Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. It isn’t easy being a Giants fan these days, but at least I can enjoy being in the same division as the disorganized Cowboys.
In today’s SI:AM:
🔄 NFL trade deadline
🏆 First CFP rankings
🐻 Ja Morant’s future
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Deals galore at NFL trade deadline
If you found yourself following the NFL trade deadline yesterday thinking, “Gee, this seems a lot busier than usual,” you were right. There were eight trades made on Tuesday before the 4 p.m. ET deadline, tied for the second-most deals on deadline day since at least 1990. The 18 trades executed between Oct. 1 and the deadline were also tied for the most during that span. Some of those trades were pretty inconsequential (like the Bears acquiring reserve defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka from the Browns), but there were some blockbusters, too. Let’s break it all down.
Jets blow it all up
At 1–7, the Jets’ season isn’t going anywhere, so New York was widely expected to be an active seller at the deadline. Who they sold came as a surprise, though. New York jettisoned two former All-Pro players—cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys—and brought back a boatload of draft picks in return.
The Gardner trade was the most significant deal of any made during the deadline period, in part because of what the Colts gave up to acquire him (two first-round picks and receiver Adonai Mitchell) and also because Gardner had just been signed to a contract extension in July. Gardner’s four-year extension made him the highest-paid corner in the NFL at an average of $30.1 million per year.
Gardner will join a Colts defense that has been good but not great against the pass. Indianapolis ranks 26th in passing yards allowed per game, but that’s misleading because the Colts have played much of the season protecting big leads and forcing their opponents to go through the air. (Only the Steelers’ defense has seen more pass attempts per game than the Colts.) On a per-play basis, Indianapolis is much more respectable, ranking 11th in net yards allowed per pass attempt. Adding Gardner will only strengthen the Colts’ already decent pass D.
The return for Williams was nearly as lofty. The Cowboys gave up a second-round pick in 2026 and a first-rounder in ’27, as well as defensive tackle Mazi Smith (the 26th pick in the ’23 draft). Williams is under contract through the end of the ’27 season.
Things are grim for the Jets right now, but those two trades give the team reason for hope. They’ll have two first-round and two second-round picks in the next draft, followed by a whopping three first-rounders in 2027. Can new general manager Darren Mougey make the right picks to turn this franchise around?
What the hell are the Cowboys doing?
The Williams trade is a real head-scratcher for Dallas, though. The 2027 first-round pick that the Cowboys will send to the Jets will be the more favorable of the Cowboys’ own pick or the Packers’ pick that Dallas acquired in the Micah Parsons trade.
So to recap: Dallas traded the 26-year-old Parsons to Green Bay for two first-round picks and 30-year-old defensive tackle Kenny Clark. The Cowboys then traded one of those picks to the Jets for another defensive tackle who turns 28 next month. It’s a weirdly inconsistent approach from the Cowboys to trade a great young player for significant draft capital, and then use a significant portion of the return to trade for another highly paid player who’s older than the guy they dealt in the first place. And it’s not like the Cowboys were one defensive line upgrade away from contending in the NFC. They’re 3-5-1 and still alive in the playoff hunt, but Dallas is obviously not a serious championship contender even if they do manage to sneak into the postseason. It’s a shortsighted move by owner Jerry Jones.
Seahawks land deep-threat receiver
Seattle’s already dangerous passing game got another boost with the addition of Rashid Shaheed from the Saints. (New Orleans will receive fourth- and fifth-round picks in next year’s draft in return.)
I wrote Monday about how Sam Darnold and the Seahawks are pushing the ball down the field more effectively than any other team. Adding Shaheed, a speedster and big-play threat, gives Seattle an opportunity to lean into that identity even more. The Seahawks might also need help at receiver after Cooper Kupp missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- A stunning teardown in New York: Albert Breer explains why the Jets moved Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams—and what it says about their long-term plan.
- The Eagles loaded up, Jerry Jones puzzled everyone and Conor Orr sorts the winners from the losers after a wild trade deadline.
- Notre Dame is the highest-ranked two-loss team in the CFP’s first rankings, but Pat Forde argues the Irish are getting more credit than they deserve.
- While the Big 12 climbs in the first CFP rankings, the ACC is left wondering if its multi-bid playoff hopes are slipping away, Bryan Fischer reports.
- Brian Kelly’s LSU exit leaves big questions about his next move. Bryan Fischer breaks down his most realistic landing spots.
- Some AFC contenders are cruising, while others are crashing. Matt Verderame analyzes who aced—and who failed—the first half.
- Parity rules the NFC, yet one team still stands above the rest. Gilberto Manzano reveals who earned the lone A in his midseason report card.
- Ja Morant’s frustration with the Grizzlies and coach Tuomas Iisalo is setting off alarm bells—and Chris Mannix explains what it could mean for Morant’s future.
- Blake Silverman spoke with a man from South Korea who has become a cult hero in Detroit for his love of the Pistons.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. A perfect pass by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to Connor McDavid for McDavid’s fourth goal of the season.
4. Nikola Vučević’s game-winning three for the Bulls against the Sixers.
3. An unreal dunk by Kentucky’s Collin Chandler.
2. A late game-winner by Oregon’s Takai Simpkins to avoid an upset against Hawai‘i.
1. Steven Stamkos’s game-tying buzzer beater for the Predators. The puck crossed the goal line with 0.3 seconds on the clock.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Jets and Cowboys Make Waves During Hectic NFL Trade Deadline.
