NFL TRADE DEADLINE TAKEAWAYS
As the NFL trade deadline came and passed we learned a few things: The Indianapolis Colts are trying to win the Super Bowl now; the New York Jets might be good by the end of the decade; and the Dallas Cowboys are confusing.
Those three teams grabbed the headlines at the deadline. Here’s what they did and what it means.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
With a 7-2 record, despite a loss last week at Pittsburgh, the Colts are still the top seed in the AFC — and they want to stay there.
Indy sent two No. 1 draft picks (2026, 2027) to the Jets in exchange for cornerback Sauce Gardner. As well as the Colts have played this year, their weakness has been their pass defense which ranks 26th in the league (244 yards per game). They have also allowed 15 passing touchdowns.
Gardner, who looked like one of the best cornerbacks in the league his first two years before a sub-par third year, can fix that. Going from the worst team in the league to one of the best is sure to be an emotional boost for the talented defensive back, and the Colts hope that turns into the play that had him among the best corners those first two years.
NEW YORK JETS
Not long after the Jets got the two first-round picks and wide receiver A.D. Mitchell from the Colts for Gardner, they sent defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys for a second-round pick in 2026 and a first-round pick in 2027.
So the Jets, whose offensive struggles have been well documented, traded away their two best defensive players in the span of a few hours. They may not win another game this season (not that they would have won many more if they didn’t make a trade).
What the Jets did was set themselves up for what could be a good future. If they make the most of those draft picks, the worst team in the league over the past 10 years could actually be good.
In 2026, the Jets will have two first-round picks (their own and the Colts) and two second-round picks (their own and the Cowboys). In 2027, they will have 10 total picks, including three first-round picks (their own, the Colts and the Cowboys).
DALLAS COWBOYS
The Cowboys, at 3-5-1, have a lot of ground to make up in 2025. They are not going to win the NFC East where the Eagles have a comfortable three-game lead and a head-to-head win. A wild-card berth doesn’t look promising, either.
They only lead Washington (3-6), the Giants (2-7) and the Saints (1-8) in the conference.
Early in the day, the Cowboys sent a seventh-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for linebacker Logan Wilson, who had asked for a trade out of Cincinnati. That’s not a big deal. Wilson wasn’t playing well for the worst defense in the league, but he was probably worth a seventh.
Williams is a star. And it’s not easy to get stars, but the Cowboys had a star before the season in Micah Parsons and traded him to Green Bay when they couldn’t come to terms on a new contract.
In another year, Williams is going to want a new contract. If you total up what the Cowboys did from the go, they traded Parsons and a second-round pick in 2026 for Williams, 31-year-old Kenny Clark and a first-round pick in 2027.
Confused? Me, too.
BIG GAME IN THE WEST
San Francisco (6-3) will host the Rams (6-2) Sunday afternoon in a crucial NFC West game.
The 49ers beat the Rams, 26-23, earlier this season in Los Angeles, and a season sweep could go a long way in determining the division winner.
In a strange quirk in the schedule, the 49ers, who are 3-0 in the division, will have just two division games left after Sunday — at Arizona and home with Seattle the final game of the season.
The Rams, meanwhile, will be finished with the 49ers after Sunday, but have yet to play the Cardinals or the Seahawks.
GAME OF THE WEEK
New England at Tampa Bay
The surprising AFC East leader Patriots (7-2) go south to meet the not-so-surprising NFC South leading Bucs (6-2).
New England has won six straight, but the last four were against New Orleans, Tennessee, Cleveland and Atlanta. The Pats are an impressive 4-0 on the road this season.
Tampa will provide the Pats’ toughest test since they upset Buffalo, 23-20, over a month ago. Tampa’s two losses this season came to Detroit and Philadelphia, and the Bucs have wins over Seattle and San Francisco.
