Another year, another hyper-active trade deadline in the National Football League. Looking back in the twilight of an annual trade-cutoff sets the scene for one of the more drastic landscapes in recent memory; multiple heavy-hitters got involved, changing their and everyone else’s seasons going forward.
One of the biggest changes, coming well before the majority of moves this year, was Davante Adams’s trade to the Jets. After firing their coach mid-season and reassessing the entire roster, it was clear that quarterback Aaron Rodgers (known for his dramatic flair) wanted his former teammate and star receiver back in Adams. In return for the wideout, the Jets returned only a 2025 third round pick to the Raiders to complete the deal.
Despite the Jets’s continued struggles, it’s hard to be mad at a deal like this. Aaron Rodgers won’t play like himself if he doesn’t get what (or who) he wants, and despite the price tag, few receivers bring you the firepower that Adams inevitably will. Plus, he (Adams) clearly wanted out of Las Vegas, too. It’s a win for all parties.
Keeping inline with wide receiver moves, the Kansas City Chiefs, defending Super Bowl champions, traded for veteran heavyweight Deandre Hopkins at the proverbial buzzer.
After losing their WR1 Rashee Rice to injury, the Chiefs had to hit the market for a new primary pass catcher, and nobody fit the bill as well as the disgruntled, grizzled veteran that is and was Hopkins in Tennessee.
Much like the aforementioned Adams, Hopkins had grown weary of mediocre quarterback play; he’d been left to fade away without use, until the Chiefs swooped in with a 2025 fifth round pick (that has the potential to become a fourth rounder).
Since then, Hopkins has already made an impact in Kansas City, assimilating into the offense without issue and finding involvement all over the field. He’s become immediately vital to a team trying to “run it back,” if you will, and is a sure highlight of the deadline activities.
On the other side of the ball, the Detroit Lions added DE Za’Darius Smith (and a 2026 seventh round pick) in exchange for a 2025 fifth round and a 2026 sixth round pick.
Smith stands tall as another addition meant to fill a competing team’s hole, as the Lions lost dominant defender Aidan Hutchinson to a left tibia injury just weeks earlier. In wasting no time adding Smith, the Lions make clear their intentions to keep winning now, doing whatever it takes to make sure that keeps happening. They boast a 7-1 record, leading their division.
Finally, among a bevy of smaller shakeups, two more notable receivers found new homes at the deadline: Amari Cooper and Diontae Johnson. The former finally fled a struggling Browns team, where his place as a receiver with no real passing game has been in question for a while.
Cooper ended up with the Bills, where he immediately eclipsed the primary receiver role on one of the most competitive, pass-heavy teams in the league. He’s wasted no time to impress.
Johnson, on the other hand, was shipped from Carolina to Baltimore, where his expected extended role has yet to truly pay off. He still managed to escape the worst offense in the league with the Panthers, though, and should settle in as a reliable Ravens contributor in time.
With that, the highlights of this year’s trade deadline were brought to a close. 2024 showed a strong, occasionally desperate effort from many teams who feel like they can win the whole thing. Whether or not that’s true for any of them has yet to be seen, but the efforts of these squads to add the necessary horsepower via a trade is admirable, and makes for one of the most entertaining aspects of the league every single season.
