SBK Edge Rush: Who won and lost in the NFL trade window?

If you can dare, picture Aaron Rodgers’ mood at training on Wednesday, after the Packers were conspicuously quiet during a frenzied 24 hours of trading in the NFL. 

Plenty of contending teams manoeuvred to strengthen their play-off drives on Tuesday, while teams in transition – in other words, those currently stinking up the joint – jettisoned pieces now with the view to rebuilding next season and beyond. 

Despite the move back towards a more effective offence against the Bills, after putting more emphasis on the ground game, there was still a widespread assumption that Green Bay would look to strengthen their receiving corps. Rodgers’ alarming regression this season seems directly linked to a fractious relationship with his current group of receivers, raw and untested to the most part, with the more experienced hands (Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb) battling injury. 

Yet, despite there being some interesting trade opportunities for the Packers to explore, none of them came to fruition. In their division, Chase Claypool moved to the out-of-contention Chicago Bears, while the Detroit Lions’ productive tight end TJ Hockensen was picked up by another NFC North foe, the 6-1 Vikings. 

Elsewhere in the league, Calvin Ridley, an elite talent currently suspended from the league but expected to return next season, was intriguingly dealt by the Falcons to Jacksonville. Kadarius Toney, a talented but unproven young wide receiver, was added to the Chiefs to link up with Patrick Mahomes - a partnership that could entirely fail or prove to be a masterstroke.

The Broncos’ Jerry Jeudy was rumoured to be heading to Lambeau Field, but this didn’t play out. The 3-5 Packers face the Lions this Sunday, before a tricky three-game run that includes the unbeaten Eagles, the AFC South-leading Titans, and the 6-2 Cowboys. Green Bay’s play-off hopes could be over by Thanksgiving and, if so, questions will understandably be asked about why they went into this season with such a limited receiving group - and then, when presented with a chance to remedy it, did nothing. 

Can the Packers and Rodgers keep their play-off push going until at least Thanksgiving?

In contrast to the Packers’ inertia, three contenders doubled down and dealt picks for key defensive pieces, echoing the Super Bowl-winning LA Rams and their move for Von Miller last season. Philadelphia, who play on TNF this week and should expect to move to 8-0 against a struggling Houston outfit, brought in Robert Quinn from the Bears to bolster their pass rush. Much like Miller, he’ll pinch hit, adding an extra dimension on a rotational basis to an already formidable Eagles front. 

Roquan Smith, another player dealt by the Bears, feels like a good fit for the Ravens. Smith is a next-gen talent to carry the torch from Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs and co. He joins seasoned vets Calais Campbell and Jason Pierre-Paul, along with the emerging and versatile Patrick Queen, to bolster the front seven. As a result, this may take some of the pressure off a secondary peppered with talent including Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey - underperforming by their typically high standards, but capable of being a top-five cornerback tandem. 

Critics will make the same point about the Ravens as with Green Bay: By not adding a receiver, their offence won’t have the versatility to contend in the deeper waters of the play-offs. However, if their D steps up a level or two, they may have enough balance for that not to matter. With this move they’ve emerged from solid to clear Super Bowl contenders. 

Perhaps the most high-profile deal of all was the much-anticipated departure from Denver of Bradley Chubb, and Miami will feel he’s the missing link to elevate them into legitimate contenders. With the Fins offence already humming thanks to the effervescent tag team of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the Dolphins have now picked up one of the most effective pass rushers in the business. Chubb should elevate his new team from their current sack ranking of 23rd in the league. 

Miami is also allowing opposing quarterbacks a passer rating of 100 (ranked 29th), which should now also drop. Much like Baltimore, the Dolphins boast a balanced D, with a similarly talented cornerback partnership and a front that features some top-tier talent. Their current statistical rankings are skewed simply due to the absence of Tua Tagovailoa from their offence for a stretch, and the strain that put on the defence. 

The 5-3 Fins will feel that the AFC East is still in their grasp, despite being two games down on the Bills, and will certainly consider themselves contenders even if they will have to make it to Arizona in February via a wild-card place. 

They face the Bears this weekend, in a perfect example of two teams with contrasting current objectives. Miami is in win-now mode, while Chicago are already spending their newly acquired pile of picks and dreaming of the future. The Packers seem hopelessly stuck between the two.

f you would like to listen to the latest podcasts that are hosted by Nat Coombs, please click this link: https://thencshow.co.uk