Jordan Stephenson
South Bureau Chief
The NFL trade deadline officially ended Nov. 5, so the players and teams who were discussed in trade rumors, will have to wait until the offseason to resume trade discussions. This trade deadline was another busy deadline, like last year’s trade deadline mainly because of the playoff contenders that wanted to bolster their roster for a potential championship run.
These are all the trade deadline deals that could help fortify teams to make the playoffs, or to clear cap space and acquire picks, also in some cases both. The Jets were finally able to reunite Davante Adams with Aaron Rogers by trading the Raiders a 2025 conditional 3rd rounder. The Jets also traded Mike Williams to the Steelers for a 2025 5throunder, who surprisingly caught a game winning touchdown in his 1st game from Russell Wilson. Since most of the Chiefs receivers were extremely injured, they decided to finally trade for DeAndre Hopkins by sending the Titans a 2025 conditional 5th rounder. Also, the Chiefs added to their dominant defense by trading for Joshua Uche, from the Patriots for a 2026 6th rounder.
The Lions had to make a trade after their all-pro DE Aidan Hutchinson suffered a fractured tibia and fibula, so they finally traded for Za’Darius Smith from the Browns by sending a 2025 and 2026 5th and 6th round pick, and receiving a 2026 7th rounder. The Packers basically salary dumped Preston Smith to the Steelers, because he had requested a trade weeks ago, and the Packers received a 2025 7th rounder. To get another number one receiver after already trading away Stefan Diggs, the Bills decided to trade for Amari Cooper from the Browns for a 2025 and 2026 3rd and 7th rounder, while also receiving a 2025 6th rounder. The surprising Commanders traded for all-pro CB Marshon Lattimore and a 2025 5th rounder, by sending a 2025 3rd, 4th, and 6th round picks.
There were some trades that happened before the trade deadline, and some that didn’t even happen for many reasons. Christian Kirk would’ve been traded but he had unfortunately broken his collar bone. The Adams trade was executed early mainly because the Jets were struggling and needed a spark to jumpstart their season. The Vikings bolstered their O-line by trading for Cam Robinson and a 2026 conditional 7th rounder, by sending a 2026 conditional 3rd rounder to the Jaguars. The Hopkins and Coopers trades were also made weeks before the trade deadline, for injuries and depth reasons.
There is only one undefeated team in the Chiefs, and currently six, seven or eight winning teams right now; four from the NFC and three from the AFC. These teams consist of the Lions, Bills, Steelers, Ravens, Eagles, Vikings, and Commanders. There are essentially many good teams that are playing great and winning games, which signifies that there is consistent parity right now. Also, how crucial complementary football is. This has made most NFL games extremely intriguing to watch.
The Eagles, Lions, and Commanders are definitely “the cream of the crop” in the NFC. Coming into this season, we absolutely thought the Cowboys would be one of the worst team, but the Lions have elevated themselves over everyone in the NFC and even the usual dominant 49ers. Speaking of the 49ers, they finally got Christian McCaffery back from his nagging Achilles injury, and just got to 4-4 with a 23-20 win over the Buccaneers. The Eagles have been playing complementary football the past few weeks, especially with Saquan Barkley and Halen Hurts dominating. The Lions continue to win, even though Jared Goff threw five picks in 26-23 comeback win vs the Texans.
The Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens are definitely “the cream of the crop” in the AFC. They have been the most consistent teams, in an extremely competitive AFC conference. The Bills are one of the most balanced offensive and defensive teams, with Josh Allen still playing dominant as usual. The Ravens have basically the most dominant offense because of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, but a defense that has been leaking to say the least, which is why Jackson is basically the leading MVP candidate. They recently defeated the Bengals 35-34, in high scoring game.
The Chiefs are 9-0, but don’t look as dominant as other seasons, especially offensively. Their dominant defense is solidified in the top five, but their offensive weapons besides Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt, needs to be more consistent. Patrick Mahomes is still great, even though he isn’t really leading in any statistical categories. They recently defeated the Broncos 16-14, in a low scoring defensive game. Some other good teams are the Chargers, Texans, Broncos, 49ers, Rams, Cardinals, Falcons, Packers and etc.
Now to the bad and lowly teams, they consist of the Jaguars, Raiders, Browns, Titans, Patriots, Cowboys, Saints, Giants, Panthers, and etc. The most important thing for these teams to get wins, is obviously playing complimentary football. Most of these bad teams, have continued to play non-complimentary football as usual.
stepj39@mail.broward.edu
caption: Ja’Marr Chase dominating the Ravens with 264 yards and three touchdowns. Photo courtesy of atozsports.com