NFL trade deadline winners and losers: Jets’ blockbuster deals with Cowboys, Colts show more than white flag. Jets GM won

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/nfl-trade-deadline-winners-and-losers-jets-blockbuster-deals-with-cowboys-colts-show-more-than-white-flag-jets-gm-won--as-did-jerry-jones-210709389.html

In the NFL world of winners and losers, there’s an uncomfortable truth: some people can be both.

Tuesday, as the 2025 season 4 p.m. trade deadline crept closer and closer, the most shocking wheeling and dealing actor can be described as just that.

The New York Jets were relatively quiet until late Tuesday morning when they dealt one of their three best players … and then, soon after, dealt another.

Sauce Gardner, meet the Indianapolis Colts. Quinnen Williams, meet the Dallas Cowboys. And Aaron Glenn … meet a lost season but perhaps time bought to build a more sustainable winner in the future?

[Get more Jets news: New York team feed]

Remaining members of the 2025 Jets are undoubtedly losers. Fans wanting to tune into Jets games this fall may be, too. After just one win in eight tries, a second will be increasingly elusive without two players who earned All-Pro honors at their peaks. Glenn’s drive to establish a winning culture in his first year as New York’s head coach took a hit.

Quinnen Williams upgrades a leaky Dallas defense. It was all part of Jerry Jones’ plan, right? (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images)

(Harry Murphy via Getty Images)

Jets general manager Darren Mougey on the other hand? Consider him a winner for commanding massive hauls in exchange for two players whose talents were not going to overcome an otherwise cellar-dwelling cast.

The Jets’ combined return on Gardner and Williams: three first-round draft picks, a second-round draft pick, 2024 second-round wide receiver AD Mitchell and 2023 first-round defensive tackle Mazi Smith.

The Jets realized how strong a market this was for sellers, far outnumbered by buyers as an unusually tight postseason race plants false hopes in teams who might in other years sell. They drained their trade partners accordingly and now have capital to chase draft assets — first and foremost a quarterback, a position about which Jets ownership has not hid its displeasure.

Who else won and who else lost in a trade period that started slow before entering a Tuesday frenzy? Let’s break it down.

Winners

Jerry Jones’ reputation: The Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones were slammed roundly for their preseason trade of Pro Bowl edge rusher Micah Parsons. They were criticized for what seemed like an emotional reaction to contract extension negotiations and criticized still further when the Packers began winning and the Cowboys lost often because of their bottom-two defense (only the Cincinnati Bengals, after blowing a shootout to the Chicago Bears this weekend, fare worse). So while Quinnen Williams cost the Cowboys valuable assets, Dallas now reunites a three-time Pro Bowler with his longtime Jets defensive line coach at a $24 million/year salary far below Parsons’ $46.5 million clip.

The Cowboys are unlikely to make a playoff push before at least 2026. But remember when the Philadelphia Eagles surprised the league with their willingness to pay a running back (in this economy!) with Saquon Barkley? Paying a premium for the less costly positions in the NFL can prove wise, and defensive tackles are way cheaper than edge rushers. The Cowboys’ defensive front should be competitive now, creating a path back to a unit that can at least minimize damage as its offense explodes.

Daniel Jones: The Colts didn’t just land a two-time All-Pro and 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year in Sauce Gardner. They also sent a message about their future at quarterback after Daniel Jones has blown expectations out of the water in his second act. By shipping off two first-round picks, the Colts said: We’re not drafting a quarterback highly to replace Jones anytime soon. Expect Indy to follow the Tampa Bay plan and extend Jones after his current one-year, $14 million trial expires. That’s a win for Jones, who backslid Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers with three interceptions but had previously led the Colts to a 7-1 start with 17 touchdowns from scrimmage to three interceptions. And perhaps it’s also a win for Colts fans, whose front office’s last quarterback evaluation prompted the selection of Anthony Richardson fourth overall — a huge whiff. The Colts’ chance to make noise in the playoffs this season got better. And their realistic analysis of taking a proven player rather than a high pick they could again miss on could benefit them for years to come.

Reigning Super Bowl champion defensive coordinator: Before Tuesday, the Eagles were the most active traders. General manager Howie Roseman channeled his stockpiled draft picks into upgrading his defense three times. The Eagles took two swings at solving their cornerback question — hi, Jaire Alexander from the Baltimore Ravens and Michael Carter II from the New York Jets — while also reuniting defensive coordinator Vic Fangio with edge rusher Jaelan Phillips in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick. Phillips thrived when healthy under Fangio in 2023, recording 6.5 sacks and an interception in just eight games. He’s since suffered a torn Achilles and ACL, so he’s not risk-free. But Phillips’ ceiling is high and his understanding of Fangio’s system should smooth his in-season transition. No general manager chases down reinforcements for his coaches as avidly as Roseman. And Fangio is benefiting from a draft-capital stockpiling that made Philadelphia’s third-round pick expendable.

Losers

Aaron Rodgers: When Rodgers chose to join the Pittsburgh Steelers this spring to rebound from his New York Jets chapter, questions abounded about his health and ability at 41 years old. Rodgers hasn’t been perfect in the Steelers’ 5-3 start, but with the ninth-best passer rating in the league, the cast around him has let him down more often than he’s let them down. His best chance at an upgrade would have been Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, whom one AFC offensive assistant praised as “a great route runner and catches everything. Ultra tough and competitive … he’s the best.” The Steelers were reportedly interested in Meyers, but the Jacksonville Jaguars instead nabbed him in exchange for 2026 fourth- and sixth-round picks. Meyers arrives in Jacksonville with 4,944 yards and 20 touchdowns in 6 1/2 seasons. He was the best skill player, if not best offensive player overall, dealt in a defensive-heavy trade year.

The Steelers missed out on Meyers like they had previously with Brandon Aiyuk and other receivers. DK Metcalf isn’t enough to take Pittsburgh where it brought in Rodgers to go.

Cincinnati Bengals’ resource allocation: When considering the likelihood of a Trey Hendrickson move this week, an NFC executive said of Cincinnati: “They don’t make a lot of trades. Often because they want so much for their players or so little for other teams’ players. Logic doesn’t always apply.” Of course, many teams have similar gripes toward competitors as deadlines near. But it was hard not to remember that when the 4 p.m. deadline came and went with edge rusher Hendrickson still a member of the Bengals. That NFC executive and an AFC executive both believed the Bengals wouldn’t ship Hendrickson for less than a second-round pick and additional compensation, be it a player or another second- to third-rounder. No one seemed to bite at that price for a player whose 17.5 sacks each of the past two seasons was offset by an expiring contract, looming 31st birthday and aggravated hip injury.

The Bengals’ defense is the league’s worst this year even with Hendrickson on the roster. The club would have been better off reclaiming value on its best player not under contract long term so the offensive core has more help when quarterback Joe Burrow returns. Trading linebacker Logan Wilson for a seventh-round pick was far less than Cincinnati should have chased Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Rams’ division title hopes: The Rams may still be the most talented team in a crowded NFC West that could send three clubs to the postseason. And they’ll likely get a wild card if they don’t win the division. But in the race to pass the Seattle Seahawks, who are tied with LA atop the division, the Rams’ pursuit got trickier when a high-flying Seattle team reunited speedy receiver Rashid Shaheed with his former offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak.

Sending fourth- and fifth-round picks for a receiver who already understands Kubiak’s system will further accentuate Seattle’s passing game strength. Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are on a heater after eight weeks, Smith-Njigba leading the NFL with 948 total receiving yards, 118.5 yards per game and 15.6 yards per touch. The Seahawks already have former Ram Cooper Kupp. Now, they’ve got another receiving weapon. In just two Sundays, they’ll face each other and offer still more clarity.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/nfl-trade-deadline-winners-and-losers-jets-blockbuster-deals-with-cowboys-colts-show-more-than-white-flag-jets-gm-won--as-did-jerry-jones-210709389.html