NFL Trade Deadline 2018: Examining Top News and Rumors
October 31, 2018
The 2018 NFL trade deadline lived up to the hype, as a handful of major deals went down to help Super Bowl contenders.
The Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans were among the biggest winners from Tuesday's deadline deals, as they all improved their respective rosters.
Some questionable moves by franchises in the playoff picture were also made, with the Green Bay Packers headlining that category by shipping off two key parts of their roster.
While there was plenty of business completed Tuesday afternoon, some teams rumored to be involved at the deadline were silent, and instead of getting something in return for star players, they were left with more of the same.
The full list of transactions from Tuesday's trade deadline can be found on NFL.com.
Top News
The two best teams in the NFC East poached players from the NFC North to bolster positions of need Tuesday.
Washington acquired safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a fourth-round pick, while Philadelphia sent a third-round selection to Detroit for wide receiver Golden Tate.
Clinton-Dix, who is tied for second in the NFL with three interceptions, joins a secondary that boasts league interception leader D.J. Swearinger and Josh Norman.
The Redskins rank eighth in passing defense entering Week 9, and with a fairly easy schedule to end the season, they should move up in that category, as Clinton-Dix provides more cover on deep passes among other things.
The Eagles were in need of a third wide receiver behind Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor on the depth chart, and although Jordan Matthews caught four passes for 93 yards in the Week 8 win over the Jaguars, he wasn't consistent enough to make the Eagles feel comfortable about their receiving corps.
Entering Tate, who has recorded 1,000 receiving yards in three of the last four seasons, to the depth chart is an immediate upgrade, and he'll have plenty of time to work on his connection with quarterback Carson Wentz during the bye week.
An extra perk of the deal for the Eagles is Tate turned in his best performance of 2018 in Week 4 against Dallas, who is Philadelphia's first opponent after its Week 9 bye.
Houston made a trade for a wide receiver for a different reason, as it needed to fill the void left by the injured Will Fuller.
The Texans brought in Demaryius Thomas from Denver in exchange for a fourth-round pick, and the two trade partners also swapped seventh-round selections.
The Thomas deal made the most sense for both sides of any trade made Tuesday, as it gives the Texans a viable No. 2 receiver behind DeAndre Hopkins and allows the Broncos to get rookie Courtland Sutton more involved in their offense.
Both teams will get to see how the trade worked in their favor in Week 9, as the Texans visit Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
Baltimore was the other AFC contender to trade for an offensive weapon, as it acquired Ty Montgomery from Green Bay for a future undisclosed draft pick.
Montgomery adds another dimension to the Ravens offense, as he's able to carry the ball and catch passes out of the backfield, as well as line up as a traditional receiver.
For an offense that already has a few gimmicks in its system due to the presence of Lamar Jackson, the Ravens should be able to confuse defenses even more with a versatile player like Montgomery.
The other big deal completed Tuesday turned some heads, as the Los Angeles Rams took a risk on Dante Fowler by sending a 2019 third-round pick and a 2020 fifth-round pick to Jacksonville in exchange for the former first-round pick.
The trade filled a need for the Rams, who were looking for a pure pass-rusher to complement their powerful interior defensive linemen, but giving up two picks for Fowler might be too much, especially if he fails to make the impact the Rams hope he can.
Rumors
Lost in the noise surrounding Tuesday's trades were the teams that did nothing to help out their respective causes despite being rumored to make deals ahead of the deadline.
The New York Giants were rumored to be one of the deadline's top sellers, but no deals were made in addition to last week's trades involving Eli Apple and Damon Harrison.
According to ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan, the Kansas City Chiefs were looking at the Giants' defensive backs, but nothing came from that reported interest.
One of the reasons why the Giants didn't end up making a deal was their high asking price for players, as Albert Breer of the MMQB reported they were asking for a second-round pick in exchange for Landon Collins.
Trading Janoris Jenkins and Collins would have been smart business by the Giants, as they would have added draft picks to their collection ahead of their further rebuild in 2019, but now they're stuck with two important assets on a 1-7 team that hasn't shown signs of improving.
The Oakland Raiders were another team mentioned heavily in trade talks leading up to the deadline, but they didn't make a move.
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Oakland's Bruce Irvin was one of the pass-rushers the Rams considered, but they weren't excited about Irvin or Denver's Shane Ray, while Miami's Cameron Wake was not on the trading block.
The only transaction made by the Raiders was the removal of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from the active roster following his retirement announcement on his personal Instagram page.
Although the Raiders already have three first-round picks in the 2019 NFL draft, they could've used more selections as head coach Jon Gruden attempts to overhaul the roster.
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