NFL deadline closes with flurry of deals
Apparently the NFL got the memo from the NBA and MLB as Tuesday’s trade deadline felt like the league’s most frenzied in recent memory.
Not only did an unusual number of players get moved in the hours leading up to the 4 p.m. ET cutoff, several had Pro Bowl pedigrees — atypical activity on what’s traditionally been a quiet day on the calendar until recent years.
All those transactions demand that we immediately assess who got ripped off and who ramped up their Super Bowl odds. Here are seven winners and seven losers:
Winners
NFC East: The NFL’s flagship division has been witness to some fairly uninspired football this season. The Cowboys fired the first shot last week when they brought in receiver Amari Cooper in hopes of diversifying and jolting their offense. The reigning champion Eagles then anted up Tuesday afternoon to acquire Golden Tate — basically a running back with a wide receiver designation, maybe an ideal addition to Philadelphia’s offense. It didn’t take the division-leading Redskins long to counter both moves with the import of Pro Bowl safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Should be a fun stretch run given the NFC East is usually a winnertake-all affair — it’s landed one wildcard entry since the start of the 2010 season — and is shaping up as a oneplayoff division yet again.
Jon Gruden: Despite all the flak he’s taken nationally, swapping Cooper for a first-round pick looks pretty savvy given Tate commanded a third-rounder and Demaryius Thomas basically cost a fourth. The Raiders now possess five first-round picks in the next two drafts.
Courtland Sutton: Think of Denver’s
second-round pick as a younger, taller
(6-4, 216) version of Thomas. He should earn a lot more opportunities after catching 17 balls in the year’s first half.
Wade Phillips: Aside from Aaron Donald, no one talks much about the Rams defense these days, which is probably fine with its 71-year-old coordinator. But Phillips has to be pretty excited about adding an edge presence such as Dante Fowler to the mix, even if he’s deployed only on sub packages. With Pro Bowl corner Aqib Talib (ankle) also due back this year, well, the rich are definitely getting richer in Hollywood.
Eli Apple: The mercurial corner started the season with the Giants, who are headed straight to the top of the draft and hadn’t proved a good fit for the
2016 first-rounder. Now Apple finds himself on the NFC South-leading Saints, surrounded with several of his buddies from Ohio State. Outhouses, penthouses, etc.
Ty Montgomery: Miffed about his playing time in Green Bay, he went rogue Sunday on special teams and scuttled the upset bid of the unbeaten Rams. Now, Montgomery’s temper tantrum has gotten him a fresh start for a Ravens team that can seemingly use him out of the backfield or in the slot.
Le’Veon Bell: He’s staying put, no surprise given he hasn’t signed his franchise tag — meaning no trade could be executed anyway — and it was hard to believe any team would pony up anything more than the third-round compensatory pick Pittsburgh will likely receive for Bell once he ultimately leaves in free agency. But this feels like a bestcase scenario for the two-time all-pro, who must report in the next two weeks to get the accrued season toward free agency, which he seems so desperate to experience. Remaining with the Steelers keeps expectations tempered for Bell. Rather than going to another city and two-month savior expectations — not to mention the likelihood he’d have to touch the ball more than he really wants to — Bell will have the opportunity to reintegrate into Pittsburgh’s offense at a reasonable pace while knowing James Conner will continue to handle a lot of work, thus preserving the tread on his tires for 2019 and beyond.
Losers
Steelers: It really would have been nice if the AFC North leaders could have pawned off Bell’s drama and financial burden. That would have allowed them to fully commit to Conner while allocating the $6.8 million Bell could still make to shore up, say, the defense.
Jerry Jones: Reference Gruden. In fairness, Cooper has more upside than Thomas and, unlike Tate, is under contract in 2019. Still, given how run-centric the Cowboys are and how raw Dak Prescott still appears at time as a passer, further concern that Jerry might have surrendered too much freight for Cooper considering the alternatives.
DeSean Jackson: Probably wasn’t easy for the Bucs’ unhappy speedster seeing so many wideouts on the move Tuesday given he surely could’ve helped a contender. The return of Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has a far superior connection with Jackson to Jameis Winston’s, to Tampa Bay’s lineup should provide some consolation to D-Jax.
Patrick Peterson: He wanted out of Arizona, but the Cardinals refused to let him go ... or didn’t get their asking price. Feels like a missed opportunity for both parties, though the question now becomes: Will Peterson find himself still lost in the desert at age 30 two years from now, or will the only NFL team he’s ever known find him a new home where he can win in the twilight of his career?
Packers: Curious to see a team a halfgame out of the NFC North lead dump a Pro Bowl-caliber safety in Clinton-Dix and sacrifice depth by letting Montgomery go — though maybe better to get something for close to nothing in that case. Still, big picture, Green Bay doesn’t look more formidable in 2018 even as Aaron Rodgers chases that elusive second championship.
Cap-flush teams: It’s not fair to be overly critical of clubs like the Colts, Jets, Bills or Browns, all with at least $80 million of cap space in their respective 2019 war chests. Nonetheless, the deadline was a chance to potentially fetch an unhappy cornerstone from another team and incorporate him into a new foundation seeking to rebuild around a young quarterback (yes, Andrew Luck still counts).
LeSean McCoy: If an aging running back plays for Buffalo’s offense for another season-and-a-half, will anyone notice?