These Teams Are Winners, Losers Of Extremely Active NFL Trade Deadline

Tuesday was a crazy day in the NFL.

There was a total of five trades made before the 4 p.m. ET deadline, with the two biggest names changing jerseys being wide receivers Golden Tate and Demaryius Thomas. To go along the them, 2015 No. 3 overall pick Dante Fowler Jr. and now-former Green Bay Packers Ty Montgomery and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix also are on the move.

With the season halfway over, some teams made moves to give them a shot at the playoffs, while others failed to do so. Here are the winners and losers from the 2018 NFL trade deadline.

Winners: 

Houston Texans
In Week 8, Deshaun Watson and the entire Texans offense started to look like they did before an ACL injury ended Watson’s season last year. Watson tied his career-high with five passing touchdowns, and he became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to have multiple five touchdown pass games within his first two seasons. Although the offense looked good, Houston lost Will Fuller V for the season to an ACL injury of his own. Rather than regressing, the Texans went out Tuesday and traded the Denver Broncos a 2019 fourth-round pick and a swap of seventh-round picks for Thomas, a four-time Pro Bowler to fill the void left by Fuller.

With the presence of DeAndre Hopkins, Thomas most likely won’t have to face off against the No. 1 defensive back each snap as he often has. The Texans didn’t have to give up much, but still gave Watson a reliable veteran weapon to add to his arsenal. If the two can sync up quickly, Thomas could find himself crossing the 1,000 yard threshold for the first time since 2016.

Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles were third in the NFL in points per game in 2017 with 28.6, but have not been as successful this season averaging a meager 22.3 points per game. To counteract this problem, Philadelphia went out Tuesday and acquired Tate for a 2019 third-round pick.

Tate has torched opposing secondaries this season with 44 receptions and 517 yards in just four starts and seven games total. The Eagles are 11th in the league in receiving yards per game (281.8), but now add a surefire weapon to pair with Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz. The defending champs haven’t looked the same this season, but maybe the addition of Tate will help jumpstart the offense.

Los Angeles Rams
The rich just keep getting richer. The undefeated Rams have been the best team in football this season and potentially got even better Tuesday with the acquisition of Fowler from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team gave up a 2019 third-round pick and 2020 fifth-round pick. The Rams now can pair Fowler alongside five-time Pro-Bowler Ndamukong Suh and 2017 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald to form one of the most ferocious front sevens in football.

Losers:

Green Bay Packers
The Packers currently sit in third place in the NFC North (3-3-1) and traded away two veteran players Tuesday. Green Bay traded Montgomery to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2020 seventh-round pick and Clinton-Dix to the Washington Redskins for a 2019 fourth-round pick.

Denver Broncos
The Texans made a great move snatching Thomas up from the Broncos, but it wasn’t as good for Denver. The Broncos are receiving a fourth- and seventh-round pick for Thomas.

The Broncos haven’t been the same since the retirement of Peyton Manning, and this move is sure to bring the team down further.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Unlike any other team on this list, the Buccaneers actually didn’t make a move Tuesday, but they probably should have. The Bucs are in last place in the NFC South (3-4), but actually have had a solid offense this year. Tampa Bay ranks first in total yards per game (467.6) and passing yards per game (376.3), but have been atrocious defensively.

The Buccaneers are giving up the fourth-most yards per game (415.3) and second most passing yards per game (318.4). If they want any chance of making the playoffs, something has to change on the defensive side of the ball. If they went out and got a good defensive back or someone to pressure the quarterback, that could’ve been the person they needed.