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The 2025 NFL trade deadline did not disappoint.
What was once a shrug on the league's annual calendar has become a date that rivals the MLB and NBA in terms of meaningful deals. A steady trickle of October swaps turned into a gushing faucet of moves Tuesday, a good chunk of which involved the New York Jets looking at their roster and saying "oh, no."
The landscape of the league shifted in a minor but significant way with a flurry of in-season trades. With the regular season halfway done and playoff pushes clicking into gear, there's plenty to unpack. While it's way too early to definitively say who helped themselves the most (and the least), we can always make some snap judgments to be unearthed later when the Dallas Cowboys win Super Bowl 61.
So who looks the best after the 2025 trade deadline?
Winner: Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are 6-2, but cracks began to show in their championship facade. The strain of losing a litany of starters threatened to derail Philadelphia's title defense. So Roseman went and found a mix of veteran help to backfill those losses.
Michael Carter and Jaire Alexander arrived to bolster the secondary, providing slot coverage that could push Cooper DeJean out to the boundary. Jaelan Phillips' three sacks didn't light the world on fire, but his 16.5 percent pressure rate would be second-highest among Eagles pass rushers and should provide an immediate boost paired with whatever an unretired Brandon Graham can bring to the table.
None of these players are sure things. Carter allowed a 109.8 passer rating from the slot with the Jets. Alexander looks like someone took a jar off the shelf that said "ALL PRO CB" and dropped it on the floor. Phillips has long been in search of a breakthrough only to be derailed by injury. But with in-season options limited and modest spending room, the franchise added talent at a minimal cost.
Philly sent out three future draft picks to land Carter, Alexander and Phillips. It still has a projected eight picks in the first five rounds to use after the compensatory selections from 2025's free agent exodus kick in. And it could add another high profile 2027 compensatory pick if Phillips shows out and then leaves next offseason. Roseman is playing with house money and he just. Keeps. Winning.
Loser: The New England Patriots
New England sold off two 2024 starters in swaps that brought back a pair of sixth round picks (at the cost of a pair of seventh round selections in the process). That was fine -- Keion White and Kyle Dugger had fallen out of favor under new head coach Mike Vrabel. But the Patriots weren't in position to rest on a 7-2 record built by the softest schedule in the NFL. This was a team that needed to patch up its blocking and pass rushing to generate something more than optimism in 2025.
Instead, Vrabel and company held tight. The biggest news to break on the team's official Twitter account was that the former linebacker would grow out his mustache this November.
Winner: Sauce Gardner
With one move, Gardner left the team tied for the worst record in the NFL for the team tied for the best record in the NFL. Gardner had fallen from "great" to "good" after losing head coach Robert Saleh in 2024. Now he gets to work with Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, best known for turning a Cincinnati Bengals unit held together with duct tape and not-quite-trustworthy players into a group that can get within one drive of a Super Bowl win.
Winner: The New York Jets' rebuild
New York is slated to have up to four picks in the top 40 selections of the 2026 NFL Draft -- two of their own, the Colts' first rounder and a second round selection from the Dallas Cowboys. The Jets could have three picks in the top half of the first round of the 2027 draft after dealing away Gardner and Quinnen Williams, depending on how Indianapolis and New York do next fall. With the 2025 roster going nowhere, the franchise sold high on its best players and brought in the assets for a rapid rebuild in northern New Jersey.
Will the Jets be an unwatchable mess without Gardner and Williams? Yep! Were they an unwatchable mess *with* Gardner and Williams? Also yes! But at least now they've got a little bit of hope to go with it.
Loser: Aaron Glenn
Glenn went 1-7 *with* All-Pros Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams in his lineup. His defense, once a strength and the part of the game he knows the best as a former cornerback and Detroit Lions' defensive coordinator, ranks 27th in points allowed and 26th in expected points added (EPA) allowed. And now he'll have to soldier through the rest of the season without arguably his two best players.
Loser: Breece Hall
Loser: Dallas Cowboys
Jerry Jones' first response to getting shellacked by an Arizona Cardinals offense led by journeyman quarterback Jacoby Brissett? Adding a linebacker who'd been phased out of the league's 32nd-ranked defense. Logan Wilson's 67 percent snap share was his lowest since a rookie 2020 in Cincinnati. His 13.2 percent missed tackle rate in 2025 is the highest of his career. So is a 139.0 passer rating allowed.
Wilson is better than the numbers suggest, but he can't fix the long list of ailments that threaten to extend Dallas' streak of seasons to end without an NFC title game berth to an even 30. His biggest benefit will be reducing the team's reliance on Kenneth Murray, who has been a disaster but played 99 percent of the team's defensive snaps this fall. Where did Murray come from? Well, he arrived via offseason trade with the Tennessee Titans.
Jones' second response? To spend big on a player who'll help fix the run defense while keeping the team trapped in salary cap hell and using up the low-cost draft assets that could have built a more sustainable roster. Quinnen Williams is a monster at the height of his powers, but his best years came under the stewardship of a trusted defensive mind in former Jets head coach Robert Saleh. Now he gets... Matt Eberflus, a man who has spent the last four years doing less with more and the coordinator behind the league's 31st-ranked defense this fall.
The Cowboys got a star player who'll shine bright. But the lesson that never seems to take root in Dallas is that you need a galaxy of supernovas, gas giants and red dwarfs that fit together to do anything more than torture your fanbase with an early playoff exit. Combine all the parts of Jones' big deals this fall into one place and you get, well, a pretty uninspiring picture.
On and on it goes, this thing of Jerry Jones.*
*the thing where he moves impulsively with little regard for the future because he is 83 years old.
Winner: Rashid Shaheed
It's only been three games, but Tyler Shough's -0.24 expected points added (EPA) per play is second-worst among NFL quarterbacks to only Cooper Rush. He'd failed to connect with Shaheed on a deep shot in that span (0-for-2) despite Shaheed's status as one of the league's most explosive downfield threats.
Now Shaheed gets to play with Sam Darnold, a player whose 0.37 EPA per play is the best in the league. Per SIS, he's completed 17 of his 27 deep throws this season and turned rookies Tory Horton and Elijah Arroyo into scoring threats in last week's rout of the Washington Commanders. His average pass *already* travels a league-high 9.6 yards downfield. Expect Shaheed's catch rate to shoot upward like a rocket.
Winner: Swaps involving player-for-player deals
2025 wasn't just about the Jets amassing draft capital. They also got a handful of young players who'll get an honest chance to prove their value for a rebuilding team. Quinnen Williams brought back Mazi Smith, a former first rounder. Michael Carter II brought back John Metchie, a former third rounder. Sauce Gardner's return included Adonai Mitchell, a former second rounder.
Back in October, Alohi Gilman and Odafe Oweh swapped places with the Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens, respectively. Same with Tyson Campbell and Greg Newsome with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns. While draft picks were involved in all these deals, we got a little more old-school trading card swaps than we're used to, allowing us to daydream about depth charts and potential fits in the days that follow.
Neither: Justin Herbert
The good news is the Chargers added a former first round pick to reinforce an offensive line that will be without All-Pro caliber tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt the rest of 2025. The bad news is it's Trevor Penning, who had to kick inside to guard after struggling to lock down a starting role for the blocking-needy New Orleans Saints after arriving as the 19th overall selection in 2022. Penning started at right tackle for New Orleans last fall, but moved to an interior spot after the franchise spent 2024 and 2025 first round picks on edge protectors.
Penning will get the chance to prove himself on the outside again, but it's tough to believe we'll see any massive improvement from a fourth-year player whose fifth-year team option wasn't picked up. Maybe leaving New Orleans' yawning shrug of a roster will help him realize his potential. It's more likely he's fine in moderation as Herbert continues to run for his life every third dropback he takes.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The winners (Jets, Eagles) and losers (Jerry Jones) of the 2025 NFL trade deadline
Reporting by Christian D'Andrea, For The Win / For The Win
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