Out patterns: Packers move two
The Packers made two moves before the NFL trade deadline Tuesday, sending running back Ty Montgomery to the Ravens and safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to the Redskins.
Montgomery was dealt two days after his late fumble on a kickoff kept the Packers and Aaron Rodgers from a chance to hand the Rams their first loss this season. The Ravens gave up a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft.
The Packers received a fourth-round pick from the Redskins for Clinton-Dix, who will be a free agent after the season.
Montgomery entered this season splitting time at running back with Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones but played just six offensive snaps on against the Rams, with Jones taking the starting job.
The Packers’ third-round draft pick in 2015 out of Stanford, Montgomery initially played receiver before being moved to running back the next season because of injuries to Eddie Lacy and James Starks.
Clinton-Dix was the Packers’ first-round pick out of Alabama in 2014. He has appeared in all 71 games since, starting 65, and has 14 interceptions, including three this season.
Lions send WR Tate to Eagles
The Lions traded wide receiver Golden Tate to the Eagles for a third-round pick in the 2019 draft.
Tate is in the final season of a five-year, $31 million contract. The Eagles likely would receive a compensatory pick after the third or fourth round if he leaves in free agency.
He joins Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor and Jordan Matthews in the Eagles’ receiving corps. Tate played primarily in the slot for the Lions. Agholor thrived in that spot last season but has been used outside this season.
Tate has 44 catches for 517 yards and three touchdowns this season. He averaged 93 catches, 1,056 yards receiving and five touchdowns the last four seasons in Detroit. Tate spent his first four seasons with the Seahawks, helping them win the Super Bowl his last season.
Broncos send WR Thomas to Texans
The Broncos traded wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to the Texans, who visit the Broncos on Sunday.
The Texans gave up a fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft. The clubs also swapped 2019 seventh-rounders.
Thomas, a ninth-year veteran who was first or second on most of the Broncos’ receiving records, has 36 catches for 402 yards (career-low 11.2 yards per catch) and three touchdowns this season. He’s in the last year of his contract.
The Texans found themselves thin at wide receiver when they lost Will Fuller for the season to a torn knee ligament last week and have had trouble keeping rookie Keke Coutee (hamstrings) on the field.
Jaguars send DE Fowler to Rams
The Jaguars traded defensive end Dante Fowler to the Rams for a third-round pick in the 2019 draft and a fifth-rounder in 2020.
The rise of Yannick Ngakoue made Fowler expendable. The team opted last year to not pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal, making him a free agent after the season. Fowler was the third overall pick in 2015.
Fowler has two sacks in seven games this season while playing limited snaps behind Ngakoue. Fowler was suspended for the opener because of an arrest in 2017.
The move gives the Rams an even more formidable front, which already had Aaron Donald, Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers.