The NFL’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline has come and gone, but not before some pretty significant deals got done. Here's a roundup of Tuesday's most impactful trades and what they mean.
Vikings can’t replace Cousins, but landing Dobbs from Arizona helps
The Minnesota Vikings have wasted no time bringing another quarterback into the fold following Sunday’s devastating Achilles injury that’s ruled veteran Kirk Cousins out for the season. The franchise acquired Josh Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon.
Dobbs has been primarily a career backup up until this point but put up decent numbers as a starter on a thin-but-rebuilding Arizona squad that’s close to getting Kyler Murray back under centre after a long absence. He was demoted Monday when the team announced backup Clayton Tune would get the start in Week 9 if Murray is still not available.
Rookie Jaren Hall replaced Cousins last week after the latter was hurt.
Minnesota will be the fourth team Dobbs has suited up with in the NFL. Dobbs appeared in six games with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2018 to 2019 but never started, then started two games with the Tennessee Titans last season before landing as Arizona’s season-opening No.1 this year. Dobbs now finds himself in a much better situation offensively — the Vikings have plenty of weapons to make any starter’s job a little easier.
Tune is now the only QB on the Cardinals’ active roster, which should indicate the impending return of Murray. Whoever is starting Sunday, they won’t have an easy time of it — the Cardinals take on the Cleveland Browns’ dangerous defence in Week 9.
Cousins was playing some of the best football of his entire career when he went down as the Vikings — despite being without star receiver Justin Jefferson the last few weeks — had strung together four wins in their past five outings to climb back up to .500 on the season and re-enter the playoff conversation. Dobbs may not necessarily get them there, but he is a proven backup with recent starting experience who’s proven to be a quick study on a new team whether he starts or plays a supporting role.
The Vikings weren’t the only team with a need at the quarterback position, but they were the only franchise to address it Tuesday via the trade market. The QB market is slim, to say the least. With a growing list of teams dealing with injuries at the position, it’s worth wondering if perhaps teams will dip into a free agency market that includes Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Colt McCoy, and Nick Foles.
Commanders overhaul defensive line with trades of Young, Sweat
Two of the biggest — as in, physical stature and on-field impact — names on the NFL list of potential trade targets resided on the Washington Commanders' defensive line in Montez Sweat and Chase Young. And on Tuesday, both were dealt ahead of the league's deadline.
Young, selected by Washington second overall in 2020, is now en route to San Francisco where he joins what's already an intimidating pass rush headlined by Nick Bosa. The 49ers, who started the season 5-0 but have now lost three straight, are clearly looking for a spark and should find exactly that in a healthy Young, who has five sacks in seven games this seasn. At just 24, Young has struggled to stay healthy so far in his career and hasn't played a full season since his rookie campaign in 2020. But he's still got a long career ahead and will now be surrounded by an impressive group of teammates.
Bears land edge Montez Sweat in future-focused move
Unlike some other deadline-day shoppers, the Chicago Bears aren’t contending this year. But GM Ryan Poles is getting a head start on next summer’s to-do list by landing one of the most coveted pass-rushers on this fall’s trade market in Sweat in exchange for a second-round pick.
Sweat, 27, is a pending free agent coming off his rookie deal with the Commanders. The team drafted him 26th overall in 2019 as a key piece in the building of their powerful defensive line and exercised his fifth-year option in 2022, but talk of whether they might extend Sweat turned to trade speculation entering this season once the Commanders invested in teammate and defensive tackle Daron Payne.
With 6.5 sacks through eight games this season, Sweat is currently on pace for a career-high in sacks. It's no surprise he was garnering plenty of deadline trade interest, with NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reporting that the Atlanta Falcons were also in on the rusher.
The Commanders earn good value in what should be a pretty high second-round pick in exchange for the fifth-year defensive end, while the Bears have plenty of cap space to spend as they continue building up — and plenty of picks, too, for that matter. Based on the current standings, Chicago (2-6) is poised to pick third overall but also has Carolina’s selection at No. 2 overall.
Bills address need on defence by trading for Rasul Douglas
The Buffalo Bills were hit hard by the injury bug earlier this season, with linebacker Matt Milano, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and cornerback Tre'Davious White suffering serious injuries. It's hard to replace those three defensive leaders, but acquiring cornerback Rasul Douglas out of the defence school of Green Bay is a great place to start.
Douglas, who still has one year left on his current contract, lands in Buffalo in exchange for a third-round pick -- the Bills get a fifth-round pick in the deal. The 28-year-old bounced around the league earlier in his career but made an immediate impact upon joining the Packers in 2021, igniting the defence and instantly taking on a leadership role. In two full seasons with the club he posted nine interceptions. That's an area in which the Bills have struggled of late. As the team prepares for a tough stretch ahead, it appears to have addressed a concern just in time.
Football world clamours for Davante Adams trade out of Vegas, but Raiders don't budge
If you watched Monday night’s matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and Detroit Lions, you saw how frustrated Davante Adams was. It’s a familiar sight on the silver-and-black sideline — the star wide receiver has been airing his frustrations all season, and you can’t exactly blame him: The game-breaker joined the Raiders in the summer of 2022 to team up with his old pal Derek Carr, but the QB is now in New Orleans while Adams is stuck running routes for Jimmy Garoppolo, Aidan O’Connell, and Brian Hoyer. And things reached a fever pitch Monday night with a pair of overthrown passes and a frustrated, dejected Adams who brought in just one catch for 11 yards on the night.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, teams were calling to inquire about Adams but the Raiders shut down trade talks. So, the football world put matters into their own hands and tried to will a trade to happen…
... but the Raiders ultimately did not budge, keeping Adams in Vegas.
Vikings deal guard Ezra Cleveland to Jacksonville
The Vikings were busy on Tuesday, also completing another deal to send guard Ezra Cleveland to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a late-round draft pick. The Jaguars, who have quietly put together five straight wins, sit comfortably atop the AFC South and are clearly adding some muscle to their offensive line. In Minnesota, Cleveland carved out a reputation as a strong run blocker. An injury held him out of the Vikings’ last two games, with Dalton Risner starting in his place. Looks like he’ll be seeing plenty more action.
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