2025 NFL Trade Deadline: 5 Biggest Winners and 5 Epic Losers Revealed – Full Breakdown
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
The 2025 NFL Trade Deadline has officially passed, and as always, it didn’t disappoint. From blockbuster moves that reshaped playoff races to surprising trades that left fanbases scratching their heads, this year’s deadline had a little bit of everything. Contenders like the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys made aggressive push to their rosters, while struggling teams such as the Patriots and Commanders cashed in on valuable assets for future draft picks.
However, with every big move comes a clear divide — some teams emerge as clear winners, while others may regret their decisions for seasons to come.
Let’s break down the five biggest winners and five biggest losers from the 2025 NFL Trade Deadline and what each move means for the rest of the season.
Who are the winners and losers at the 2025 NFL trade deadline?
Winner: New York Jets
Let’s start with the obvious, shall we?
Realizing that this roster was just downright terrible and not good enough to build around, GM Darren Mougey decided to trade out two of his three most valuable cornerstone pieces in the 2025 NFL trade deadline. And boy, did he score a king’s ransom in return.
Mougey’s first blockbuster was shipping out All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts for 2026 and 2027 first-round picks and seldom-used wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, a former Texas star and highly-touted 2024 second-round pick.
That was a grand slam move by Mougey to begin with. Then, he got the Dallas Cowboys to overpay for veteran defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. They are receiving the 2026 second and 2027 first-round picks and Mazi Smith in return.
So over the next two drafts, the Jets now have FIVE first-round picks and two second-round selections. That, folks, is how you load up for the rebuild.
Trading Gardner and Williams puts them in a position to tank and secure the No. 1 pick. Mitchell and Smith, who were 2023 first-round picks, never found their game in Dallas’ leaky defense. They still have the skill sets to become quality starters in New York, too.
Everything was looking gloomy for the Jets before the deadline. They were trying to “win now” with this roster after dumping Aaron Rodgers. Now they’re locked and loaded with valuable early-round picks to end this rebuild quickly.
Loser: Dallas Cowboys
If the Cowboys were in the playoff mix, we would understand Jerry Jones’ “win-now” approach here. But alas, he made two “win-now” moves in a year where his team won’t come close to sniffing the postseason.
What’s the logic here? Why didn’t he go “all-in” in previous years when the Cowboys were constantly winning double-digit games and in the playoff race?
Williams is one of the league’s best defensive tackles. However, it’s not a position that moves the needle that much. We’re not talking about an Aaron Donald or Chris Jones-like interior lineman here.
The second-rounder they gave up to the Jets could be a top-40 pick. And would anybody really be surprised if the 2027 first-rounder ended up being a top-10 selection as well?
We’re fine with the trade for Logan Wilson, who only cost Dallas a 2026 seventh-round pick. His production has declined on the Cincinnati Bengals’ horrific defense these last two years, but Wilson is sure to be an upgrade over the other linebackers Dallas employs.
Dallas had a 3-5-1 record when they made the trade for Williams. He and Wilson alone won’t fix this horrific defense. Only time will tell if Jerry was right, but we’re sure most Dallas fans would have felt more at ease if Jones had never made the move for Williams in the first place and retained his draft capital.
Winner: Sauce Gardner
The main reason the Gardner trade to Indy was so shocking was that the Jets had just given him a four-year deal worth $120.4 million in the summer. You don’t make a player the highest-paid ever at his position with the plan of trading him that same year.
But hey, we doubt Gardner has any complaints.
He was one of the few bright spots on the Jets over his three and a half seasons there. Former Jets All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis got out of there just in time to win a Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots. Fortunately, Gardner won’t have any more of his prime years wasted in Gotham.
The league’s best cornerback of the last four years now gets to play for a winner in the Indianapolis Colts. Their defense has been lights-out under first-year defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. The sky’s the ceiling for this group with a five-star shutdown corner leading the secondary, now.
Get out of a toxic environment and play for one of the AFC’s best with a wide-open Super Bowl window? Maybe Gardner should order extra “sauce” on his pasta and pizza to celebrate.
Loser: Tennessee Titans
On a day where bottom-feeder clubs like the Jets and Saints secured much-needed extra draft picks, the Titans stood by and did nothing of significance to bolster their draft capital at the 2025 NFL trade deadline.
There was speculation that No. 1 wide receiver Calvin Ridley, linebacker Arden Key, and nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat would be available. All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and 1,000-yard rusher Tony Pollard were floated as potential trade candidates, too.
The Titans are a horrible football team WITH these players. Why not follow the Jets’ model and just trade away whichever notable players you could for extra draft picks?
But all GM Mike Borgonzi could muster was dealing cornerback Roger McCreary to the Los Angeles Rams for a swap of late-round picks. Veteran linebacker Dre’Mont Jones, having a rock-solid season in Music City, was sent to the Baltimore Ravens for the low price of a conditional fifth-round pick.
Ridley, Pollard, and Key aren’t part of the long-term future. However, they could have gotten decent hauls for Tennessee. Did you see the return the Jets got for Quinnen Williams? Surely, Tennessee could have gotten something similar for Simmons.
Guess we should remember it’s the Titans. The same team that let Derrick Henry walk for nothing in free agency instead of trading him in 2023.
Seasons change, but the Titans’ awful management doesn’t.
Winner: Jakobi Meyers
Meyers requested a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders before the start of the season, but GM John Spytek refused to honor his wish. But chalk this one up as a classic case of “Better late than never.”
On deadline day, the struggling Raiders gave in and shipped Meyers to the Jacksonville Jaguars for fourth and sixth-round draft picks.
For starters, a guy is always a winner if he’s traded from a bottom-feeder to a playoff contender. But Meyers, who’s in his contract year by the way, was having a down year in Vegas. Not ideal, considering he hit the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career last year.
But Meyers wasn’t going to see a spike in production with Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty leading the offense. Now, he gets the clear-cut opportunity to step up as Trevor Lawrence’s No. 1 receiver.
The Jaguars had to put two-way star Travis Hunter on the IR with a knee injury, and Brian Thomas Jr. is having a disastrous season after a lights-out rookie year.
Now, Meyers can walk in and take the No. 1 receiver job for himself. If he does that, his 2026 free agency stock will increase again. Did we mention the chance to play with a quarterback better than Geno Smith? And the chance to compete for a playoff spot?
Hopefully, Meyers bought a lottery ticket after the trade. This was his lucky day, after all.
Loser: Breece Hall
After the Jets traded away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, it felt inevitable that Hall would be the next player shipped out.
But in a mild surprise, the Jets decided to retain Hall for the remainder of the season. It was reported by Connor Hughes of SNY that the Kansas City Chiefs offered a fourth-round pick for Hall, but the Jets wanted a third. KC wouldn’t budge, so no deal materialized before the 2025 NFL trade deadline passed.
So Hall has to finish his career year on a lousy Jets team that won’t make the playoffs. And though he’s in his contract year, don’t forget the Jets have the option to use the franchise tag on him in the offseason.
If Hall had gone to a contender like Kansas City, he could have bolstered his production and increased his free agent stock…on top of chasing a ring.
It would have been a lot easier to pad the stats on a Super Bowl contender with an elite quarterback. With Justin Fields in the backfield, Hall will have to roll with the massive workload the rest of the way.
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
Say what you want about the AJ Brown trade rumors, but the Eagles would have never gotten anything close to market value if they moved him. Keeping Brown proves the locker room culture is just fine. It also implies that all parties there are dead-set on completing the repeat.
Aside from wisely holding onto AJ Brown, the Eagles bolstered their defense by rolling the dice on former Green Bay Packers All-Pro corner Jaire Alexander, who had a nightmare and short-lived stint with the Ravens.
All Philly had to do was swap a sixth-rounder for a seventh-rounder to get Alexander, who could very well enjoy a career revival under the guidance of defensive wiz Vic Fangio.
After getting Brandon Graham to come out of retirement, the Eagles acquired Miami Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips for only a 2026 third-round pick.
GM Howie Roseman had to give up minimal assets for two potential difference-makers on defense. The rest of the core stayed intact. It gives Philly the best chance possible to follow the Kansas City Chiefs’ footsteps of completing the repeat.
Loser: Miami Dolphins
With the Dolphins vying for the first overall pick and sure to fire Mike McDaniel soon, this was the ideal opportunity to begin the scorched-earth rebuild.
Star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle could have fetched a nice return. Bradley Chubb and Matt Judon could have netted valuable draft picks in a buyer-heavy market for pass-rushing help. And yeah, they would have gotten a nice haul for Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
But the only move interim GM Champ Kelly completed was trading edge rusher Jaelan Phillips to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2026 third-round pick. That was a good return for an injury-prone pending free agent. Why didn’t the Dolphins stay open for business at the 2025 NFL trade deadline?
With so many big-name and valuable trade assets, it’s just such a letdown that the Dolphins could only add one extra draft pick to their collection for 2026.
Winner: Seattle Seahawks
Thanks to Sam Darnold’s career year, Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s rise to superstar, and an elite defense, the Seahawks are in the running for the NFC West division crown AND the conference’s top seed.
If you wanted to find one weakness before the deadline, it was a No. 2 receiver to help JSN. Well, GM John Schneider didn’t wait around.
On deadline day, he acquired New Orleans Saints deep threat Rashid Shaheed for the bargain price of fourth and fifth-round picks. Shaheed was having a career year on a horrible New Orleans team. Now he goes to a Super Bowl contender where he shall immediately slot in as the No. 2.
In addition to addressing their main weakness, the Seahawks watched NFC West rivals, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, make minimal deadline moves. Neither made a splash on par with the Seahawks’ addition of Shaheed.
Add it all up, and Seattle was the big winner in the NFC West..
Loser: Trey Hendrickson
For all the heat the Cincinnati Bengals are getting for holding onto Hendrickson, there was clearly no need to sell low on him if they didn’t get the offer they wanted.
Ultimately, the main loser here is the four-time Pro Bowler.
Hendrickson never secured the long-term extension he wanted from Cincy. They continue to ignore his trade requests. And with Joe Burrow sidelined for most of the year, Hendrickson has another prime season going down the toilet.
Another thing that isn’t helping matters? Hendrickson is on pace to finish the season with under 10 sacks…after posting 17.5 in both 2023 and 2024. The Bengals didn’t pay Hendrickson during his peak production. Unless he finishes the year on a hot run, it looks like he won’t get a top-of-the-market deal in 2026.
There was no extension. No trade. No chance at the postseason. Hendrickson is a trade deadline loser in every single aspect.
