Can the NFL chill out for like… five minutes? Is that too much to ask? I’m old enough to remember when Jimmy Graham being traded by the Saints was the biggest trade of the free agency window. Nowadays, a trade of that magnitude wouldn’t even get covered on national television. Sure, it makes free agency more enjoyable for us fans and media alike, but it’s a lot to keep track of. Every time that I went to write this article I was scared there’d be another big trade right around the corner, and sure enough, that turned out to be the case.
We’re going to break down each trade that has happened in the NFL in the last week and do what any self-respecting journalist would do- grade them. Are the grades subjective? Sure. Are they an antiquated way of covering sports trades that’s been done to death? Maybe. Does it matter to yours truly? Not even a little. If you have any feedback, I’d love to hear from you so you can reach out to me on Twitter with your complaints and grievances @DanteCollinelli. Without further ado, let’s get going because we have a lot to discuss.
Browns trade for EDGE depth
Cleveland receives: DE Chase Winovich
New England receives: LB Mack Wilson
We start off with a doozy. Ok, I lied. This one is nothing special, but solid depth pieces swapping cities was officially the first trade approved by the league this year, don’t blame me. Winovich has done fine for the Patriots, but he’s never been much more than a rotational guy. Thankfully in Cleveland, he won’t have to be anything more than that. As for Mack Wilson, he’s carved out a nifty career in the league ever since being drafted in the 5th round. He’s more of a special teamer than anything else.
Grades:
Cleveland: B
New England: B
Tampa brings in Tom Brady’s friends, exhibit 3267.
Tampa Bay receives: IOL Shaq Mason
New England receives: 2022 5th round pick
Tampa:
The genesis of the Bucs’ starting offense in the last week has been mind-blowing. Only about 10 days ago, we thought they’d be losing Alex Cappa, Ali Marpet and Ryan Jensen all while having Kyle Trask starting at QB. It turns out that after 6 weeks of spending time with his family and playing Wordle that Tom Brady decided that retirement just wasn’t for him and he announced he had already changed his mind. The Bucs also brought back Ryan Jensen at a cut rate, and while they couldn’t convince Ali Marpet to unretire, their fall back plan of adding Brady’s former teammate in New England in Shaq Mason is more than an adequate option 2. Mason’s been one of the best guards in the league the last three seasons or so, so getting him for what would be a draft pick spent on a special teamer is a steal.
Grade: A+
New England:
How? How do you only get a fifth for a 28 year old on a team-friendly deal that was one of the best in the league at his position according to PFF? You know how they say that head coach Bill Belichick keeps GM Bill Belichick employed? This might be further proof. Yes, the Patriots have a history of somehow winning these trades, but I’m not too sure on this one.
Grade: C
Carson goes to Wentz-inton, DC (yes that was lame)
Washington receives: QB Carson Wentz, 2022 2nd round pick, 2022 7th round pick
Indianapolis receives: 2022 2nd round pick, 2022 3rd round pick, 2023 3rd round pick (becomes a 2nd if Wentz plays 70% of the snaps this upcoming season)
Washington:
I’m personally going to be interested to see how the Commanders’ faithful (I’m still getting used to the new name and it’s still weird for me to type out) reacts to Carson Wentz this coming season. They’ve spent the better part of 7 years hating this man’s very existence and telling Eagles fans that he sucks and now they’ll have to cheer on the man held together by super glue and duct tape to turn the team’s fortunes around. Last year he showed he was in fact capable of playing a full season, even if it did mean playing a game with 2 sprained ankles. That being said, he’s seemingly always battling some form of injury or ailment and that’s a lot to pay for what’s essentially a bridge QB. If he’s only going to be in DC for a year (like he was in Indy), then why not just stick it out with Taylor Heinecke? Is Wentz that much better at this stage in his career? I’m not sure. I want Carson to do well, but this is a hefty price for a question mark who’s always injured.
Grade: B-
Indianapolis:
Well, that was fun while it lasted. You traded a decent price to bring in Wentz, including your first-round pick this year, and you didn’t even get anywhere close to returning on investment. I’m not sure what the best course of action around Wentz was, but this seemed like trading him for the sake of trading him.
Grade: C
The Chargers make their defense SCARY
LA receives: EDGE Khalil Mack
Chicago receives: 2022 2nd round pick, 2023 6th round pick
LA:
This is an absolute steal. Someone call 9-1-1 because Chargers GM Tom Telesco just committed highway robbery. Yes, Khalil Mack may have taken a slight step back in recent years, but he’s adding to an already star-studded defense in LA. This could do for the Chargers what the addition of JJ Watt did for the Cardinals’ young defense. This also gives the team a bunch of flexibility in the draft with the 17th overall pick. Well done, LA.
Grade: A+
Chicago:
Are we sure Ryan Pace wasn’t the one who made this deal? Yes, I know he was fired and replaced with Ryan Poles, but this has Pace written all over it. I just don’t get it. Sure, you’re getting a big contract off the books, but the return just doesn’t make sense. You obviously weren’t going to get a first round pick, but you could have done better. Hell, even if that 6th round pick were this year instead of next year, it would have been much better. There’s a rebuild afoot clearly and the Bears aren’t pretending that they’ll be something early in Justin Fields’ career.
Grade: C-
Colts and Raiders swap defenders
Indianapolis receives: EDGE Yannick Ngakoue
Las Vegas receives: CB Rock Ya-Sin
Not much to say here other than to wonder what the record for “most times a single player has been traded in NFL history” is and wonder how close Yannick Ngakoue is to owning that record (this is the 3rd time since August of 2020 that he’s been traded and he’s only turning 27 next week). As for Ya-Sin, it just never seemed to gel in Indy. Now he gets a fresh start in Vegas and will probably be a starter for the Raiders.
Colts Grade: B
Raiders Grade: B+
Seattle BLOWS IT UP
Denver receives: QB Russell Wilson, 2022 4th round pick
Seattle receives: 2022 1st round pick (#9 overall), 2023 1st round pick, 2022 2nd round pick, 2022 5th round pick, QB Drew Lock, TE Noah Fant, DL Shelby Harris
Denver:
We’ve only been saying it for a half-decade that the Broncos are a QB away from being serious contenders and they finally listened. Is it who they initially wanted? No, but after Aaron Rodgers re-upped with the Packers, that deal was obviously off the table. To say that Russell Wilson was a plan B is an insult to how good Wilson has been, however. He is, after all, a 9-time Pro Bowler, a Super Bowl Champion and an all-around great guy- just look at his 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. The Broncos saw what the Rams did to get their QB last year and followed suit. After all, that move did result in a Rams super bowl victory. It’s the going rate for star QBs nowadays and if it pays off with a Lombardi, it will be more than worth it.
Grade: A (becomes A+ if they win a super bowl)
Seattle:
It’s been inevitable for a few years that the Seahawks were on the decline, and we saw what they were without Wilson last year- a mess. This offseason they’ve also released LB Bobby Wagner, officially bringing an end to their window. Don’t be surprised if one of Tyler Lockett or DK Metcalf is on the move soon as well. As for what they got back, Shelby Harris is a fine starting-caliber defensive tackle and Drew Lock is an average QB but bringing in Noah Fant makes this move intriguing to me. Fant is the best tight end the team has had since they traded for Jimmy Graham. Some may look to his stats with the Broncos and point out that they weren’t that impressive, but he was part of an offense with plenty of mouths to feed. He should be more of a focal point in Seattle.
The draft picks look great on the surface, but let’s call a spade a spade, the Seahawks’ front office hasn’t drafted well in the early rounds in recent years, and now they hold a top 10 pick. They can’t afford to mess this up or the rebuild will already be off to a shaky start.
Grade: A-
Cleveland steals a WR1
Cleveland receives: WR Amari Cooper, 2022 6th round pick
Dallas receives: 2022 5th round pick, 2022 6th round pick
Let’s sum this one up pretty simply, it’s a pick swap and Amari Cooper for a 5th round pick. Keep in mind, the Cowboys traded a 1st round pick to acquire Cooper back in 2018 and then extended him in 2020 for $20 million a season. Then just 2 years later, after having Michael Gallup breakout and having CeeDee Lamb fall into their lap, they ship him off to Cleveland for pennies on the dollar. Cap management at its finest.
Cleveland Grade: A+
Dallas Grade: D
Davante Adams rejoins his college QB in Vegas
Las Vegas receives: WR Davante Adams
Green Bay receives: 2022 1st and 2nd round picks
Las Vegas:
This essentially is an NBA-style sign-and-trade. The Raiders traded away compensation to then make Davante Adams the highest-paid wide receiver in the league by a fairly hefty margin and given that Adams is the best in the league at receiver and that the AFC West is in an arms race, it was a necessary move. Adams and QB Derek Carr played together at Fresno State and are still good friends. This move had to be made for the Raiders to stand a chance at making the playoffs keeping up with Kansas City, Denver, and the Chargers within the division.
Grade: A
Green Bay:
So let me get this straight, you spent years neglecting the weapons on your offense so that Adams was the only target worth a damn for Aaron Rodgers, including drafting a QB in the first round instead of several good wideouts in 2020 which started a rift between Aaron Rodgers and your team. You then re-sign Aaron Rodgers to the biggest contract in league history, only to then trade the only weapon he has? What’s even more shocking is that apparently, Rodgers knew this trade was coming. What are we doing here Green Bay? Explain it to me like I’m five. At least you’re going to have to use those picks on targets for your 2-time reigning MVP now, I guess.
Grade: C-
The Cleveland (side)show
Cleveland receives: QB Deshaun Watson, 2024 6th round pick
Houston receives: 2022 1st round pick, 2022 4th round pick, 2023 1st round pick, 2024 1st round pick, 2023 3rd round pick, 2024 4th round pick
Cleveland:
There is a bevy of things to uncover with this move, so bear with me. From a football perspective, this is one hell of a risk. Watson hasn’t played since January of 2021, meaning that by week 1, it will have been 18 months since he took an NFL field, and that’s if he’s even available for the team. Realistically, he’s going to be suspended this year while the NFL investigates Watson further. If he’s suspended, it could be a year-long suspension, meaning this is a play for 2023. What happens at QB in the meantime? Baker Mayfield? Fat chance. You already went behind his back to probe for Watson after you were initially told you were out of the running for him. Baker, who’s never been known for keeping his emotions to himself, stated he didn’t want to be in Cleveland anymore and requested a trade- a wish the Browns denied. Always good to alienate him and tank his trade value in the process, well done Browns, here’s your good job cake (that’s sarcasm, just making sure that it’s obvious). Then on top of ALL of that, the Browns handed Watson an extension of $230 million, fully guaranteed, in spite of the fact that Watson had yet to play a single snap on the extension given to him by the Texans in 2020.
Now let’s talk about the morality end of this deal. Don’t worry, if you want to call me a “thnowflake” go right ahead and click off, I’m not going to be offended and frankly don’t care. Watson is still settling twenty-two civil cases on allegations of sexual assault. Yes, he’s being sued by enough women to form a full starting offense and defense. Yes, charges weren’t brought forward, but, that hardly proves he’s innocent, so please, save your grammatically incorrect declarations of innocence for somewhere else. The Browns, in essence, rewarded Watson for his ongoing suits with the richest contract in NFL history in terms of guaranteed money, no doubt to be under fire by the NFL’s ever-growing female fan base. Did they bring in new fans with this move? Probably. Did they likely lose fans as a result? I’d bet money that they did.
This is a move that’s got plenty of “shades of grey” to it and made a lot of people uncomfortable. If you’re a fan of the move, I’m not trying to shame you for it. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion on the trade. I’m just saying that moves like this make the old Steve Keim quote ring true.
Grade: I genuinely don’t know what to give it. There’s so much still to come
Houston:
Holy crap Houston! You actually managed to get a king’s ransom all things considered. You can move forward with Davis Mills under center with an eye on the 2023 draft and now have plenty of ammo to rebuild your roster from the hodgepodge of “meh” it suffered from last year.
Grade: A+
The other Cleveland QB trade
Cleveland receives: 2022 7th round pick
Buffalo receives: QB Case Keenum
This is Buffalo trading for Mitchell Trubisky’s replacement after Trubisky signed with Pittsburgh a week ago. Case Keenum is the quintessential backup QB and honestly, I think he’s got to be getting close to having played for every NFL franchise at this point
Cleveland Grade: B+
Buffalo Grade: B+
Tennessee tries again at WR
Tennessee receives: WR Robert Woods
LA Rams receive: 2023 6th round pick
Tennessee:
I think it’s safe to say that after the Titans released Julio Jones after only one season that acquiring him was a complete failure. Jones could never be fully available and his fit in the offense was never evident. It’s an expensive mistake, but the Titans still need help getting targets for Ryan Tannehill that help take the load off AJ Brown. Woods has been a good-to-great wideout for the Rams in his time in LA, but that being said, he’s fallen down the pecking order as the team has found other options while he’s battled his own health issues. If this move pans out it’s a steal. If it doesn’t, it costs the Titans nearly nothing.
Grade: B
LA:
To be fair, what did people think the Rams were going to get for a 31-year-old WR coming off a season-ending injury? It wasn’t going to be much. This is more of a salary dump than anything else at the end of the day.
Grade: B-
The Matt Ryan trade two years in the making
Atlanta receives: 2022 3rd round pick
Indianapolis receives: QB Matt Ryan
Atlanta:
Any time you can trade your franchise QB at a dead cap cost of 40 million dollars to you, you have to do it, right? Right? I’m not sure what aspect of this trade is worse; that the Falcons still lose 40 million dollars in this trade, or that they only got a third-round pick. Yes, I know that Matt Ryan is 36 years old but still, only a third? Obviously, this leaves a massive hole in the roster that has since been filled with the signing of Marcus Mariota to be the stopgap, but again, why couldn’t this have been done last year- you know, when it made sense to do so? You could’ve drafted Justin Fields. Or traded up for Trey Lance. Or traded back and still gotten Mac Jones. The math, the timing and the return all fail to register with me. I don’t like this move. At all.
Grade: D-
Indianapolis:
Matt Ryan now becomes the fifth QB to start for the Colts since Andrew Luck retired back in 2019. It’s been a revolving door of rentals, from Jacoby Brissett to Philip Rivers to Carson Wentz and now Matt Ryan (with one start from Brian Hoyer thrown in them for good measure). The hope is that Ryan doesn’t retire at the end of the season, otherwise you’re getting dangerously to that Browns jersey with all the former QB names crossed out. At the end of the day, you upgraded on Wentz and it didn’t really cost you much.
Grade: B+
Dolphins continue loading up (updated March 23)
Miami receives: WR Tyreek Hill
Kansas City receives: 2022 1st round pick, 2022 2nd round pick, 2022 4th round pick, 2023 4th round pick, 2023 6th round pick
Miami:
Miami signed Terron Armstead to an absolute steal of a 5-year contract to shore up their wasteland of an offensive line and today they get one of. the best receives in the game for frankly, not a lot. There is an impending 4 year extension to go along with this trade (thank you to Davante Adams and Deshaun Watson for breaking NFL trade logic), but all things considered “Cheetah” is going to be crucial for Tua’s development, especially given that Mike McDaniel can now run crossing routes with Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, which might be illegal in Madden, last I checked.
Grade: A
Kansas City:
I’m not entirely sure I understand the logic behind this move. I guess since Patrick Mahomes’ mega extension kicks in soon enough, that the Chiefs are clearing money off the books, but as we’ve all established, the salary cap is fake and easily manipulated. The Chiefs already needed to get more receivers in the door this offseason (outside of Juju Smith-Schuster’s one year deal). Perhaps Hill saw Juju and Jackson Mahomes doing dances together and figured he’d get out of town and head where the state can’t tax his income. That’s all I’ve got.
Grade: C