I dug through your questions after an eventful trade deadline. Here’s what we’ve got …
Detroit Lions
From Tyler S (@Tyler_SS11): Do you think Detroit made the right choice in not making a trade for an EDGE or CB? They have glaring holes at both due to injury right now. The NFC North race is only going to get tighter as the season goes on.
Tyler, those are two separate questions, but they share a common principle: They are holes at premium positions, and those spots are tough to fill, especially in the middle of the season.
Maybe it would’ve made sense to make a call on Detroit native Sauce Gardner, but the Jets didn’t shop the offer they had around. The Lions’ cap ledger is already starting to fill up, with another draft class eligible for new contracts at the end of the season (that class, by the way, has Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch). Outside of that, you’d be talking about taking on someone such as Michael Carter II when you have D.J. Reed coming back this month. I’m not sure that makes sense.
As for the situation on the edge, the Lions did go down that road a year ago with Za’Darius Smith, and are expecting to get Marcus Davenport back at some point. Considering that, and looking at what was available (Dre’Mont Jones, Arden Key and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka), I don’t know that I would hand over picks in a draft where I’m already without my third-rounder.
Washington Commanders
From JFLAN (@JFLANland): Why didn't the Commanders move any of their vets on expiring contracts? Deebo, Von Miller, Zach Ertz, Bobby Wagner. Even for Day 3 picks, better to get something for the future out of a lost season.
JFlan, I think the answer is that Dan Quinn and Adam Peters were hesitant to symbolically pull the plug on the season, and risk halting the momentum they’ve built over their first 22 months in charge. But I’m with you. I’d argue the Jayden Daniels injury probably marked that it was time to start considering such moves.
I’ll start by saying I love what the Commanders have done to this point, in patching so many holes on their roster with players who had backgrounds with their coaches or front office. They brought in a lot of known commodities and accelerated their timeline, enabling Quinn and Peters to establish belief and commitment in the type of program they were trying to build.
That said, the one downside to that approach is that you are bound to get old in a bunch of spots quickly, and trading away draft picks to bring in new players cuts into your ability to develop younger players behind the older guys. At this point, the Commanders have just two picks in the first four rounds of April’s draft. So after Sunday night’s injuries, I’d have applauded an effort to restock those shelves in Washington.
Cincinnati Bengals
From Cincyfan (@Darktraveler1): Is Duke Tobin in trouble?
Cincy, I don’t think so. Tobin’s been in charge for over two decades now, and for the most part, has done a great job drafting players for whichever coach/system he’s working with. Even with the financial constraints that the Bengals have, and with a smaller staff, he’s built around three different quarterbacks and made the playoffs with each.
I understand the frustration over the current state of the defense and some of the enduring issues surrounding the protection of Joe Burrow. But for the most part, I think it would be foolish to throw out someone with Tobin’s institutional knowledge.
In fact, if anything, I’d build out his staff more.
From Ronnie (@Tray4o): Are you surprised Trey Hendrickson wasn’t moved at the trade deadline?
Ronnie, I’m actually not. The Bengals didn’t get a ton of interest in him, so talks really never progressed to the point where there were hard offers on the table.
Why? He’s banged up, 31 years old, has four sacks in seven games and his contract is up after this season. Over the summer the asking price was a second-round pick and a defensive starter (I heard, in the case of Indianapolis, it was Grover Stewart the Bengals asked for). Cincinnati wasn’t going to move off that spot much, and all of the above diminished any shot the Bengals had of getting that kind of return for their star rusher.
Also, I don’t think they view themselves as dead yet, and taking a chunk out of a struggling defense would’ve been a problem for the team. Listening to what came from that locker room after the Bears debacle, it seems like things are teetering. Giving up on the season could’ve pushed things over the edge.
Buffalo Bills
From WyomingCoog (@WyomingCoog): Why do the Bills hate adding good players?
Coog, they don’t. They’ve always been a draft-and-develop team, and they’re back in a spot now—with Josh Allen, James Cook, Dion Dawkins, Dawson Knox, Khalil Shakir, Ed Oliver, Terrel Bernard and Christian Benford locked up—where they’re going to have to fill their roster out with affordable young talent.
They were, by the way, looking for defensive tackle help. There just wasn’t a lot of it. And they also inquired about receivers. On that front, I think Rashid Shaheed would’ve made some sense, because they don’t have that sort of field-stretcher, and a player like him would work to weaponize Allen’s arm strength. He wound up going to Seattle for a fourth- and fifth-round pick. Doing that deal for the Bills, though, would’ve meant having zero picks between the third and seventh rounds.
I might’ve done it anyway. But I can understand why the Bills didn’t.
Seattle Seahawks
From Ryan Oletzke (@ryanoletzke): Seahawks do enough? Really wanted OL help
Ryan, I get it. Seattle has had interior offensive line issues. Even with improvement in that area, thanks in large part to the addition of rookie Grey Zabel, right guard remains a trouble spot.
This, of course, isn’t ideal. But it is the sort of weakness you can manage.
I’d argue adding Shaheed is probably more of a difference-maker than trading for, say, a Jackson Powers-Johnson from Vegas. Shaheed is a perfect complement to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, and could wind up being more than a rental (though having to sign both he and Smith-Njigba could complicate things). I really like that trade for the Seahawks, and the Saints, too.
New York Giants
From Jimmy T (@jimmy_tomredle): Did the Giants get calls on anyone or any offers for Dexter Lawrence?
Jimmy, the Giants listened but I heard early on that they weren’t planning to move Kayvon Thibodeaux, much less Dexter Lawrence. Lawrence is only 27 years old, and the team is in a weird spot, with its uncertain future gumming up the works on shipping guys out of town.
I’d also assume if there are changes, new guys coming in would see Lawrence as a massive asset, both literally and figuratively.
New York Jets
From MAV (@BLUEMOON_MAN): Do the Jets extend Breece Hall? Do you think they go QB in 2026 or 2027? What is the plan at Florham Park?
Mav, I think at this point, it’s hard to extend Breece Hall because he’s so close to free agency. As for what it might take to keep him, I think the James Cook deal—$48 million over four years—could be a potential comp.
For what it’s worth, the Jets did look at the idea of dealing him. My sense is he could’ve been had for a fourth-round pick in the summer. The price went up as Hall proved his worth over the first half of the season. Also, Braelon Allen’s injury complicated the Jets’ outlook on dealing Hall, with Allen’s absence making Hall even more indispensable to the team’s offense.
From Stephen Zantz (@szantz): Is there anything behind the scenes with Sauce Gardner or Quinnen Williams that led the regime to sour on them?
Stephen, that’s a complicated question.
What I would say about Gardner is that it does feel like something changed—and I’m not sure what—between the time Gardner was extended in July and the trade this week. But part of that is natural, since the brass did that deal before having Garnder for a single day in pads, and built in flexibility to get out of it if need be. On Williams, I’m not sure much changed—so much as the Gardner trade opened things up a bit—and the contract in play there left a little less certainty beyond this year (he has only $5 million guaranteed left).
From GIANFRANCO ILLIANO (@illiano15): Which team did you feel needed to make a trade for a particular position but ultimately decided to stay put?
Maybe the Bills at defensive tackle, the Lions on the edge or the Vikings at corner?
I didn’t think there was some crying need a contender had where there was some huge missed opportunity. Outside of the two Jets’ trades (Gardner to the Colts and Williams to the Cowboys), this was a pretty typical trade deadline.
From Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25): Are the Jets done shipping off players for picks? Or could we see some more selling splashes in the offseason in a couple of months?
Paul, I think, philosophically, they’re always going to listen.
But the more detailed answer rides on how the rest of the season goes. Opinions on players that are signed to big deals could change. Jermaine Johnson, for example, could be extended or traded in March. How the Jets decide to proceed will be colored by how he performs from here on out, as it should be.
From Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25): Albert, the Jets asked for a 2027 first instead of a 2026 first from the Cowboys. Can you walk us through the thought process of that? What does NYJ have in mind?
From Dehls (@JoelDehls): More likely the Jets look to trade picks for a vet or a rookie in ’26/’27?
Yes, Paul, the Jets preferred to have the first-round pick in 2027 for a couple reasons.
The first being that the top of the 2027 draft is expected to be stronger, with draft-eligible players such as Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith, Alabama WR Ryan Williams, Texas DE Colin Simmons, South Carolina DE Dylan Stewart and Notre Dame CB Leonard Myers. There are also quarterbacks (Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola, Notre Dame’s C.J. Carr, Texas’s Arch Manning, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin) who could land in that class.
The second is that it gives the Jets flexibility should a high-end veteran quarterback become available. Being patient will enable them to stay loose for opportunities both this year and next, with three first-round picks in 2027.
The one caveat here is that this will require self-restraint from an owner who hasn’t always shown much of it over the years. But if Woody Johnson gives these guys time, there’s a good chance Nov. 4, 2025, is remembered as a good day for the Jets.
Chicago Bears
From Ryan (@RyanHeckmanNFL): How do you take the Bears not going after a cornerback?
Ryan, it’s a tough spot for them to be in because, while it’s been a problem, they’re deeply invested in guys at the position. The issue, of course, is injury, with Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon both out. There’s hope they get both back, and that Tyrique Stevenson returns to form, but there’s no guarantee about what shape those guys will be in when they return.
So, given that this isn’t a long-term need, do you sell out to find one now? Or do you ride the injuries out and hold on to your draft picks? I can understand why they took the latter path.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Albert Breer’s Mailbag: Why the Lions Stood Pat at the Trade Deadline .
