What seemed primed to be an underwhelming trade deadline became anything but. Thank you, Jets.<\/p>\n
Inside:\u00a0Unpacking yesterday\u2019s massive deals, which\u00a0The Athletic graded here<\/a>, plus Mike Sando\u2019s top takeaways. We\u2019ll start in New York, of course.<\/p>\n This article is from Scoop City, The Athletic\u2019s NFL newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive it directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n New-Look Jets<\/p>\n \u201cPut your seatbelts on and get ready for the ride,\u201d said Jets head coach Aaron Glenn at his\u00a0introductory news conference<\/a>\u00a0in January. The franchise soon tossed aside\u00a0Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and Haason Reddick. Trimming highly paid veterans is typical of new regimes.<\/p>\n But trading two standouts in the primes of their careers? Do the Jets no longer\u00a0value Madden ratings<\/a>? These were their two highest-rated players.<\/p>\n Yesterday, they moved their best players for a collection of picks, underachieving (but highly drafted) players and cap relief. It was all part of the return our Zack Rosenblatt called \u201cthe cross-section of value and opportunity<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0The 1-7 Jets sent:<\/p>\n CB Sauce Gardner, a 25-year-old, two-time All-Pro under contract through 2030 ($30.1 million APY) to Indianapolis In return, they received:\u00a0<\/p>\n 2026 first (via Colts, projected 29th) It\u2019s a massive bet on New York\u2019s front office and coaching staff.\u00a0Amid the Jets\u2019 15th consecutive season without a playoff appearance, a talented-but-underachieving roster needed a reset. First-year general manager Darren Mougey just launched it.<\/p>\n You might be wondering \u2026<\/p>\n Weren\u2019t these foundational players?\u00a0Sure, but of what? The Jets won just 31 of the 100 games played by Gardner and\/or Williams, and they\u2019ve had the league\u2019s lowest winning percentage since drafting Williams No. 3 in 2019.<\/p>\n Still, won\u2019t it hurt their defense?\u00a0What defense? The Jets allow 26.7 points per game, field the league\u2019s worst passing defense (ranking 32nd in\u00a0DVOA<\/a>, which measures a team\u2019s efficiency by comparing success on every play to a league average) and rank 29th in sacks.<\/p>\n The floor isn\u2019t much lower without these two, though I\u2019ll concede this is a big loss for their run defense. Williams was their star, graded by PFF as the league\u2019s best run defender at his position, while Gardner is tackling better than in 2024.<\/p>\n Did they both want out?\u00a0No.\u00a0The Athletic\u00a0reported\u00a0Williams was \u201cmiserable\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and wanted to be traded, but Gardner\u00a0was the rare player who wanted to be a Jet for life. That seemed likely after his record-setting,\u00a0$120 million extension<\/a>, yet Mougey shrewdly made it a contract with a small signing bonus. That gave them flexibility to move Sauce.<\/p>\n Will this work?\u00a0The Jets tried something similar before. In July 2020, they\u00a0moved star safety Jamal Adams<\/a>\u00a0for Seattle\u2019s two first-round picks and change. One 2022 trade-up later, and the Jets had five first-round picks within two years.<\/p>\n They arguably hit on four of them \u2014 OL Alijah Vera-Tucker in 2021, and Gardner, WR Garrett Wilson and LB Jermaine Johnson II in 2022 \u2014 but the big miss was the one that mattered most: 2021\u2019s No. 2 pick, quarterback Zach Wilson.<\/p>\n Can they nail the QB pick this time?\u00a0Justin Fields ranks No. 30 in QBR. Going forward, our\u00a02026 NFL Draft Simulator<\/a>\u00a0gives them the league\u2019s best odds to land the No. 1 choice, which would provide Glenn and Mougey their pick of this year\u2019s class.<\/p>\n This offseason,\u00a0Zak Keefer detailed\u00a0how NFL teams ruin their young quarterbacks<\/a>, and no team has better illustrated that than the Jets, who have a habit of drafting quarterbacks for other teams to develop.<\/p>\n So next April, whether the league has turned its eye to Indiana\u2019s Fernando Mendoza\u00a0(who might make the most sense)<\/a>, Oregon\u2019s Dante Moore, Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson or someone else, the Jets need to give their next quarterback a chance to succeed for a change.<\/p>\n A few things might help.\u00a0Glenn saw how Jared Goff\u2019s surroundings transformed the Lions from 3-13-1 to a perennial NFC powerhouse: a strong offensive line, star receiver and talented tight end, plus a solid run game. The Jets have some ingredients:<\/p>\n This line is anchored by the league\u2019s second-best rookie tackle, Armand Membou, who made Dane Brugler\u2019s\u00a0midseason All-Rookie team<\/a>. Still, Glenn needs to get more from what\u2019s left of this defense.\u00a0When he was the Lions DC, they gave him four first-rounders to work with, and he improved their points allowed from the league\u2019s second-worst mark to eighth-best.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the Jets, so the ride won\u2019t be as smooth. But if Mougey can assemble a quarterback-friendly offense as Glenn improves their defense,\u00a0it might end with a parade<\/a>. Until then, buckle up.<\/p>\n What do Gardner and Williams bring to their new teams? The Colts and Cowboys are next, after Mike Sando\u2019s top takeaways.<\/p>\n Sando\u2019s Pick: Deadline takeaways<\/p>\n No one can call the NFL trade deadline boring this year. There was lots of action and those two big Jets surprises, plus some news that could affect the trade market in the coming offseason. Here are my four takeaways:<\/p>\n 1. Kyler Murray could be traded in the offseason.\u00a0The Cardinals\u2019 decision to\u00a0stick with career backup and spot starter Jacoby Brissett<\/a>\u00a0over their $46 million-a-year longtime starter suggests Murray will be available. GM Monti Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon did not draft Murray or extend his contract. If I\u2019m either of them, I\u2019m lobbying ownership to let me pick my own QB in the offseason and keep building.<\/p>\n 2. Daniel Jones is getting an extension from the Colts. Trading for Gardner confirms that Jones is the best option at QB for Indy moving forward (the Colts won\u2019t have the draft capital to select one early anytime soon). The Colts should be looking at the Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold deals if Jones plays efficiently for the full season.<\/p>\n 3. Gardner better not be as overrated as some evaluators think.\u00a0The price Indy paid for Gardner was in line with the compensation when the Rams acquired Jalen Ramsey from Jacksonville. Ramsey was the better all-around player. Some in the league think Gardner has to play press coverage to be effective. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo will be key for Indy getting the most from its new corner.<\/p>\n 4. Seahawks might have helped their run game. Seattle owns the NFL\u2019s most explosive pass offense partly because the team aligns in ways that coax defenses into loading up to stop the run. Adding speedy WR Rashid Shaheed by trade from New Orleans could wind up helping the ground game if defenses now feel compelled to keep their safeties deeper as a result.<\/p>\n Back to you, Jacob.<\/p>\n Colts and Cowboys address needs<\/p>\n Indianapolis is atop the AFC at 7-2. The Chiefs currently sit outside the playoff picture, as do the Ravens. The Bills, Patriots and Broncos have questions, too. If there\u2019s any year for Indy to swing a massive trade, it\u2019s 2025.<\/p>\n With quarterback Jones\u2019 $14 million salary likely to triple this offseason, the Colts are in an obvious win-now window. Heck, if things don\u2019t work this year or next, head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard might not be around long enough to miss those picks anyway.<\/p>\n What does Gardner bring to the Colts?\u00a0An elite corner, despite the worries. Per Next Gen Stats, Gardner has faced the opposition\u2019s No. 1 receiver on 45.5 percent of his snaps, the NFL\u2019s highest rate, but they rarely get separation against him. He leads the league in tight windows forced at 52 percent \u2014 just ahead of 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II\u2019s 51.2 percent.<\/p>\n Gardner immediately improves a defense that ranks 25th in passing yards allowed per game. If any defensive coordinator can get the Colts past quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, it might be Anarumo, now armed with former All-Pros in Gardner and CB Charvarius Ward, plus 2021 Pro Bowler Kenny Moore in the slot.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Colts just mortgaged their future<\/a> for a chance to win now, and the context of this year\u2019s AFC meant they had to try it.<\/p>\n How does this help Dallas?<\/p>\n I might be on an island here<\/a>, but what many considered a brutal offseason doesn\u2019t look so bad now. As Sando noted to me, whether Williams is as good as Micah Parsons misses the point: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn\u2019t want to go all in on a contract for Parsons.<\/p>\n Since April, the Cowboys \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n Added Williams, WR George Pickens, DT Kenny Clark and LB Logan Wilson. Improving their run defense was a priority for Jerry Jones, and for good reason. Since 2020, the Cowboys have allowed the NFL\u2019s second-most rushing yards in the regular season.\u00a0Now Dallas gets the league\u2019s best interior run defender, Williams, who pairs with the underrated DT Osa Odighizuwa to form an imposing front.<\/p>\n Jon Machota, who covers the Cowboys for\u00a0The Athletic,\u00a0wrote the following in his\u00a0story on the Williams trade:<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udcac \u201cIt\u2019s probably too late to turn things around this season, but it\u2019s not difficult to see how one of the worst defenses in franchise history could be much improved entering next season.\u201d<\/p>\n For more on these deals, read our trade deadline winners and losers<\/a>\u00a0column.<\/p>\n Extra Points<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc4b\u00a0Still here.\u00a0Plenty of big names remain stuck with their current teams.\u00a0Here\u2019s the full list<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u25b6\ufe0f Yesterday\u2019s most-clicked:\u00a0What\u2019s it like to be traded in the NFL? Players explain<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udceb Enjoyed this read? Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Athletic\u2019s free NFL newsletter in your inbox.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nDT Quinnen Williams, a 27-year-old All-Pro on a below-market contract through 2027 ($24 million APY) to Dallas<\/p>\n
\n2026 second (Cowboys, projected 43rd)
\n2027 first (via Colts)
\n2027 first (via Cowboys or Packers, whichever is better)
\nWR Adonai Mitchell (a 2024 second-rounder)
\nDT Mazi Smith (a 2023 first-rounder)
\n$30 million in 2026 cap space (approximate, per my quick math on OverTheCap)
\n$46 million in 2027 cap space<\/p>\n
\nTop Jets receiver Garrett Wilson is just 25, rookie tight end Mason Taylor is 21 and their long-term receiving options are likely to improve, given New York\u2019s odds of holding four picks in April\u2019s top 50.
\nEven if Breece Hall exits for a compensatory pick this offseason, their highly drafted line is allowing 2.1 yards before contact, the league\u2019s third-best mark. A plug-and-play running back should work.<\/p>\n
\nSwapped their 2026 second-round pick with the Packers\u2019 2026 first, also adding a 2027 sixth from Pittsburgh.
\nGained enough cap savings to keep Williams and Pickens long-term.<\/p>\n