Trade Deadline 2026: Winners and Losers

Winners, by a mile. Jacksonville added two defensive tackles in Jordan Davis and Davon Godchaux, then went out and got an elite safety in Jessie Bates III.

Yes, it cost them a first and a second in 2027, a second in 2029 and some late-round picks. But the Jaguars haven't been in position to make a realistic Super Bowl run in a very long time. At 6-2, the window is open right now, and they're capitalizing on it.

Chicago landed an elite defensive tackle. When the deal went down, plenty of people thought two first-round picks was too high a price.

Two games into his time in Chicago, Simmons already has 10 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 pass breakups, and he's making his presence felt. When you have a young, elite quarterback on his rookie contract and a team built to win now, this is exactly the move you make.

With injuries piling up on the defensive line, San Francisco had to do something, and bringing back a familiar face in DeForest Buckner was the right call. Landing a veteran of his caliber for a fourth-round pick? They absolutely nailed it.

Adding Keenan Allen for the back half of the season won't look like a big move because he's on the older side. But he fits the offensive scheme and fills a real void with the receiver injuries stacking up this year.

Seattle traded for one of the best interior offensive linemen in the NFL and gave up only a third and a fifth.

Nelson is in the final year of his contract, so the full payoff comes if Seattle extends him or tags him. Get that done, and regardless of how this season goes, the Seahawks have a premier player on the interior for years to come.

Buffalo took a swing at Budda Baker and missed. They recovered with a great move, trading for Titans safety Amani Hooker, who leads the NFL with five interceptions.

For a defense with Super Bowl aspirations, trotting Damar Hamlin out on the back end for the rest of the season was not a recipe for success. This was a great pickup by Buffalo.

Philadelphia is 2-7 and sitting at the bottom of the NFC East, and the front office read the room. Instead of chasing a season that was slipping away, they sold.

Moving Jordan Davis brought back Jacksonville's 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second. That's an extra first-rounder next spring on top of a second down the road. Howie Roseman has never been shy about moving around the draft board, and now he has the ammunition to do it. Turning a former first-round pick into another first is how you shorten a rebuild instead of dragging it out.

Tennessee is 1-7 and finally committed to building for the future. Jeffery Simmons brought back Chicago's first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, plus a 2027 fourth. Amani Hooker, sold while he leads the league in interceptions, brought back Buffalo's 2027 second.

Add it up and the Titans hold two first-round picks in each of the next two drafts, and their own 2027 first could land near the very top of the board. Trading your best players stings in the locker room for a few weeks. Stockpiling picks like this pays off for years. This is the kind of flexibility a rebuilding team dreams about.

Small winners, but winners. Kansas City's receiver room has been hit hard this year. Tyquan Thornton, their best deep threat early on, dislocated his ankle and needed surgery. Rashee Rice has dealt with a hamstring injury, and Xavier Worthy just left the Jets game with a hamstring injury of his own.

Josh Downs isn't a household name, and his numbers in Indianapolis are down this year. But he averaged 66 catches a season over his first three years and knows how to get open. Giving Patrick Mahomes another reliable option has a real chance to open this offense up even more down the stretch, and it only cost a fourth and a fifth.

Denver is 7-2, but most people still don't look at the Broncos as a team that can win a Super Bowl. Their offensive weapons don't scare anyone.

So what did they do at the deadline? Sent a fourth and a fifth to a division rival for linebacker Daiyan Henley. He's a solid player, but he does nothing for an offense that needed a boost to compete in the back half of the season.

A move for a running back like Jonathan Taylor or Breece Hall could have changed people's opinion. I'd even go as far as saying a receiver like DeVonta Smith or Brian Thomas Jr. could have taken this offense to a whole other level. They didn't get any of them.

At 0-8, you should be maneuvering your roster in preparation for the future. Moving one linebacker for a fourth and a fifth barely scratches the surface, and handing him to a division rival in a playoff race doesn't help either.

For a team this far from contention to do this little is mind-blowing to me. I consider them losers off of this alone.

Not winners, not losers. Minnesota needed a quarterback who can run its system, so going back to get Kirk Cousins was a great decision.

Will it pan out? Only time will tell. Kirk is getting older, so it will be interesting to see how he looks over the back half of the season.

A few teams surprised me by not doing much of anything.

• BengalsCincinnati was content enough with its secondary not to go get someone who may have been available.
• CowboysAfter adding Joey Porter Jr. back in October, Jerry Jones didn't want to be in the deadline headlines as a buyer or a seller, even with Dallas still in the running in the NFC East.
• SaintsNo one wanted to kick the tires on Chase Young in New Orleans?
• GiantsWith the run game inconsistent all season, New York didn't go get an RB1 or RB2.

This trade deadline wasn't as active as most insiders expected. I understand teams feeling confident coming down the stretch when they're only a game or two back of the top dogs in their division.

But with more college players staying in school longer than in years past, I personally expected teams to be shopping those mid-round picks this cycle.