The NFL trade deadline is at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, after which players can no longer be traded without first clearing waivers. It is one of the ripest parts of the NFL calendar for overreactions. Fans of teams that are out of it want to see trades for useful draft picks. Fans of teams on the fringe of contention want to see moves that say those teams are going for it. And fans of the league's top teams want to see a move, such as the Rams' trade for Von Miller in 2021, that turns a contender into a Super Bowl champion.
It's an exciting time. A bunch of trades have already happened -- Davante Adams to the Jets, Amari Cooper to the Bills, DeAndre Hopkins to the Chiefs, among others -- and the next 48 hours will see more. We might even see deals involving positions other than wide receiver!
So we figured we'd dedicate Week 9 overreactions -- where we judge a few potential takeaways as legitimate or irrational -- to the trade deadline.
Jump to:
Giants/Raiders trading for Young?
Bengals adding before the deadline?
Chargers trading to bring back Williams?
Cowboys dealing away players?
Cardinals should trade for a CB?
The Giants or Raiders should trade for Bryce Young
I'm including both teams here because it makes sense for either -- and for similar reasons. The Raiders really don't have a quarterback at the moment. Both Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell have already been benched this season, O'Connell (thumb) is on injured reserve and Desmond Ridder finished Sunday's loss to the Bengals. Whatever happens the rest of the way for the Raiders, they need to find a QB in the offseason.
The Giants, of course, still have Daniel Jones starting at quarterback. But his guaranteed money runs out after this season, and the Giants didn't look like they trusted him to throw a pass Sunday until they got to the second half and had no other choice. He had zero passing yards in the first half (despite throwing a touchdown pass ... think about that), and 121 of his 174 on the day came in the fourth quarter of the loss to Washington. The Giants have said they'd give Jones the year to show whether he can still be their franchise quarterback, but given that they're 2-7 and he's not lighting up the scoreboard, it's likely they're also looking for a new signal-caller this offseason.
Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION
The Panthers have been kind of putting it out there that they don't want to trade Young. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft but got benched early this season for Andy Dalton and played the past two games only because Dalton has an injured thumb. Carolina got its second win of the season Sunday, beating the undermanned Saints with Young completing 16 of 26 passes for 171 yards, a touchdown pass and an interception. If they're planning to go back to Dalton once he's healthy, that indicates they might be done with Young entirely ... so why not get something for him while they can?
It might not be any more than a fourth-round pick (the price the Cowboys paid last year to take former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance off the 49ers' hands), but it's something. And the Panthers will need draft capital to find Young's replacement in the offseason.
No, I'm not saying Young is definitively the answer for either the Giants or Raiders. But again ... he was the top pick in the draft just 18 months ago. He has some talent. If you know you're going to be looking for a new solution at QB in a few months, what's the harm in bringing a guy like that into your building now. Either New York or Las Vegas could spend a couple of months finding out whether it can build him back up into what the Panthers thought he'd be as a pro.
And if it's a "yes," one of those teams might have a steal. If it's a "no," it's not like it'd cost all that much to find out.
The Bengals will be adding at the deadline for a change
Cincinnati is not a team that makes trades. It is hyperconservative with draft picks and generally loathes paying premium prices for players who aren't its own. But people around the league believe Cincinnati is at least looking into the idea of acquiring a defensive player and/or possibly a running back ahead of Tuesday's deadline.
It would be out of character, but the chatter is out there, and it's real. The Bengals have seen the contending Chiefs, Ravens and Bills (plus the Jets, whose record is worse than theirs) acquire big-name veteran receivers, and they still believe they are in their Super Bowl window.
Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION
As poorly as things have gone for the Bengals this season, they're still 4-5 after beating the Raiders -- a half-game out of the final AFC playoff spot. They still have Joe Burrow, whom they believe gives them a chance to beat anybody. They have a Thursday game this week against the Ravens, and they believe they should have beaten them when they played the first time. (They lost an overtime heartbreaker after they botched a hold on a potential winning field goal.) If they can win Thursday to get to 5-5, everything they had hoped to accomplish this season would still be in front of them and attainable.
Again, it would be out of character for the Bengals to trade for a difference-making player at midseason. But this isn't just any season. This might be the last for receiver Tee Higgins and/or edge rusher Trey Hendrickson in Cincinnati, and wideout Ja'Marr Chase's future there remains murky until he gets the contract he wants. The Bengals are in go-for-it mode, even if they're still under .500.
The Chargers should bring back Mike Williams
In their first offseason with Jim Harbaugh as coach and Joe Hortiz as GM, the Chargers were giving off rebuilding vibes. Stuck with tough cap issues, they traded away franchise mainstay Keenan Allen and released Williams, turning over their wide receiver room in the middle of QB Justin Herbert's prime.
But what looks like a rebuild to us in March isn't always that. Harbaugh is not a coach who loses a lot, and it's possible we underestimated these Chargers, who play good defense, run the ball well and just improved to 5-3 with a dominant victory over the Browns on Sunday. Surprise AFC contenders, the Chargers might be poised to add come Tuesday, and Williams is a guy the Jets have seemed willing to trade away in recent weeks following the acquisition of Davante Adams.
Verdict: OVERREACTION
Do the Chargers actually need him? Quentin Johnston, who was a first-round pick in 2023, returned from injury to put up 118 yards and a touchdown on four catches Sunday. Rookie Ladd McConkey had a huge two-touchdown game in Week 8. Joshua Palmer is in his fourth season with the Chargers and has been a reliable third receiver basically the entire time. They also have DJ Chark Jr. and Jalen Reagor.
The Chargers might need to add someone if they want to make a run for the AFC playoffs, but (A) they also might not, and (B) their young wide receiver group might just be good enough as it is right now. We underestimated the Chargers in March, so let's not repeat the mistake in November.
The Cowboys will actually be trading away players at the deadline
Things get worse in Dallas every week. The offense looked listless again in a 27-21 loss to the Falcons. They fell to 3-5 for the season, and it's the first time in five years they've lost three straight Dak Prescott starts. Prescott hurt his hamstring and couldn't even finish this game. Their next three games are against the Eagles, Texans and Commanders, all of whom have winning records, and it's possible the Prescott injury could mean the Cowboys have to play some (or all) of those games without their starting QB.
Cowboys fans always want the team to be adding more than it does. But if they're being honest with themselves about this season, it might make more sense to trade away some guys and see about loading up on draft picks to avoid ending up with a thin roster again anytime soon.
Verdict: OVERREACTION
I'm not seeing it. Jerry Jones isn't giving up on a season in early November. He actually hinted after Sunday's game that the Cowboys might be active at the deadline. And maybe they will, but I'll believe it when I see it.
They're going to say they're getting edge rusher Micah Parsons and other injured players back at some point and continue to hope that the young players on the roster improve. And frankly, unless they made the seemingly unthinkable decision to put a star player, such as Parsons, on the market, I'm not sure how many Dallas players would even bring back enough in return to justify white-flagging the season. I'm more willing to believe the Cowboys add a running back or defensive lineman before Tuesday afternoon than I am to think they're going to be unloading. It just doesn't sound like them.
The Cardinals should make a big trade for a cornerback and go all-in
Arizona won again Sunday, smothering the Chicago Bears with a surprisingly tough defense and winning with its run game on offense. It was the Cardinals' third win in a row and improved their record to 5-4, which is good enough for solo first place in the NFC West. (The Rams and 49ers are each 4-4 and a half-game back because Arizona hasn't had its bye yet.)
The Cardinals are an odd team; they are in first place despite a negative point differential, having allowed seven more points this season than they've scored. They lost big to the Commanders and the Packers, and before blowing out the Bears, they won two games in a row on last-second field goals. But they're playing better defense the past two weeks than their personnel would seem to indicate they could, and they've already secured head-to-head division victories over both the Rams and 49ers. Only one of the games remaining on their schedule is against a team that currently has a winning record (at Minnesota on Dec. 1).
The NFC West is quite clearly up for grabs, especially if the 49ers continue to struggle with injuries, and the Cardinals are in position to steal it.
Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION
I like the idea of the Cardinals adding. Whether it's the Saints' Marshon Lattimore or even an edge rusher, such as the Giants' Azeez Ojulari, the Cardinals locker room would get a boost from the idea that the front office wants to bolster the roster and reward the team's surprising start. Kyler Murray has played well, and the run game behind James Conner has been excellent.
It might seem like it's a year or two early for the Cardinals, and we all know about their penchant for falling apart late in the season. But chances like these don't come around very often, and if the price is right, it's worth making a move to make sure this first-place thing doesn't turn out to be a fluke.