Eagles Among Winners At Trade Deadline
Today marked the NFL trade deadline which is the final day where trades can be made by teams.
On a day with anticipated movement and shopping, we saw NFC East contenders get stronger, other contenders stand pat and some teams struggling do away with key players.
Here I will be dissecting who I thought won the day and who I thought lost it.
Let’s take a look.
Trade Deadline Winners
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots saw teams in the AFC East sit on their hands at the NFL trade deadline while teams expected to try to wrest away the AFC crown from them also were quiet.
It was surprising to not see the Chiefs look to add some secondary help with the uncertainty surrounding Eric Berry’s health and availability.
That’s a win for New England, who continue to round into form after five consecutive wins. New England plays its best football in November and December, so today may be looked at as a missed opportunity for teams like the Chargers, Steelers and Chiefs.
Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia made a huge addition to their team by adding the Lions top pass catcher over the past five seasons in Golden Tate.
Tate brings versatility at the wide receiver position, specifically in the slot where Philly has struggled to get production from this season.
There are a number of interesting ways coach Doug Pederson will look to utilize the 30-year-old receiver, just count Carson Wentz in as a happy man on this day.
Washington Redskins
That’s one way to curtail a huge trade by the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Redskins grabbed one of the better safeties in the NFL in Ha Ha Clinton-Dix on Tuesday which now gives Washington one of the premier secondaries in the NFL that’s anchored by D.J. Swearinger.
HaHa Clinton-Dix was the best player in the Green Bay Packers secondary as their move to send Clinton-Dix in a trade was more about cap space.
Trade Deadline Losers
Houston Texans
While replacing an injured Will Fuller with one of the best receivers in the NFL in Demaryius Thomas is a thumb up, Houston’s need for an offensive lineman at either the left tackle or right tackle position was more of a need.
Deshaun Watson has been sacked a league-high 26 times, although he has only been sacked once over the past two weeks.
Los Angeles Rams
It’s quite a gamble on Los Angeles’ part to do away with draft picks for a relatively inconsistent and unproven young player like Dante Fowler, who was lost in a part-time role for a defense once considered the best in the NFL.
Fowler has two sacks on the season, and the Rams pass rush minus Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh has been mostly a disappoint. The Rams are hoping he can help change that, but for a 2019 third round pick and 2020 fifth round pick? The Jaguars won this trade.
New York Giants
The Giants traded away Eli Apple and Damon Harrison last week, but they saw the Cowboys, Eagles, and Redskins all get richer by adding players who can contribute to a contender now, not later.
In a way, whether you consider the Giants losers or not at the trade deadline is perfectly acceptable. New York at 1-7 have seen their season basically come to an end, with the remaining eight games likely to be used as an evaluation.
What are your thoughts on today’s NFL Trade Deadline? Leave your comments below!