Winners and losers from the NFL Trade Deadline: 49ers, Bills make splashes

NFL Trade Deadline Winner: Donovan Peoples-Jones (and the Lions)

It's a baffling mystery as to why a Cleveland Browns passing game that has struggled with and without Deshaun Watson this season refused to involve Donovan Peoples-Jones, who flirted with a 1,000-yard season in 2022, more in the aerial attack. But now he's free from that mystery and going to the Detroit Lions after the trade deadline deal.

The Lions have long been lacking a reliable No. 2 target, most recently someone to help offset the attention defenses can pay to Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam Laporta. The hope was that Jameson Williams could be that once he returned from suspension, but he's been sporadically effective overall.

Jared Goff has quietly been one of the best QBs in football this season and adding DPJ to the mix is only going to make the Lions look like more of a contender in the NFC with the ways he can help open up the offense. The sticker price might not be massive, but the impact could be so in Detroit.

NFL Trade Deadline Loser: Chicago Bears

Let's start with the fact that I don't hat the Montez Sweat trade as much as some others, even if the cost of a second-round pick might look questionable after what happened with the disastrous Chase Claypool trade from last year.

Having said that, the overall process from Ryan Poles here should definitely be called into question. This team was essentially only a buyer at the deadline, paying a premium price -- the highest draft compensation moved this year -- for an edge rusher who isn't going to fix a 2-6 team. Meanwhile, the Bears then held onto the likes of Jaylon Johnson and Darnell Mooney, who could've brought back some value and now are in danger of leaving for nothing in the offseason.

Reports have indicated that the Bears had a high asking price, for Johnson specifically. Yes, you don't want to get robbed, but any price is better than losing him for nothing, which is what Chicago now faces. This isn't a contender and, though they can lock up Sweat to an extension and make him a building block, the overall process at the deadline was anything but sound for this organization.