Get all the latest news ahead of the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, with one of the already confirmed deals having potentially huge implications for the rest of the season.
The NFL trade deadline is delivering more and more excitement with each passing year, and it did not disappoint in 2023.
The deadline passed at 4pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, and before the clock ticked round we had two massive deals on deadline day.
One of them has potentially huge implications as we look down the road to playoff season.
NFL Trade Deadline deals in 2023
Here are the major deals done on deadline day, and the days leading up to it:
Chase Young, DE (Washington to San Francisco)
The Niners have lost three straight after looking like the best team in the NFL less than a month ago. Their response? Go out and get potentially one of the best defensive players in the game.
Handing over a 2024 third-round pick to snag the second overall pick in the 2020 Draft was a no-brainer for San Fran, a player who still possesses tantalising potential despite missing the end of the 2021 season and most of 2022 with a torn ACL.
Young, whose contract expires at the end of 2023 after the Commanders failed to pick up his fifth-year option, is on pace for the best season of his pro career with 5 sacks in 6 starts. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year honours back in 2020.
The move also reunites Young with another former Ohio State standout in Nick Bosa, and the pair should give opposing quarterbacks nightmares moving forward.
This is not the first move the Niners have made to improve their pass rush in recent weeks - earlier in October they traded with Denver to acquire former Dallas DE Randy Gregory.
Montez Sweat, DE (Washington to Chicago)
The Commanders traded away another key defensive piece on Tuesday by sending Sweat to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick.
The former Mississippi State star, a first-round pick in 2019, is another Washington star with an expiring contract in a few months, and the Commanders brass decided again it was time to cut ties and get something in return for a player who would cost big bucks to keep around.
Instead it is the Bears, who are bereft of talent on defense and looking to the future, who will need to negotiate a new deal with Sweat. The price will not be cheap for a player who already has 6.5 sacks in 2023 and is on pace for a career year.
Rasul Douglas, CB (Green Bay to Buffalo)
Improving the secondary was an absolute must for the Bills ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, following the recent loss for the season of CB Tre’Davious White with a torn Achilles.
The trade for Rasul Douglas from Green Bay was an excellent move by Buffalo’s front office, getting a very solid option at corner in return for a third-round pick in 2024. Buffalo also gets a fifth as well as Douglas.
With 2023 first-round pick Kaiir Elam really struggling, the loss of White left Buffalo’s secondary very very exposed - a massive issue for a team which still has Super Bowl aspirations.
Trading for Douglas gives them a significant upgrade for a very fair price. He had 10 picks and 32 passes defended in the past three seasons in Titletown.
Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR (Cleveland to Detroit)
The Lions are a team going places, and they improved their depth at receiver on Tuesday with the acquisition of Peoples-Jones from the Browns in return for a sixth-round pick in 2025.
Detroit already has Amon-Ra St.Brown, Jameson Williams, Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond - and Peoples-Jones will give Jared Goff yet another option to throw to.
Peoples-Jones has caught only 8 balls for 97 yards in 2023, but last season he was a key part of the Browns’ offense as he snagged 61 passes for 839 yards and 3 scores.
Josh Dobbs, QB (Arizona to Minnesota)
Dobbs may not be the answer to Minnesota’s prayers after the loss for the season of Kirk Cousins, but he does at least give them a veteran option under center.
Acquiring a QB ahead of Tuesday’s deadline became a necessity for the Vikes after Cousins tore his Achilles during Sunday’s win in Green Bay. It was a devastating blow for a team which was winning its third straight game to improve to 4-4.
Don’t think for a minute Dobbs is a sure thing though. He was 1-7 as a starter in Arizona after the Cardinals had acquired him from Cleveland in August. He does though at least have more experience than Minnesota’s only other available QB - fifth-round rookie Jaren Hall.
Leonard Williams, DE (New York Giants to Seattle)
The Seattle Seahawks have aspirations for a deep playoff run in 2023, and acquiring the talented and versatile Williams from the Giants means they are very much in the NFC West arms race.
Seattle, which currently sits in first place in the division at 5-2 ahead of San Francisco, gave up a second-round pick in 2024 and a fifth-rounder in 2025 to trade for Williams.
The immediate financial cost for the Seahawks is minimal, with the Giants taking on most of the $10million owed to Williams for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Seattle, though, will need to negotiate a new deal with Williams if his stay in the Pacific Northwest is not to be a very short-term rental. His three-year, $63million contract expires after the 2023 season.
Ezra Cleveland, OG (Minnesota to Jacksonville)
The Jags boosted their push for a playoff berth by acquiring the top guard on the trade market for a minimal cost - a sixth-round pick in 2024.
Cleveland has started 49 of 53 games since being Minnesota’s second-round draft pick out of Boise State back in 2020, and the Jags believe he has ‘starting-type potential’ as they look to put more pieces around superstar QB Trevor Lawence.
The Jags, as with so many buyers at the trade deadline, will need to negotiate a new deal with Cleveland as his current pact runs out after the 2023 season.
Kevin Byard, S (Tennessee to Philadelphia)
The Eagles front office has been sensational in the past few years with Howie Roseman being one of the league’s true personnel stars. Looks like Howie did it again with Byard.
Philly got its business done early by sending another safety Terrell Edmunds and 2024 fifth and sixth-round picks to Nashville in return for a player who has twice been a Pro Bowler.
Byard led the NFL in interceptions with 8 back in 2017, and adds another legitimate starter to a team which has real hopes of returning to the Super Bowl again early next year.
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