Oh, to be a fly on the wall at 1 Jets Drive. Or The Star. Or even Cincinnati’s Eastern Bloc facilities.
What was shaping up as a very quiet NFL trade deadline turned out to be anything but Tuesday, as the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts engaging in some serious blockbustering. The Bengals made a move, too, if not the one they really needed to. There was also a fair amount of secondary activity as well, with some contenders loading up for playoff runs while several pretenders embraced their reality and began laying the groundwork for what they hope are brighter days ahead.
Who made out like bandits? Who might wind up with buyer’s remorse? Without further ado, your winners and losers as this year’s trade market officially closes its doors:
Wow. Just wow. A 1-7 team just jettisoned Pro Bowl-caliber players Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams in return for three first-round picks, a Round 2 selection and castoffs Adonai Mitchell and Mazi Smith – once highly regarded draft prospects who failed to reach their potential in Indy and Dallas, respectively, but should have opportunities to fill positions of need in Gotham. But this is obviously about the future, the NYJ now set up to largely influence the 2026 and ’27 drafts in what will be their latest hard reset.
