On November 4th, The National Football League(NFL) set its trade deadline. This meant that any trading of assets between teams were to be completed by that day at 4pm. On the day of the deadline, we saw many transactions. Some trades were miniscule, while others could make or break a franchise’s near-future. In this article, we’re going to take a look at 4 of the more important transactions made during the deadline, and give our opinion on how well the trades went.
I’d like to start with probably the biggest deal of the season, CB Sauce Gardner being traded from the NY Jets, to the Indianapolis Colts for 2026 and 2027 1st round draft picks, as well as WR Adonai Mitchell. This trade came as quite a shock to many people, including Sauce himself after signing a 4-year extension with the Jets before the start of the season. This deal made Sauce Gardner the highest paid CB in the NFL. While it was a surprise, I believe that this trade greatly helps both sides. The Colts are a potential Superbowl Contender that needed one final piece to solidify their chances in the post-season. The Jets are a struggling team who needed a drastic change of approach on the season. The two 1st round draft picks allow the Jets to rebuild their broken team, while Adonai Mitchell offers a potentially solid WR2 that is still on their rookie deal. Overall, I give this trade an A grading on both sides of the transaction, and I believe this was a great deal.
The next trade I’d like to talk about is the trade between the Jets and the Cowboys. It seems the Jets are moving towards a complete rebuild, after trading Sauce Gardner, they’ve also decided to trade DL Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for 2027 1st and 2nd round picks, and DL Mazi Smith. This trade allows both struggling teams to hopefully improve within the next year or two. After the loss of DE Micah Parsons, via trade with the Green Bay Packer, the Cowboys defense has played at an all-time low. With this trade, the owner of the Cowboys hopes to bandage the great hole that his absence has had on this defense. On the other side, the Jets chose to trade Quinnen Williams in the hopes that they could free up cap space for future signings as well as obtain draft capital to build up this roster with potential young talent. This trade deserves an A- grade. While I think it is a pretty great trade, I think Quinnen Williams could’ve potentially been worth another 1st round pick, making it a similar trade to the Sauce Gardner trade. But overall, it was still a somewhat fair trade.
One trade that happened the day before the deadline was the trade between the Miami Dolphins and the Philadelphia Eagles. This trade consisted of The Eagles receiving DE Jaelan Phillips in exchange for a 2026 3rd round pick. In my opinion, I believe this was a pretty great trade seeing how the Miami Dolphins have struggled throughout the season. With Jaelan Phillips playing on the 5th year option of his rookie contract, he was set to become an unrestricted free agent in the following offseason. With Phillips unlikely to return to this underperforming team, the Dolphins were smart in trading him to the Eagles. At least they would get something in return for him, rather than losing him to free agency with nothing to show for it. On the other side, I think the Eagles did a pretty good job in trading for Phillips. As the Superbowl defending champs, the Eagles are looking to build off that monumental feat by building a roster fit to win another one this year. Jaelan Phillips is a serious threat off the edge and he can give the Eagles that little push they need to reach the promised land once more. Overall, I give this trade a B+. I also believe that the Dolphins may have been able to acquire slightly more assets for such a great defensive piece, but walking away with something is still better than sitting there with nothing.
The final trade I’d like to speak on is another trade made by the Philadelphia Eagles for former All-Pro CB Jaire Alexander as well as a 2027 7th round pick from the Baltimore Ravens. In exchange, the Ravens received a 2026 6th round pick. With Jaire Alexander also only having been playing on a one-year deal, he was also set to become a free agent in the 2026 offseason. With this trade, the Ravens looked to receive compensation for losing Jaire instead of letting him walk in return for nothing. On the Eagles side of things, they are building a roster full of talent in preparation to defend their title as Superbowl Champs. While it is highly unlikely that Jaire Alexander will be re-signed in the 2026 offseason, I believe that he will also help to achieve their goal of winning back-to-back championships. I give this trade a B+ as well. While I believe he will help this Eagles secondary, I am also skeptical as to how well he can play. If he can find a way back to his All-Pro performance, then this team just managed to pull off the steal of the deadline, but if not, then he will only become a solid role-player that can help aid some of the younger players on this roster.
That’s it for our thoughts on the NFL Trade Deadline. I know we’re all excited to see how these trades work out for the teams. I think this was a fun but nothing insane sort of trade deadline and I was glad I could cover it. Be sure to tell us your thoughts on the Trade Deadline, and look forward to more coverage on this NFL season. We hope you have a RAM-Tastic Day!
