The 2024 NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and teams were actively swapping players and future draft picks. Contenders with significant needs used this opportunity to upgrade their rosters for a potential playoff run.
Let’s grade every NFL trade executed since Oct. 1. Some deals have included high-profile receivers heading to Super Bowl hopefuls, while others have been more modest, depth-based transactions.
49ers Acquire DT Khalil Davis From Texans
- 49ers acquired: DT Khalil Davis
- Texans acquired: 2026 seventh-round pick
The San Francisco 49ers needed more help at defensive tackle after losing Javon Hargrave to a season-ending triceps injury in Week 3. Backup 49ers DT Kevin Givens is currently battling a groin issue. San Fran has struggled against the run game, ranking 21st in both EPA per rush and success rate.
Davis, a 2020 sixth-round choice out of Nebraska, has bounced around the league and has played just 637 defensive snaps through five NFL seasons.
While Davis might not move the needle, defensive tackle depth was also a potential issue for the Houston Texans. DeMeco Ryans will rely on DT Mario Edwards Jr., who will return from a four-game PED suspension in Week 11.
And yes, the 49ers now have defensive tackles named Khalil Davis and Kalia Davis.
Ravens Deal For CB Tre’Davious White From Rams
- Ravens acquired: CB Tre’Davious White, 2027 seventh-round pick
- Rams acquired: 2026 seventh-round pick
This is essentially the least that an NFL player can be traded for.
The Los Angeles Rams gave White a one-year deal with a base value of $4.25 million in free agency, but the 29-year-old hasn’t been a factor for the club’s defense. After starting the first four games of the season, White has been a healthy scratch since Week 5. The Rams permitted him to seek a trade ahead of the deadline.
White won’t start for the Baltimore Ravens, but he’ll add depth to a defensive backfield that ranks 29th in EPA per dropback. White is due roughly $1.25 million over the rest of the season, making him an affordable acquisition for the cap-strapped Ravens.
Ravens’ grade: B
Rams’ grade: B+
Steelers Acquire EDGE Preston Smith From Packers
- Steelers acquire: EDGE Preston Smith
- Packers acquire: 2025 seventh-round pick
The Green Bay Packers are 6-2 and have a 77.1% chance of making the postseason, according to Pro Football Network’s Playoff Predictor. They don’t really profile as trade deadline sellers.
But Smith wasn’t a typical trade deadline move. He’s more of a salary dump going from one contender to another. Smith lost playing time as the Packers worked in younger EDGEs Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare behind Rashan Gary. He saw just 37% of Green Bay’s defensive snaps in Week 9, his lowest rate as a Packer.
The Packers cleared $1.6 million off their books by trading the 32-year-old Smith. Is that worth it for a contending team? Even if Smith was only Green Bay’s fourth edge rusher, he could’ve played a valuable role if injuries struck ahead of him on the depth chart.
Pittsburgh had three seventh-round picks before this trade. Exchanging one of them for a viable rotational EDGE threat like Smith was a no-brainer.
Steelers’ grade: A
Packers’ grade: C-
Steelers Trade For WR Mike Williams From Jets
- Steelers acquired: WR Mike Williams
- Jets acquired: 2025 fifth-round pick
One of deadline season’s most-projected trades actually came to fruition on Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Steelers landed wideout Mike Williams from the New York Jets.
Williams was on borrowed time with Gang Green when the club acquired fellow WR Davante Adams in October. It didn’t help when Williams’ incorrect route led to a game-ending Aaron Rodgers interception in Week 6.
Aaron Rodgers reacts to Mike Williams being traded to the Steelers on @PatMcAfeeShow 👀 pic.twitter.com/3LByMOrYeo
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 5, 2024
The Steelers had been linked to trades for Adams and San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk earlier this year but hadn’t found a complement for George Pickens until today. Williams makes sense in Pittsburgh, where his contested-catch skills will fit with new starting quarterback Russell Wilson’s moonball.
Williams had not been productive this season, catching just 12 passes for 166 scoreless yards, while the Steelers will assume the rest of his prorated $5 million salary and per-game roster bonuses. Despite those factors, the Jets still landed essentially the same package for Williams that the Tennessee Titans received for DeAndre Hopkins.
Pittsburgh was never going to re-acquire Diontae Johnson, while an in-division trade for former Cleveland Browns WR Amari Cooper probably wasn’t on the table. And Williams should be an upgrade over incumbent Steelers wideouts like Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III. But when Pittsburgh could have added Hopkins for almost the same price, it’s difficult to give the club’s Williams acquisition anything more than an average mark.
Steelers’ grade: C
Jets’ grade: B+
Commanders Acquire CB Marshon Lattimore From Saints
- Commanders acquired: CB Marshon Lattimore, 2025 fifth-round pick
- Saints acquired: 2025 third-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick, 2025 sixth-round pick
The Washington Commanders are surprisingly leading the NFC East after nine weeks, and they’re not letting up at the NFL trade deadline.
On Tuesday, Washington acquired Lattimore from the New Orleans Saints, sending a package of picks to the NFC South franchise in exchange for the former Pro Bowler.
The former first-round pick is earning just $1.21 million this season. The Commanders will be responsible for the rest of his salary (about $600,000) in 2024. They’ll also have de facto team options on Lattimore in 2025 ($18 million) and 2026 ($18.5 million). None of Lattimore’s future earnings are guaranteed.
While Washington’s coverage unit has improved in recent weeks, the club still ranks 20th in EPA per dropback on defense. Lattimore will likely replace starting Commanders CB Benjamin St-Juste, who’s allowed the seventh-most yardage among corners in 2024.
This was a no-brainer move for the Saints, who must enter full rebuild mode and get their salary cap in order. If you cancel out all the draft picks, Over the Cap’s draft value chart pegs Lattimore’s value as a mid-second-rounder. New Orleans couldn’t turn down that sort of package for a player who missed 50% of the club’s games from 2022 to 2023.
Lattimore’s injury issues present a risk for Washington, but GM Adam Peters had extra draft capital to work with and a clear need in the secondary. The Commanders’ first-year regime is still revamping this roster, despite the team’s early success in 2024. A pure rental might not have made sense given Washington’s roster construction, but a multi-year asset like Lattimore does.
True win-win trades are rare in the NFL, but the Lattimore deal fits the bill.
Commanders’ grade: A-
Saints’ grade: A
Cowboys Deal For WR Jonathan Mingo From Panthers
- Cowboys acquired: WR Jonathan Mingo, 2025 seventh-round pick
- Panthers acquired: 2025 fourth-round pick
Mingo is affordable — we’ll give that much to the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones and Co. will pay the 2023 second-round pick just over $4 million through the 2026 campaign.
Besides the fact that Mingo is inexpensive, it’s hard to justify this move for Dallas. Mingo hasn’t done anything over a year-plus with the Carolina Panthers that suggests he’s an NFL-caliber wideout.
Among 59 wide receivers with at least 100 targets since 2023, Mingo ranks dead last in yards per route run (0.75). He’s the only WR with fewer than one yard per route run during that span.
Mingo also ranks last in Pro Football Network’s WR+ metric in 2024. In 2023, his WR+ score was ranked 530th out of 536 qualifying wide receivers seasons since 2019.
Mingo couldn’t even get playing time in the lowly Panthers’ passing offense, which ranked 31st in EPA per dropback after Week 9. Carolina traded Diontae Johnson in October, while Adam Thielen has been on injured reserve since Week 4. Mingo still couldn’t surpass 60% playing time over the last month while losing snaps to undrafted rookie Jalen Coker and journeyman David Moore.
And yet, the Cowboys decided to sacrifice a fourth-round pick — a real asset! — with the hope that Mingo can develop in Dallas.
The Cowboys aren’t expecting Mingo to arrive in the NFC East and save their season, especially with quarterback Dak Prescott headed to IR. But Dallas — which has just a 5.7% chance of making the postseason, per PFN’s Playoff Predictor — should have been trade deadline sellers, not buyers. This was too expensive a price to pay for a lottery ticket like Mingo.
Cowboys’ grade: D
Panthers’ grade: A
Bengals Acquire RB Khalil Herbert From Bears
- Bengals acquired: RB Khalil Herbert
- Bears acquired: 2025 seventh-round pick
The Cincinnati Bengals needed another running back after Zack Moss suffered a neck injury during practice leading to Week 9. Moss was inactive for Sunday’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders and is sidelined indefinitely.
Moss’ absence led to Chase Brown’s first bell-cow workload. Brown set career highs in attempts (27) and rushing yards (120), adding five catches for 37 yards and a touchdown in Week 9. Still, Taylor suggested in his postgame press conference that Brown needed a tag team partner.
#Bengals HC Zac Taylor on whether he’s worried about wear and tear on Chase Brown, with Zack Moss sidelined:
“I think it’s important that you have another guy that can take some of the work off of him — whether that’s a couple carries, whether that’s some other snaps in some… pic.twitter.com/Bjbs2BHBir
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) November 4, 2024
Herbert, the 26-year-old who’s been the subject of trade rumors dating back to last year, can fill that role. He finished ninth in attempts per broken tackle (10.2) and 11th in yards after contact per attempt (2.1) in 2023, suggesting he can generate his own yardage.
Herbert had fallen behind D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson on the club’s depth chart and has played fewer offensive snaps than Travis Homer this year.
Herbert will cost the Bengals roughly $500,000 over the remainder of the season before hitting free agency in 2025. Cincinnati had $9.2 million in salary cap space entering Tuesday (Nov. 5).
Bengals’ grade: A-
Bears’ grade: B-
Lions Trade For EDGE Za’Darius Smith From Browns
- Lions acquired: EDGE Za’Darius Smith, 2026 seventh-round pick
- Browns acquired: 2025 fifth-round pick
The Detroit Lions have one of the NFL’s best rosters, so much so that their only genuine need heading into the 2024 trade deadline was created by an unprecedented string of injuries.
Aidan Hutchinson, the league’s leading contender for Defensive Player of the Year honors, fractured his tibia and fibula in Detroit’s Week 6 win against the Cowboys.
Hutchinson was hurt while reaching 7.5 sacks, the most in the NFL then. Entering Week 6, he ranked first among edge defenders in pass-rush win rate (34%). Hutchinson had generated pressure on a league-leading 23.6% of his pass rushes, nearly five percentage points better than second-place Micah Parsons and more than double the league-average rate.
Hutchinson isn’t the only Detroit edge rusher who’s suffered a severe injury this season. Marcus Davenport, whom the Lions inked to a one-year deal worth $6.5 million in March, went down with a season-ending triceps injury in Week 3.
While Smith’s sack totals have fluctuated over the past few seasons, his pressure rate has mostly remained steady, sticking between 14% and 17% each season since 2022.
Smith is also under contract for just $4 million in 2025. When Davenport hits free agency next season, Smith will be an affordable option for the Lions.
Detroit traded less for Smith than the Arizona Cardinals gave up for fellow past rusher Baron Browning. While Browning is seven years younger, he’s more expensive than Smith and doesn’t come with an additional year of team contract control.
Lions’ grade: A
Browns’ grade: C+
Cardinals Acquire EDGE Baron Browning From Broncos
- Cardinals acquired: EDGE Baron Browning
- Broncos acquired: 2025 sixth-round pick
While the Arizona Cardinals’ defense had improved recently, the team’s pass rush was still a glaring issue ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.
Through nine weeks, the Cardinals ranked just 29th in pressure rate (29.3%). Only the Titans, Falcons, and Panthers had gotten after opposing quarterbacks with less frequency. Arizona has struggled without pass rusher Dennis Gardeck, who tore his ACL in October.
Browning has never played over 600 snaps in a season, but he’s always flashed for the Denver Broncos when not battling injury concerns. In 2023, he managed 35 pressures on just 246 pass-rushing snaps, ranking 25th in PFF‘s pass-rushing productivity metric.
However, his injury issues are a legitimate problem. Browning has missed time in every season of his career. He began the 2023 campaign on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list while batting a hip injury, then missed four games this year with a foot issue.
Still, Browning is probably already Arizona’s best pure pass rusher. He’ll cost the Cardinals roughly $1.5 million for the rest of the season. Browning is only 25 — if Arizona likes how the pending free agent plays to close the 2024 campaign, an extension could be on the table.
For Denver, trading Browning was a no-brainer. He’d been playing behind fellow EDGEs Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto after returning in Week 7. Third-round rookie pass rusher Jonah Elliss is in line for more snaps.
Browning said in October that the Broncos had not approached him about an extension. Denver instead chose Cooper, signing the former seventh-round choice to a four-year, $60 million contract just minutes after trading Browning to Arizona.
Cardinals’ grade: A
Broncos’ grade: A
Vikings Trade For OT Cam Robinson From Jaguars
- Vikings acquired: OT Cam Robinson, conditional 2026 seventh-round pick
- Jaguars acquired: Conditional 2026 fifth-round pick
The Minnesota Vikings had to find a replacement for left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the club’s Week 8 loss to the Rams. Backup David Quessenberry filled in last Thursday night but might’ve been hard-pressed to handle Sam Darnold’s blindside for the next few months.
The only problem for Minnesota? Finding offensive linemen on the trade market is never an easy task. In a league starved for competent blockers, teams are rarely willing to give up viable O-linemen. Only two offensive linemen have been traded over the past three deadlines, and one — Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to the Jets in 2021 — was a pure salary dump.
Robinson is hardly a perfect tackle as the Jaguars benched the former second-round pick in Week 8, instead rolling with Walker Little on the left side. Robinson has battled injuries throughout his career and was suspended for PEDs in 2023. His 6.6% allowed pressure rate this season ranks bottom-30 among all offensive linemen.
However, Robinson is entering an improved offensive situation in Minnesota, where he should receive ample help from the Vikings’ blocking tight ends. And GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah got the Jags to pay more than $7 million of Robinson’s remaining salary; Minnesota is responsible for roughly $2 million.
Playing time conditions could affect where the picks in this trade end up. But landing a starting-caliber left tackle like Robinson for a two-round drop in a future draft — all while paying him a mere pittance — represents a win for the Vikings.
Conversely, the Robinson trade made plenty of sense for Jacksonville. Robinson and Little are both pending free agents. Robinson just turned 29, while Little is only 25. The Jaguars needed to see what Little — the club’s second-round choice in 2021 — could offer over the rest of the season before deciding whether to extend him next offseason.
Vikings’ grade: B
Jaguars’ grade: B-
Ravens Acquire WR Diontae Johnson From Panthers
- Ravens acquired: WR Diontae Johnson, 2025 sixth-round pick
- Panthers acquired: 2025 fifth-round pick
This trade simply makes no sense.
Other veteran wide receivers like Davante Adams, Amari Cooper, and DeAndre Hopkins had already come off the trade board. Adams and Cooper secured third-round packages for their former teams, and Hopkins earned the Titans a fifth-rounder.
After the Jaguars’ Christian Kirk suffered a season-ending injury, Diontae Johnson was seemingly the last best option on the WR trade market — and this is what the Carolina Panthers were able to get in return?
The Panthers and Baltimore Ravens swapped 2025 fifth and sixth-round picks in the Johnson trade.
Consider what that means: If Carolina finishes with the NFL’s worst record (possible) and Baltimore wins the Super Bowl (possible), the Panthers will have given away Johnson for a one-spot leap in next year’s draft.
Red Rifle rips it to Diontae
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/eWPEl0OZVs
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 29, 2024
Even in a best-case scenario, Carolina looks at a 10-15 slot improvement. And that’s not all! The Panthers are also eating more than $3.2 million of Johnson’s remaining salary. Baltimore will pay the 28-year-old just $625,000 for the rest of the season.
Johnson isn’t a genuine WR1 and is expected to play behind Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. Still, he’s been efficient throughout his career while playing with mostly subpar quarterback play.
Johnson managed 1.98 yards per route run in 2023 (28th among WRs) despite catching passes from lackluster Steelers QBs Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph. He’d thrived at times with Andy Dalton under center in Carolina.
Given the cost of acquiring other veteran pass catchers this year, Johnson’s production, and the fact that the Panthers are paying most of his salary, Carolina’s return here is mind-boggling.
Ravens’ grade: A
Panthers’ grade: D-
Chiefs Acquire EDGE Joshua Uche From Patriots
- Chiefs acquired: EDGE Joshua Uche
- Patriots acquired: 2026 sixth-round pick
Yes, Joshua Uche is a designated pass rusher who’s never played more than a third of New England Patriots’ defensive snaps in a season. But the delta between Uche (who re-signed with the Pats for just $3 million in March) and Bryce Huff — another edge defender who sees limited snaps but received a $17 million AAV from the Eagles this offseason — isn’t as vast as the gap between their salaries.
Uche finished first in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity in 2022 while posting 11.5 sacks. While the sack production hasn’t been there since Uche’s underlying metrics have remained strong. Among players with at least 500 pass-rushing snaps since 2022, he ranks third in pressure rate (18.1%, trailing only Micah Parsons and Huff).
The Kansas City Chiefs rank in the middle of the pack in pressure and pass-rush win rate entering Week 9. Veteran defensive end Mike Danna is banged up. Pass rusher Charles Omenihu is on track to return soon after tearing his ACL in the AFC title game, but the Chiefs needed another option on the edge.
Chiefs’ grade: A-
Patriots’ grade: B
Seahawks Deal For LB Ernest Jones IV From Titans
- Seahawks acquired: LB Ernest Jones IV
- Titans acquired: LB Jerome Baker, 2025 fourth-round pick
Jones should be an excellent fit for what Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald wants to do on defense. When Macdonald was the Ravens’ DC, he regularly sent his off-ball linebackers on blitzes from the second level. In 2023, Baltimore’s Patrick Queen ranked eighth among linebackers with 107 pass-rushing attempts.
Jones, playing for the Rams last season, was second with 133. And it wasn’t just volume — Jones was immensely productive on those pass rushes. The 24-year-old led all NFL linebackers with 33 pressures a year ago. He also improved in coverage, breaking up four passes and allowing zero TDs on 52 targets in 2023.
Of course, Jones has already been traded once this season. The Tennessee Titans acquired him from Los Angeles in August in a swap of 2026 fifth and sixth-rounders.
Credit goes to Titans general manager Ran Carthon. Tennessee paid a small price to land Jones from the Rams, got eight games worth of production, and has now traded him for an upgraded price. The Titans essentially dealt a 2026 fifth-rounder for Baker, a 2025 fourth, and a 2026 sixth.
A fourth-round pick is a steep price for a half-season of Jones, who is scheduled to reach free agency next offseason. However, if the Seahawks extend him before he hits the market, they won’t regret giving up a mid-round pick for a potential cornerstone.
Seahawks’ grade: C+
Titans’ grade: B+
Chiefs Acquire WR DeAndre Hopkins From Titans
- Chiefs acquired: WR DeAndre Hopkins
- Titans acquired: Conditional 2025 fifth-round pick
While the Chiefs are still undefeated, injuries have devastated Patrick Mahomes’ offensive skill-position weapons.
Rashee Rice was leading the NFL in receptions and yards per route run when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4. Fellow wide receiver Hollywood Brown won’t play a snap as a Chief this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in September. Running back Isiah Pacheco’s in-season return is up in the air after he fractured his fibula in Week 2.
JuJu Smith-Schuster had become Mahomes’ default WR1, but he injured his hamstring in Week 7 and hasn’t played since. While KC still has future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce and first-round rookie Xavier Worthy, it was hardly surprising when the Chiefs sent a conditional fifth-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for Hopkins on Oct. 23.
… GLORY pic.twitter.com/hSTq59T5ew
— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) October 28, 2024
While Hopkins only lined up in the slot for two of his 14 snaps in his Chiefs debut, the 32-year-old could see more time inside as the season progresses. That’s where Rice was at his most valuable. Hopkins won’t offer the same sort of run-after-the-catch ability that the 24-year-old Rice did, but the elder wideout can win on the same kind of in-breaking routes.
Hopkins posted just 173 receiving yards in six games for the Titans this season, but it’s hard to blame the five-time All-Pro for his dip in production. Tennessee’s Will Levis/Mason Rudolph tandem represents one of the NFL’s worst quarterback situations.
Hopkins went over 1,000 receiving yards for the seventh time in his career in 2023 and ranked 18th among wide receivers with 2.09 yards per route run. There’s still something left in the tank.
The Chiefs got the Titans to pay roughly half of Hopkins’ remaining $5 million salary, which was critical for cap-strapped Kansas City. If Hopkins plays 60% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps and they appear in this year’s Super Bowl, the draft pick going to Tennessee will be upgraded to a fourth-rounder.
For the Titans, this is about as well as they could’ve done for an aging receiver on an expiring contract. Hopkins had no long-term role for a Tennessee club that is still rebuilding. Agreeing to pay part of the veteran’s salary to land an improved draft pick was a smart strategy for the Titans’ front office.
Chiefs’ grade: A
Titans’ grade: B+
Vikings Acquire RB Cam Akers From Texans
- Vikings acquired: RB Cam Akers, conditional 2026 seventh-round pick
- Texans acquired: Conditional 2026 sixth-round pick
The Minnesota Vikings’ trade for Akers probably won’t move the needle, but you can understand why they made the move.
Of course, the Vikings are already intimately familiar with Akers. They acquired the veteran running back from the Rams last September before watching him suffer a torn Achilles in November. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported that Minnesota wanted to re-sign Akers this past offseason, while head coach Kevin O’Connell is a fan of the 25-year-old.
“Cam is such a unique person, special person, and talent,” O’Connell told The Athletic’s Alec Lewis before the Vikings played Akers’ Houston Texans earlier this season.
Akers averaged just 3.7 yards per carry for Houston while filling in for an injured Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce. Among the 63 running backs with at least 40 carries in 2024, Akers ranks just 47th in yards after contact per attempt (2.52), 59th in rushing success rate (27.5%), and 61st in EPA per rush (-0.29).
Still, he’s simply a Vikings insurance policy behind Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler. If Akers is a fit in the locker room, this could be a win on vibes alone.
Vikings’ grade: C
Texans’ grade: C
Bills Trade For WR Amari Cooper From Browns
- Bills acquired: WR Amari Cooper, 2025 sixth-round pick
- Browns acquired: 2025 third-round pick, 2026 seventh-round pick
The Buffalo Bills were atop the AFC East with a 4-2 record when they traded for Cooper. Josh Allen looked like an MVP candidate for most of the season, while Buffalo ranked third in EPA per dropback. On paper, the Bills’ passing offense might’ve appeared set before the Cooper trade.
However, much of Buffalo’s passing production was generated over the first three weeks of the season, when Allen and Co. averaged 37.3 points per game. Over the ensuing three weeks, they went 1-2 while scoring just 17.6 on average.
The Bills needed more consistency out of their wide receivers. None of Allen’s pass catchers rank among the NFL’s top 50 in receiving yards through six weeks. In early October, head coach Sean McDermott admitted he was “concerned” about his club’s WR depth chart.
Moreover, Buffalo’s offensive output had been buoyed by explosive passing plays. Through six games, 15% of the Bills’ passing plays had gained 16+ yards, tied for the sixth-best clip in the league. However, they’d struggled down to down and ranked just 16th in passing success rate (44.1%).
Cooper should help replace the route-running acumen of Stefon Diggs, whom Buffalo traded to Houston during the offseason. While he’s averaged just 10.4 yards per catch in 2024, most of Cooper’s poor results can be ascribed to the Cleveland Browns’ atrocious quarterback play.
The 30-year-old set a career-high with 17.4 yards per catch in 2023 and has topped 1,000 receiving yards in six of his eight pro campaigns. Cooper historically spends 80% of his time on the perimeter, allowing Buffalo to keep Khalil Shakir in the slot while rotating Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, and Mack Hollins at its other wide receiver spot.
Cleveland was reportedly willing to include Cooper in a trade for 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk earlier this summer. While that deal never came to fruition, general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski had at least considered the idea before sending Cooper to Buffalo.
The Browns had fallen to 1-6 and weren’t going anywhere fast, while Cooper was scheduled to become a free agent in 2025. With little hope of re-signing him, Cleveland got something for Cooper rather than wait for a potential compensatory pick in 2026.
Bills’ grade: A
Browns’ grade: A-
Jets Deal For WR Davante Adams From Raiders
- Jets acquired: WR Davante Adams
- Raiders acquired: Conditional 2026 third-round pick
The Jets’ trade for Adams is this year’s most challenging move to grade. For one, while we’re trying to judge these trades without the benefit of hindsight, we’ve already seen what’s happened to the Jets in the two weeks since they traded for Adams.
Gang Green had lost two straight games before defeating the Texans in Week 9 to move to 3-6. PFN’s Playoff Predictor gives New York a roughly one-in-five chance of making the playoffs. It’s hard to reconcile trading a Day 2 pick for an aging receiver like Adams, given that the Jets are now a long shot to enter the postseason.
Still, we know New York is all-in on the 2024 season — and they’d already tried just about everything else to get their season back on track before acquiring Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders.
Owner Woody Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh after New York’s loss to the Vikings in Week 5 dropped Gang Green to 2-3. Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich made his own changes, demoting offensive coordinator and Aaron Rodgers confidant Nathaniel Hackett while installing passing game coordinator Todd Downing as the Jets’ new play-caller.
Davante Adams leads the list of most targeted pass-catchers in the NFL over the last 5 seasons. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/ME8r9DQZyI
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 15, 2024
New York’s passing game had to improve after ranking just 20th in EPA per dropback after Week 6. While Garrett Wilson is a verified WR1, the Jets needed another pass catcher to complement the former Offensive Rookie of the Year winner.
That became especially true after Mike Williams — who signed a one-year, $10 million deal with New York this offseason — appeared to run an incorrect route on Rodgers’ game-ending MNF interception in Week 6.
Rodgers and Adams were electric during their time with the Packers, connecting for 622 receptions, 7,590 receiving yards, and 69 touchdowns. Because of that existing relationship, the Jets were often mentioned as Adams’ most likely suitor. NFL Network reported that Rodgers “wanted” and “recruited for” the Adams trade.
Although he might not be the player he once was, Adams still managed 1.97 yards per route run in 2023 (tied for 28th in the NFL) despite working with subpar quarterback play. He put up 100 catches for 1,516 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns as recently as 2022.
Meanwhile, the Raiders did well in landing a third-round pick for Adams, but it’s worth wondering if they could’ve gotten a similar package from any other team that didn’t happen to employ Rodgers.
General manager Tom Telesco should’ve attempted to trade Adams during the offseason when Las Vegas likely could’ve received better compensation. However, owner Mark Davis would’ve had to approve that move.
Jets’ grade: C-
Raiders’ grade: B
Seahawks Acquire DT Roy Robertson-Harris From Jaguars
- Seahawks acquired: DT Roy Robertson-Harris
- Jaguars acquired: 2026 sixth-round pick
This was the second trade the organizations have orchestrated this season. Before picking up Robertson-Harris in mid-October, the Seahawks in August traded a 2025 sixth-round choice to the Jaguars for EDGE Trevis Gipson.
While Seattle hoped Gipson would bolster its pass rush, Robertson-Harris is in town to fix the club’s run defense. Before acquiring Harris entering Week 7, the Seahawks’ defense ranked 21st in rushing success rate and 29th in yards per carry. They’d been gashed by the Giants for 175 rushing yards in Week 5 and the 49ers for 228 in Week 6.
Robertson-Harris specializes in stopping the run. In 2021 and 2022, he finished as a top-30 defensive tackle in PFF’s “stops,” tackles that resulted in negative offensive EPA.
So far, Robertson-Harris hasn’t really changed anything in Seattle. Over the past two weeks, the Seahawks have been dead last in defensive rushing success rate. Still, we’re trying to judge these moves without the benefit of hindsight. Adding a potential run plugger like RRH for roughly $1 million and a future Day 3 pick is probably a wash.
Seahawks’ grade: C
Jaguars’ grade: B