam Darnold has the Seahawks’ offense humming, but it never hurts to add to the arsenal. The Seahawks did so by picking up speedster receiver/returner Rashid Shaheed from the Saints in exchange for fourth and fifth-round picks. It’s a low price to pay for a potential gamechanger.
Loser: Chicago Bears
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka won’t solve the Bears’ desire for an upgraded pass-rush. He’s recorded zero sacks this season while appearing in eight games (zero starts) for the Cleveland Browns. Though, we can’t really fault the Bears for taking a chance on a 6-foot-5, 260-pound former first-round pick who’s still just 26. Chicago only gave up a sixth-round pick, and they needed more depth after Dayo Odeyingbo’s injury, but they could have aimed higher.
Winner: Quinnen Williams
A three-time Pro Bowler, Williams is in his seventh season, and he’s never been able to get a taste of the playoffs. Will that change this season in Dallas? Probably not, or at least it doesn’t look like it right now, but the All-Pro’s chances of reaching the postseason are a lot better with the Cowboys than they were with the Jets, this year and for more to come.
Winner: Dallas Cowboys
Look, aside from putting his money where Jerry Jones’ mouth is, we don’t know why the Cowboys were buyers. They have just a 7% chance of reaching the playoffs this year. They may have been better off just taking their lumps and reloading with a strong draft haul. We do like acquiring an All-Pro DT like Quinnen Williams for a first-round pick, and adding an experienced linebacker in Logan Wilson should help the team too. Yet, this still feels like they’re trying to make up for the mistake of trading Micah Parsons.
Winner: Sauce Gardner
Like the other Jets All-Pro who got traded, Sauce Gardner has never made a playoff appearance since arriving as the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He’ll get that chance with the Indianapolis Colts. Though, he’ll have high expectations as a player whom the franchise traded two first-round picks for.
Winner: New York Jets
Quinnen and Sauce are great players, but they weren’t helping the Jets win any games. Now the Jets have three future first-round picks to show for it. Of course, there’s no guarantee that the Jets will find players as good as the ones they traded away, but they also clear up the cap sheet while giving the new regime a chance to mold their own squad.
Loser: Indianapolis Colts
Overpay? Trading two first-round picks is a hefty price to pay for a cornerback, even if he is one of the NFL’s best. In the short term, it’s hard not to love this trade. It addresses a key weakness on a team that looks like a strong playoff contender. But two years down the road, the Colts may look back with regret.
