Breaking down every deadline trade and what it all means

The NFL Trade Deadline is here, and we’re breaking down every deal and what it means for the rest of the season and beyond.

For the first time since, well last year, we’re being spoon-fed the idea that this is going to be the NFL trade deadline where crazy stuff happens. There have already been a handful of big deals involving big names at skill positions — which is the perfect concoction for generating the most buzz around the trade deadline. This, along with the fact that front offices are beginning to look more like the ones in NBA and MLB, paints the picture of potential that we’ll see a lot of things happen before the deadline passes this afternoon.

The deadline will pass at 4 pm ET on Tuesday, at which point no more trades will be agreed to until after the Super Bowl. No trades will be approved by the league until the new year starts in 2019, so this truly a trade ’em if you got ’em situation.

While NFL insiders are pushing the narrative that this is going to be the year where the NFL most closely resembles the NBA at the trade deadline, we’ve been sold this schtick in each of the last handfuls of years. Last year we were told it would be a wild deadline after Jimmy Garoppolo, Kelvin Benjamin and Jay Ajayi were all traded in big time deals. In years past, guys like Percy Harvin, Carson Palmer, Randy Moss, and Trent Richardson were all dealt in surprise moves as well.

All of this is to say we can be excited about the prospect of seeing MLB-style deadline deals, where contenders buy and tankers sell, but don’t be upset if the biggest deals of the deadline have already happened.

If you’re keeping score at home, we have you covered:

Trades That Have Happened

Redskins Grade: B
Packers Grade: C+

Analysis: This is lowkey a great trade for Washington. There’s a legitimate chance that Jay Gruden’s team is in a position to win the NFC East come December and fortifying the defense is a good move. Clinton-Dix isn’t a world beater at safety, but he adds secondary depth to a team that has been doing enough to win — which seems reductive but is all you need to do to get into January football. Clinton-Dix had said he wasn’t interested in coming back to the Packers in 2019, so this was a no-brainer on Green Bay’s end as well. It’s a big strange that a team still in the playoff hunt is dealing starters but a fourth-rounder for a guy who was going to walk next year takes some sting off pain down the road.

Rams Grade: B
Jaguars Grade: B-

Analysis: On the surface, this feels like another fleecing by the Rams, who acquire the former third overall pick in the draft and add him to a defense that is already loaded. It continues the narrative of the undefeated Rams plucking players like Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, Ndamukong Suh, and others and putting them with Wade Phillips’ already stacked unit. But Fowler was in a world class defense last year in Jacksonville and failed to latch on in a big way. That’s a huge black mark against him, but he joins a Super Bowl caliber defense which could turn him around.

Packers Grade: A+
Ravens Grade: B-

Analysis: The writing was on the wall for Montgomery to exit Green Bay, but it’s a pretty big surprise that he was traded. Baltimore gets an offensive weapon that can come out of the backfield and as a receiver, which is great for Joe Flacco. But the idea that he was going to be released tomorrow was very much out there and Baltimore could have gotten him tomorrow for nothing, but it’s not like giving up a 2020 seventh-rounder is a high price to have paid.

Eagles Grade: B
Lions Grade: C-

Analysis: Less than a week after the Lions traded for Damon Harrison in a move that made it appear as though they were contending, Golden Tate gets dealt with Philadelphia. The Eagles already have Alshon Jeffrey playing at the top of his game but lack run power after losing Jay Ajayi to an ACL injury. Caron Wentz has been able to hold it together for the time being but the wheels are wobbly in Philly. Adding Tate, a valuable slot threat, gives the Eagles a chance to open up a passing attack that had Wentz on track to be an MVP last year.

Texans Grade: B+
BroncosGrade: C-

Analysis: Houston was in need of wide receiver help after losing Will Fuller to a torn ACL, and picking up a Pro Bowler like Thomas is a steal. Making it even better is the fact that it only cost a mid-round pick, one that probably won’t be that high given Denver’s inability to wheel-and-deal. Denver was expected to be a seller and moving on from a franchise wide receiver when there isn’t one waiting in the wings — and with a band-aid quarterback without a viable franchise guy behind him — seems to signal the rebuild is near.

Giants Grade: C+
Saints Grade: C+

Analysis: After watching Apple get roasted by Julio Jones — the best receiver in the Saints division — New Orleans was like that, but here. Apple is a former first-round pick who hasn’t panned out in New York and has started to become an expendable problem in the locker room. The Giants are clearly accepting their fate as a bottom finisher in the league this year and dumping a guy they didn’t particularly want for a pair of picks is better than most outcomes. For the Saints, Sean Payton had better hope Apple turns things around and doesn’t become the liability he was in New York.

Cowboys Grade: C
Raiders Grade: A+

Analysis: Troll Jon Gruden all you want, but Chucky delivered near Halloween. Cooper is a great receiver but isn’t nearly what he was a few years ago. There’s nothing to say he’ll develop in Oakland and flipping him for a first rounder (!!!) is absolutely killer. Gruden might have very well broken the trade market with this deal as there’s no reason the Broncos, Lions, or Buccaneers can’t look at the interest in their No. 1 wideout and ask for a similar price. Oakland now has three first-rounders next year and the Cowboys are going to hope that the Cooper deal doesn’t end up looking like the Roy Williams one.

Lions Grade: C+
Giants Grade: C

Analysis: If you were to rank the trades that have been made at the deadline, this one is easily at the bottom. It’s not that Damon Harrison isn’t good or that the Giants didn’t get an alright pick back for him, there’s just nothing exciting about this. Harrison might contribute to the Lions defensive front but they just lost to the Seahawks at home and seem to be reeling. New York is vanilla as they try to tank (without saying it) and this could be the least interesting of the trades they make.

Jaguars Grade: B-
Browns Grade: B

Analysis: This is a rare win-win, as lame as that is to say. Cleveland had an abundance of running backs, all of which were at least somewhat worthy of being part of an offense. Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson are enough to get the job done and getting a fifth-rounder back for Hyde is great to return. Jacksonville is bleeding after falling into a losing streak and watching Leonard Fournette miss games. Hyde won’t fix the offense but he’s a back that when Fournette comes back can form a great duo that might take pressure off the need for Blake Bortles to do things.

Latest Rumors

Here are the guys to keep an eye on as far who is likeliest to get moved before the deadline:

Most Likely To Be Moved

• Le’Veon Bell – RB/Steelers
• Demaryius Thomas – WR/Broncos (TRADED TO HOUSTON)
• Ha Ha Clinton-Dix – S/Packers
• Dante Fowler – DE/Jaguars (TRADED TO LOS ANGELES)
• Anyone on the Raiders

Bell is the hottest name out there since he still hasn’t reported to the Steelers. Teams like the Eagles could be in on him, but his market has shrunk significantly. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix has said he won’t be returning to the Packers in 2019, which is a sure-fire sign he could be dealt to a team like Kansas City or Tampa Bay that is in contention (different spectrums of it) and could use secondary help. Also, the way the Raiders have been trading guys away, anyone on their roster could be traded at any point, but specifically keep an eye on Karl Joseph and Bruce Irvin.

Rumored To Be Traded, But Probably Won’t 

• Golden Tate – WR/Lions (TRADED TO PHILADELPHIA)
• DeSean Jackson – WR/Buccaneers
• Patrick Peterson – CB/Cardinals

Golden Tate is teetering between being a guy who will for sure be traded and a guy who when the deadline passes will prove the rumors were smoke and no fire. Ditto with DeSean Jackson, but for different reasons. Tate is a guy the Lions might be interested in extending where the Buccaneers can ride out the rest of Jackson’s contract and cut him in 2019 without penalty. There’s no real incentive to trade him unless Tampa Bay gets an offer they can’t say no to.

Dark Horses To Watch

• Tyrod Taylor – QB/Browns
• Jamie Collins – LB/Browns
• Deone Bucannon – CB/Cardinals
• Chris Harris – CB/Broncos
• Rober Griffin III – QB/Ravens

Don’t sleep on the Jaguars making a deal for a quarterback. They’ve already done business with the Browns in acquiring Carlos Hyde and could circle back around now that the waters have been chummed with the blood of two fired head coaches. Robert Griffin III is a name that should be coming up more but isn’t, as he put together a training camp solid enough to make the 53-man roster and could be someone worth taking a flier on in Duvall.