San Francisco lost Nick Bosa in Week 3 and Ricky Pearsall for the year, and they are still 7-1. So they went and got DeForest Buckner back from Indianapolis for a 4th, the 127th pick if the draft were today. Buckner is 32, but he is a top-10 DT in our rankings with 4 sacks and 10 QB hits in eight games, and he spent his first four seasons in this building.
Then they added Keenan Allen for a 6th. He is 34 and his deal ends in March, but he has 40 catches this year and Brandon Aiyuk is out. Two holes filled with two late picks, on a team that already had 97% playoff odds. Nobody got more for less.
Philadelphia was 2-2 when the selling started. In October they sent center Cam Jurgens to Baltimore for a 2028 2nd and a 2027 5th, and the $68M contract went with him. Jurgens had slid from 24th to 95th among linemen in our rankings, so that was good business even while they still thought they were in the race.
Then the floor gave way: five straight losses, Jalen Hurts on IR, 2-7. So the Eagles sold Jordan Davis, a run stuffer who plays about half the snaps, to Jacksonville for a 1st that projects 24th and a 2029 2nd. That is the most anyone got for the least football. Two big contracts became a 1st, two 2nds and a 5th.
Tennessee is 1-7 and did what a 1-7 team should do: they sold the two veterans other teams wanted most. Jeffery Simmons, the No. 1 DT in our rankings last season, went to Chicago for a 2027 1st, a 2028 1st and a 2027 4th. Amani Hooker, 5 interceptions in 7 games, went to Buffalo for a 2nd, with a 5th going back.
Why not an A? Both firsts come from a 7-2 Bears team, so the 2027 one projects 30th, and Simmons is 29 and still elite. Fair, not a fleecing. But the Titans now hold two extra firsts and an extra 2nd, the two long contracts are gone, and that is a rebuild with real ammunition around Cam Ward.
Chicago was 5-2 with 70% playoff odds when they paid two late firsts and a 4th for Jeffery Simmons, the No. 1 DT in our rankings last season. He has 6 sacks and 9 tackles for loss this year. The Trade Machine prices him like a top-10 pick, and the Bears paid with a 1st that projects 30th and a 2028 1st from a team that expects to be good.
The bill is the contract: $35.3M a year through 2030, his age-33 season. That is why it is an A- and not an A. But a contender buying a true difference maker at a fair price is what the deadline is for, and the Bears are 7-2.
Atlanta was 3-6 when they sold Jessie Bates, their captain, in the last year of his deal. Jacksonville paid a 2nd and a 5th. Before this week, no veteran safety traded since 2010 had fetched more than a 4th and a 7th, so Atlanta set the record for a player who was a free agent in March either way.
The other deal was a wash: center Ryan Neuzil, a starter, to Baltimore for Andrew Vorhees, a guard who had lost his job, and a 2028 6th. Both are free agents in March. The Bates price carries this grade.
Buffalo had one hole. They cut C.J. Gardner-Johnson a week before the deadline, and the secondary needed a starter. So they sent their 2nd, which projects 64th, to Tennessee for Amani Hooker and a 5th back. Hooker has 5 interceptions in 7 games and plays nearly every snap.
This is not a rental. Hooker is signed through 2028 at $13.5M a year, so the Bills bought two more seasons of a starter for a late 2nd. It is a B+ and not an A because the price ran a little above what safeties usually fetch. For a 7-1 team that is all but in, that is the right side of the line.
Seattle was 4-3 with 74% playoff odds and a line that needed help, so they paid a 3rd and a 5th for Quenton Nelson, a top-5 lineman in our rankings who plays nearly every snap. A 30-year-old guard in the last year of his deal costs about that. Seattle also took on the $9.8M left on his contract.
Things have gone sideways since: 5-4, odds down to 46%, and Nelson is doubtful with a knee. That is bad luck, not a bad trade. The team grade sits a notch below the trade because tackle, the other hole on that line, went unfilled.
New York made their move in September. Jaxson Dart went down, and the Giants paid a 5th for J.J. McCarthy, a 23-year-old former No. 10 pick who had fallen to third string in Minnesota. He is cheap through 2027. Tiny price, real upside, and he has won both of his starts.
The grade drops a notch for what came after. At 5-2-1 with 77% playoff odds and needs on both lines, the Giants stood pat at the deadline.
Kansas City needed a receiver and got Josh Downs from the Colts for a 4th and a 5th, with a 7th coming back. Downs is 25, plays 81% of snaps and has 33 catches for 354 yards. He is in the last year of his rookie deal, so the Chiefs also get first crack at re-signing him.
Fair price, real need, a contender at 94% odds. The only knock: edge rusher and DT were needs too, and the Chiefs passed on both.
Las Vegas was 4-5 with 9% playoff odds and a rookie, Fernando Mendoza, ready to take over. So they sent Kirk Cousins, 38 and in the last year of his deal, to Minnesota for the Vikings' own 3rd. Cousins was playing well (20 TDs, 8 picks), which is exactly when you sell a 38-year-old.
The Raiders kept Maxx Crosby, 29 and signed through 2029, and that is defensible: he is the kind of player you rebuild around, not sell. A good day, not a great one.
Indianapolis was 2-5 and had just fired GM Chris Ballard when the selling started. Quenton Nelson went to Seattle for a 3rd and a 5th, a good price for a guard in his final year. DeForest Buckner went to San Francisco for a 4th, which was not: Leonard Williams fetched a 2nd and a 5th at the 2023 deadline.
Then on deadline day Keenan Allen went to the 49ers for a 6th and Josh Downs went to the Chiefs for a 4th and a 5th. Four starters out; a 3rd, two 4ths, two 5ths and a 6th in. Jonathan Taylor stayed, and with two years left on his deal that is fine. A decent haul, with one veteran sold too cheap.
Minnesota made two quarterback moves six weeks apart. In September they sent J.J. McCarthy, who had fallen to third string behind Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz, to the Giants for a 5th. That is the floor for a former No. 10 pick.
In November, with Murray's hamstring acting up and Wentz held to 6 points by Buffalo, they paid their own 3rd for Kirk Cousins, the No. 9 QB in our rankings this season. That is the move that matters for a 6-2 team, and it is a good one. The deal is pending a physical.
Dallas was 2-2 with corner as their top need when they paid a 2028 2nd and a 6th for Joey Porter Jr., the No. 2 corner in our rankings last season. That is a fair price for a 26-year-old. The risks were real: a back injury had cost him the start of the year, and his rookie deal ends in March.
He has played four games since, and Dallas is 4-5 with 20% odds. At the deadline itself the Cowboys neither bought nor sold, and George Pickens, in the last year of his deal, is still on the roster.
Houston was 1-4 when they bought Marvin Harrison Jr. from Arizona for a 2nd that projects 43rd, with late picks swapped. That is not a playoff push. It is a bet that the No. 4 pick in 2024 can still be that player at 24, back with his Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, and he is cheap through 2027.
So far he has 11 catches in 7 games. Receiver was not Houston's biggest need either; the lines were. A fair price for the talent, a B- for the fit.
Denver needed coverage help and got linebacker Daiyan Henley from the 0-8 Chargers for a 4th and a 5th. Henley plays 87% of snaps and is in his contract year. A fair price, and a rare trade inside the AFC West.
The B- is for what Denver did not do. At 7-2 with 94% odds, running back was their first need, and Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor were both on our deadline board. The Broncos passed.
Pittsburgh made their move in early October, at 2-2: Joey Porter Jr., a top corner in the last year of his rookie deal who had started the year hurt, went to Dallas for a 2028 2nd and a 6th. A fair return, and the Steelers have gone 4-0 since.
But a 6-2 team with 84% odds and holes at tackle and receiver did nothing at the deadline itself. Trent Brown and Austin Jackson were tackles on the market. That is a missed chance for a team that is in it.
Arizona sold Marvin Harrison Jr., the No. 4 pick in 2024, after four games and 5 catches, for a 2nd that projects 43rd. The pick is real. Selling a 24-year-old at the bottom of his value is the part that stings.
The Jacoby Brissett deal was better: Arizona moved up 27 spots in next year's draft to send a 34-year-old QB to Baltimore. But at 3-6 with no playoff shot, Budda Baker (30) and Josh Sweat (29) are still Cardinals.
Detroit added Andre Cisco from the Jets for a 2028 6th. Cisco is a safety New York had stopped playing, and he is depth while Kerby Joseph is out.
Corner and linebacker were the real needs on a 6-2 team with 81% odds, and corners like Riq Woolen and Garrett Williams were on the market. A cheap patch, a C+.
Jacksonville went all in at 6-2 with 99% playoff odds. They lost safety Eric Murray and DT DaVon Hamilton for the year, and they replaced both: Jessie Bates for a 2nd and a 5th, Davon Godchaux for a conditional 6th, then Jordan Davis for a 1st and a 2029 2nd.
Bates is the right player at a record price (B-). Godchaux is a cheap patch (B-). Davis is the worst trade of the deadline (D): a 1st that projects 24th plus a 2nd for a nose tackle who plays half the snaps, with $26M a year through 2029 attached. The Jaguars are better today. The bill comes due in 2028 and 2029.
Tampa Bay is 3-6 but still 46% to make the playoffs, because the division is weak. That is a team that cannot sell and should not spend big, and they did neither.
Holding was reasonable. Receiver, edge and safety are the needs, and the Bucs keep every pick to fill them next year.
The deals: none
21
Browns
5-4 · 24% playoff odds
C
Cleveland is 5-4 with 24% playoff odds: too good to sell, not good enough to spend. They did nothing.
Nothing to grade, nothing lost. Tackle, receiver and edge are next year's work.
The deals: none
22
Panthers
3-5 · 23% playoff odds
C
Carolina is 3-5 with 23% odds and not much worth selling: Robert Hunt is 30 with two years left on his deal, and Rasheed Walker is 26. Quiet, and that is fine.
Both lines, DT, tackle and guard, are next year's work.
The deals: none
23
Patriots
5-4 · 72% playoff odds
C-
New England is 5-4 with 72% playoff odds and Drake Maye at quarterback, and they needed a corner and help on the interior line. They stood pat.
That is the C-: a team in the race with two clear needs and a full set of picks, and no move.
The deals: none
24
Rams
5-4 · 42% playoff odds
C-
The Rams are 5-4 with 42% odds, in the middle of the race with Matthew Stafford, and they needed a receiver and help inside on both lines. They did nothing.
Zach Sieler, a 31-year-old DT on a Dolphins team that sold nothing, was right there. Standing still at 42% is a choice.
The deals: none
25
Packers
6-3 · 62% playoff odds
C-
Green Bay is 6-3 with 62% odds and needs on the offensive line and at linebacker. No move.
Kolton Miller (31, Raiders) and Willie Gay Jr. (28, Dolphins) were both on our deadline board as fits. A team in the race should have come away with one of them.
The deals: none
26
Bengals
6-2 · 92% playoff odds
C-
Cincinnati is 6-2 with 92% playoff odds and Joe Burrow, and they needed a safety and an edge rusher. Nothing got done.
Budda Baker fit at safety, and Maxx Crosby was the dream at edge. A team this close to the top had as good a reason as anyone to buy, and did not.
The deals: none
27
Chargers
0-8 · under 1% playoff odds
C-
The Chargers are 0-8, and their only sale was linebacker Daiyan Henley, in his final year, to Denver for a 4th and a 5th. Fair price, and selling to a division rival is fine when you are 0-8.
But Khalil Mack (35) and Dalvin Tomlinson (32) are both in the last year of their deals, and both stayed. An 0-8 team should not keep veterans they will not have in 2027.
New Orleans is 3-5 with 16% odds and tearing down, and their only sale was Davon Godchaux, a 32-year-old backup DT, for a conditional 6th.
Erik McCoy (29), Justin Reid (29) and Nathan Shepherd (33) all stayed. A team tearing down should leave the deadline with more picks than they brought, and the Saints barely did.
Baltimore spent a 2nd and four late picks this fall. They lost their top three centers, so they paid a 2028 2nd and a 2027 5th for Cam Jurgens and his $68M contract, then added Ryan Neuzil, another center, for a backup guard and a 6th. When Lamar Jackson went on IR, they gave up 27 spots of draft position and a 7th for Jacoby Brissett.
The Ravens were 3-1 when the spending started. They are 4-5 with 9% odds now, and Derrick Henry (32), Calais Campbell (40) and Nnamdi Madubuike (29) are all still there. Buying on the way down while keeping the veterans who could have brought picks back is the wrong end of both.
Washington is 2-5-1 with 5% playoff odds, and they sold nothing. Stefon Diggs is 33 and in the last year of his deal. K'Lavon Chaisson and Chris Paul are in their final years too.
All of them can walk in March for nothing. That is a D+.
The deals: none
32
Dolphins
1-7 · under 1% playoff odds
D
Miami is 1-7 with no playoff hope, tearing down, and they sold nothing. Willie Gay Jr. and Austin Jackson are in the last year of their deals, and Zach Sieler, 31, is the kind of DT a contender pays a pick for.
The worst deadline in football did not come from the worst trade. It came from the team with every reason to sell that did not move.
The deals: none
Every trade
Biggest first. Picks show where they project in today’s draft order. Tap a grade for that team’s write-up.
Bears get Jeffery SimmonsTitans → Bears · Oct 29Bears get Jeffery Simmons, 2028 5th · Titans get 2027 1st (projects #30), 2028 1st, 2027 4th (projects #126) · Price Simmons in the Trade Machine
Jaguars get Jordan DavisEagles → Jaguars · Nov 10Jaguars get Jordan Davis · Eagles get 2027 1st (projects #24), 2029 2nd · Price Davis in the Trade Machine
Texans get Marvin Harrison Jr.Cardinals → Texans · Oct 12Texans get Marvin Harrison Jr. + a late-round pick swap · Cardinals get 2027 2nd (projects #43) + a late-round pick swap · Price Harrison in the Trade Machine
Jaguars get Jessie BatesFalcons → Jaguars · Nov 9Jaguars get Jessie Bates · Falcons get 2027 2nd (projects #56), 2028 5th · Price Bates in the Trade Machine
Bills get Amani HookerTitans → Bills · Nov 10Bills get Amani Hooker, 2027 5th (projects #130) · Titans get 2027 2nd (projects #64) · Price Hooker in the Trade Machine
Cowboys get Joey Porter Jr.Steelers → Cowboys · Oct 1Cowboys get Joey Porter Jr. · Steelers get 2028 2nd, 2027 6th (projects #173) · Price Porter in the Trade Machine
Seahawks get Quenton NelsonColts → Seahawks · Oct 27Seahawks get Quenton Nelson · Colts get 2027 3rd (projects #81), 2028 5th · Price Nelson in the Trade Machine
Vikings get Kirk CousinsRaiders → Vikings · Nov 10Vikings get Kirk Cousins · Raiders get 2027 3rd (projects #92) · Pending a physical as of Nov 11. · Price Cousins in the Trade Machine
Broncos get Daiyan HenleyChargers → Broncos · Nov 10Broncos get Daiyan Henley · Chargers get 2027 4th (projects #125), 2028 5th · Price Henley in the Trade Machine
Price: what a team paid against what players like him have fetched in real trades since 2012, and against the Trade Machine's price. Picks count at the slot they project to in today's draft order.
Fit: where the team stood the day before the deal (record and playoff odds), whether he fills a real need, how many years he is signed, and the money that came with him.
Every team gets a grade. A contender that left a real need open loses points. A team with no shot that kept its veterans loses points. A team with nothing to buy or sell gets a C.
Graded on what was known the day of the trade, not on what happened after.
18 trades among 23 teams, graded Nov 11, 2026. Trade terms from ESPN’s transaction log, the CBS and Yahoo trackers and the draft pages, checked every morning. Records and playoff odds in each trade are from the day before it.
FAQ
Who won the 2026 NFL trade deadline?
The 49ers (A). A top-10 DT for a 4th and a receiver for a 6th, with Nick Bosa and Ricky Pearsall out. The best deadline in football.
What was the worst trade of the 2026 NFL trade deadline?
The Jaguars trading for Jordan Davis (D). A 1st that projects 24th plus a 2029 2nd for a nose tackle who plays half the snaps and has 1.5 sacks. Losing DaVon Hamilton for the year made the need real. It did not make this price real, and Davis is paid $26M a year through 2029.
Which team had the worst 2026 trade deadline?
The Dolphins (D). 1-7 with no playoff hope, and sold nothing. Zach Sieler, 31, is still a Dolphin.
How many trades were made before the 2026 NFL trade deadline?
18 trades since the season kicked off, involving 23 teams. The deadline was Tuesday, Nov 10 at 4 p.m. ET.
What was the biggest trade of the 2026 deadline?
The Bears got Jeffery Simmons from the Titans for a 2027 1st, a 2028 1st and a 2027 4th (Chicago also got a 2028 5th).
Think we got your team wrong?Build any trade and see what it is worth.
