NFL Trade Deadline 2018: Twitter Reacts to Trades, Fails, Surprises, Non-Deals

Traditionally, the NFL trade deadline has come and gone with little fanfare—and with a lot less activity than you'd see in the NBA or Major League Baseball. We saw a shift in the trend last season, though, as players like Jimmy Garoppolo, Kelvin Benjamin and Duane Brown were moved just before the deadline.

That trend continued in 2018, as we saw a surge in activity the week before the deadline and then a flurry of moves just before 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Yes, the NFL trade deadline is now an actual event.

 As Kevin Clark of The Ringer stated, the deadline-day activity felt like something you'd see in MLB:

As ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, the Detroit Lions traded wide receiver Golden Tate to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick. Tate, who has 517 yards and three touchdowns, is still a quality receiver, and he should help expand the Eagles offense.

The prospect of playing for the defending Super Bowl champion seems to have Tate a little, shall we say, pumped:

Tate wasn't the only veteran receiver moved just before the deadline, either. The Denver Broncos decided to trade Demaryius Thomas to the Houston Texans for a fourth-round pick and a swapping of seventh-rounders, as reported by NFL Media's Ian Rapoport:

Like Tate, Thomas has passed the 30-year-old mark but continues to be productive. He has 402 yards and three touchdowns this season.

Adding Thomas makes a ton of sense for the Texans, who lost wide receiver Will Fuller V to a torn ACL in Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins. However, as NFL Media's Lance Zierlein points out, the Texans may want to rework Thomas' contract:

Thomas is currently owed $14 million in base salary for 2019.

One of the deals made in the week before the deadline had the Dallas Cowboys sending a first-round pick to the Oakland Raiders for Amari Cooper. Considering the prices for Tate and Thomas at the deadline—and the fifth-round pick the New England Patriots paid for Josh Gordon early in the season—Dallas' move appears questionable at best in hindsight.

Cooper has just 280 yards receiving and one touchdown this season.

While the Lions and Broncos moved their wide receivers in order to get value while they could, the Green Bay Packers may have moved on from running back/receiver Ty Montgomery for other reasons.

Montgomery fumbled on an ill-advised kick-return attempt in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams. That cost quarterback Aaron Rodgers a shot at one final comeback attempt facing a two-point deficit.

Montgomery had already slipped out of favor in the offense, and that decision may have sealed his fate:

Montgomery now goes to the Baltimore Ravens on the cheap. According to NFL Media's Andrew Siciliano, in fact, the Ravens got a steal:

Montgomery wasn't the only player the Packers decided to move before the deadline either. They also moved safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, sending him to the Washington Redskins:

What's interesting is that Clinton-Dix may have wanted to go to a different team. As Zach Kruse of Packers Wire pointed out, the safety did his best to ensure teams knew he was available:

If Clinton-Dix did indeed want out, this move could prove to be a win-win.

Hopefully, addition by subtraction does help the Packers out this season. If not, we could be looking at another incredible season for Rodgers with nothing to show for it.

Those Rams the Packers fell to in Week 8? They made a move to improve their pass rush just before the deadline, snagging edge-rusher and former third overall pick Dante Fowler Jr. from the Jacksonville Jaguars.

If Los Angeles can coax quality production out of Fowler, it could turn a pass rush that has already produced 22 sacks into an elite unit. Buying low on former first-round talents is a trend for these Rams.

Jacksonville, meanwhile, gets rid of a player who simply hasn't worked out.

Speaking of not working out, running back Le'Veon Bell hasn't done any of that for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. With James Conner taking hold of the starting role, the Steelers probably would have liked to get something in return for Bell while they can, but that isn't going to happen.

It's hard to get traded when you refuse to be under contract.

Bell is far from the only notable player who didn't get moved before the deadline. Schefter reported on Tuesday that Cleveland Browns linebacker Jamie Collins, New York Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins and Raiders pass-rusher Bruce Irvin were also the subjects of trade talks:

Jenkins was a popular name heading into the trade deadline, as was Giants safety Landon Collins. However, New York decided to stop the selling at Damon Harrison and Eli Apple.

It's a little surprising that the Giants didn't try to make more deals, especially since at 1-7, their season is essentially over. It's also a little surprising a potential buyer like the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't add a piece or two.

The Patriots, frequently active in the trading game, also failed to get a deal done before the trade deadline, though they did try to acquire Thomas, per NFL Network's Michael Giardi:

Even though some anticipated deals didn't get done, this was still one of the most active deadline days we've ever seen in the NFL. Now, we'll spend the final nine weeks of the season figuring out which deals or non-deals will have a significant impact.

Making a splash is exciting, but it only matters if it gets you closer to a Super Bowl.