We have passed the halfway point of the NFL season, and there are a lot of intriguing storylines on tap for the back half of the 2025 campaign. A very active trade deadline saw some big splashes fortify potential contenders, while one team boldly set itself up for a rebuild that can essentially serve as a blank canvas to reshape their roster in rapid fashion.
Now that the dust has settled, who is trending up, and who is going the wrong way in the NFL? Let's find out with a look at the latest edition of FanSided's NFL Stock Watch, where one of the league's biggest winners is the idea of the deadline itself.
NFL Week 10 Stock Watch: Risers
The Trade Deadline
While the trade deadline in football hasn't always been splashy, this year showcased how powerful the event can be with the right timing. Moving the deadline back to after Week 9 has allowed the NFL to let more teams settle into the buyer and seller tiers, generating a flurry of action led by the New York Jets' stunning decisions to move on from Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams for a boatload of draft capital.
The excitement those deals generated carried the day, although other impact moves followed, such as Rashid Shaheed heading to Seattle and Jakobi Meyers finding a new home in Jacksonville. The impact of a strong deadline day made Twitter a must-have as rumors were flying, which is good news as the NFL looks to make itself into a vehicle to dominate conversation year-round like the NBA does.
The Jets' Future
While the Jets did give up a lot to reset their organization, there is no denying that the impact of these two deadline day deals could be felt for years to come. The organization's current core, which was largely built from drafts between 2019 and 2022, hasn't done much winning and the roster has so many needs that it made smart business sense to cash out when Indianapolis and Dallas were desperate enough to overpay for players they felt could push them forward.
New York has a whopping five first round picks over the next two years, including 3 in 2027, giving them the ammunition to secure a franchise quarterback and upgrade the roster around him. There is also a ton of cap space for the Jets to play with, including over $200 million in funds available in 2027, so first-year GM Darren Mougey has a nearly blank canvas to reshape the roster quickly.
Seattle Seahawks
It sure feels like Seattle is the contender that no one is really talking about, although that could change soon following a 38-7 demolition of Washington on Sunday night. Sam Darnold lit up the Commanders with a perfect first half and tossed four touchdown passes as he has finally started living up to his draft-day hype from 2018, giving the Seahawks a potential bargain under center for years to come.
The scary thing for the NFL is that Seattle hasn't quite clicked offensively either since their vaunted running game has been slow to fire with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet struggling to find consistency. With three games left against the Rams and 49ers, the Seahawks have every opportunity to win their division and host a playoff game.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The vultures had been circling around the Steelers following their disappointing two week stretch of losses to Cincinnati and Green Bay, but Pittsburgh made a statement with a huge win against the Colts on Sunday. Indianapolis, who entered the day at 7-1, looked overmatched against a ferocious Steelers' pass rush that harassed Daniel Jones into five turnovers and slowed down Jonathan Taylor for the first time all season.
That victory was an important stabilizer for Pittsburgh, which has the red-hot Ravens breathing down their necks with a healthy Lamar Jackson back under center. While Mike Tomlin's side has shown the ability to beat bad teams this season, beating an actual AFC contender (and yes, the Colts are still a contender) shows that there is a chance the Aaron Rodgers experiment can help Pittsburgh break its Wild Card round ceiling.
NFL Week 10 Stock Watch: Fallers
Jerry Jones
It has not been a good week for Jones, who teased a trade before Dallas lost on Monday night that turned out to be adding linebacker Logan Wilson from the Bengals in what amounted to a salary dump for Cincinnati. While overhyping that deal was not a good look for Jones, he earned his spot here with a disastrous overpay for Jets' defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who has just one sack this season and will want a new contract this offseason at age 28.
While Williams is a valuable player who can shore up Dallas' run defense, giving up a second round pick this year and a first next year is bad process when the Cowboys could have simply paid Micah Parsons instead. The kicker is that Jones allowed the Jets to insert a clause into the deal dictating they receive whichever of Dallas' two 2027 first rounders (their own and Green Bay's) is higher in the draft, essentially putting both choices into escrow and limiting his warchest to improve the team this winter.
The Jets' Present
While the future in New York looks much brighter now than it did three days ago, there is still the matter of the end of this season to negotiate. The Jets still have nine games to go and removed their two best defenders from the roster, which significantly decreases their odds of being competitive, as evidenced by seeing the line for Sunday's game with Cleveland flip from having New York as 2.5-point favorites to 2.5-point underdogs after the deals were completed.
There is also a bit of discontent in the locker room after the Jets failed to trade Breece Hall, who reportedly wanted out at the deadline. Head coach Aaron Glenn has his work cut out for him to keep his team motivated when the organization's decisions scream tank job and they likely will be playing in front of legions of empty seats at MetLife Stadium over the next two months.
Washington Commanders
Everything that went right for Washington in 2024 has gone horribly wrong this year as injuries have destroyed the Commmanders' depth, leaving them sitting at 3-6 with slim playoff hopes. Head coach Dan Quinn also is under fire after leaving Jayden Daniels in Sunday's loss too long, watching his star quarterback dislocate his elbow after being down 38-7 in a contest that was over for a while.
The Commanders have sunk a ton of assets into their roster, leaving them with a roster that has gotten old quickly and with precious little draft capital to augment its needs. Getting Daniels back at some point will help but it will likely be too late for Washington to salvage this season.
Kyler Murray
The injury Murray suffered earlier this year has clearly cost him his job. Arizona has looked much more effective with Jacoby Brissett under center, averaging nearly 5 points per game more and earning a big win in Dallas on Monday night, leading head coach Jonathan Gannon to name Brissett his starter entering Week 10's trip to Seattle.
While the Cardinals will likely claim they want Murray to be 100 percent healthy before he returns, this decision by Gannon is clearly a benching that is a damning indictment of Murray's future in Arizona. It will be hard to turn back to Murray if Brissett keeps delivering results, leaving Murray likely in search of a new home this offseason.