[2023] Trade Deadline Grades - Winners and Losers

[alexfall862]

What a trade deadline! Now we have to sort out the winners and losers of the busiest two day stretch in SimNFL history. 

Some teams added players, some added picks, but all 4 of the teams below prepared for the final stretch of the season.

First, let's break down each trade that happened this week to refresh everyone's memory.

Trade History and Grades

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Washington
FS Jarred Stone - 83 OVR

New York (Jets)
FS Joseph Frank - 72 OVR
CB Rafael Caceres - 61 OVR

Washington upgraded their FS position, while New York got a vet to fill-in and a promising young zone CB in Caceres, who's under team control for 5 years. 

Buyer Grade: F

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New England
CB Dustin Phillips - 75 OVR

Philadelphia
2024 2nd Round Pick

New England trades a pick that could produce a starter-level player, but gets a starter in return, and one that pairs with some other recent moves to make a formidable secondary. The pick hurts, but not enough to fault the Patriots for making moves here.

Buyer Grade: B

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Washington
DE Rudolph Garcia - ?? OVR

Indianapolis
DE David Tibbits - 63 OVR
2025 5th Round Pick

Washington picks up a run stopping DE on a rental deal for a career backup and a 5th rounder. Indianapolis gets a body for the rest of the season and a future flyer on a marginal prospect. 

Buyer Grade: F

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Denver 
DT David Digirolamo - 81 OVR

Indianapolis
2025 4th Round Pick
2024 6th Round Pick

Digirolamo combines with Cuevas to give Denver a stout run defense, while Indianapolis picks up some mid-round picks for giving up the rental player. This pushes over 7 million in immovable salary to the bench for Denver, which vet Daniel Garrison no longer figuring into this year's plans barring injury. 

It's an upgrade, but not at a position of need for Denver.

Buyer Grade: C+ 

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Las Vegas
OG Theodore Marsh - 75 OVR

Indianapolis 
2024 5th Round Pick
OG Roger Wnek - 61 OVR

The Raiders get a starting OG to protect their potent passing attack in exchange for a mid-round pick and a camp body. Minimal cost for maximal gain here.

Buyer Grade: B+
 

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Denver 
FB Michael Carter - 87 OVR

New York (Jets)
2024 5th Round Pick
2024 6th Round Pick
2025 2nd Round Pick
2025 7th Round Pick

Denver acquires a lead back from the Jets for a batch of picks that might be worth something by the time some of them accrue. 

Carter has not had the kind of workload he's likely to get as a lead back yet in the sim, and that uncertainty clouds the value of this acquisition. Will he wear out before end of games when the Broncos need him to hold up? Their other backs are gone or too old to be the bellcow. The flipside is that Carter has all the physical tools to potentially be the top producing back in the league - if only the stars align just right.

Buyer Grade: B

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Denver
FS Steven Card - 74 OVR
2024 5th Round Pick
2024 6th Round Pick
2024 7th Round Pick
2025 5th Round Pick
2025 6th Round Pick
2025 7th Round Pick

New Orleans
2025 3rd Round Pick
RB Adel Fraire - 65 OVR

A pick bonanza here, with Denver loading up on late round picks, and NO getting a strong young back to experiment with before the end of the season - along with a 3rd round pick in 2025. 

Card projects to play some nickle this season in the Denver depth chart, but could see time at his natural FS as well. This gives Denver 5 above average secondary members, which is important given some of the inter-division trades below.

Buyer Grade: B

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Washington 
WR Charles Grady
CB Randy Espino
RB Steven Tabbert
DT Manuel Harris

Jacksonville
DT Lorenzo Reed - B- OVR
WR Ray-Ray Thompson - 61 OVR
2024 1st Round Pick
2024 3rd Round Pick
2025 2nd Round Pick
2025 6th Round Pick

The first mega-trade! Jacksonville moves basically all their cap-positive contracts to the Commanders to create space for future flexibility, which opened them up to the trades below, and the Commanders get some serious talent at the sacrifice of what's almost certainly a #30-#32 pick.

Espino has 98 man coverage, Grady is a strong WR2 and Tabbert fills in a spot left by Piper. Harris has the potential to start, but also has future potential and gives the Commanders the flexibility they need to keep under the cap in future seasons without losing top-tier defensive lineups. Great move here from Washington.

Buyer Grade: F

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Washington
2024 3rd Round Pick

Baltimore
RB Stanley Piper - 77 OVR
2025 7th Round Pick

Washington drops their newly demoted RB3 to Baltimore for a 3rd rounder. Not a huge move in context, but Piper was arguably the MVP of last season's Super Bowl run. Strong sentimental value if not on-field value now that the Commanders have Tabbert.

Buyer Grade: F

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Denver
CB Sam Barbato - 54 OVR
2024 7th Round Pick
2024 7th Round Pick

Washington
CB Sam Barbato - 54 OVR
2025 7th Round Pick

This trade is under seal on the request of the US District Court of Appeals.

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Las Vegas 
WR Charles Brown - 84 OVR
TE George Devoe - 75 OVR

Jacksonville
TE Glenn Lloyd - 73 OVR
FS Anthony Daniels - 64 OVR
2024 2nd Round Pick
2025 3rd Round Pick
2025 7th Round Pick

Vegas loads up on offensive firepower here, losing a pretty talented blocking TE for a receiving threat in Devoe. Given their offensive distribution this season, that makes a ton of sense for them, as they're average around 10 carries a game, but love to air it out.

The picks here further stock Jacksonville's warchest, and a team on the verge of bottoming out now has just a half-season before they're going to have an top 22 of intriguing prospects.

Buyer Grade: B  

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New England
ILB Patrick Cannady - 72 OVR
CB Jason Holliman - 73 OVR
2025 7th Round Pick

Washington
2024 3rd Round Pick

New England acquires two starters and solidifies a strong secondary from Washington's sudden bench bodies. Good moves here from New England in strengthening their defense at a pretty affordable price.

Buyer Grade: B+ 

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Denver 
WR Donald Galligan - 77 OVR

New York (Jets)
2024 5th Round Pick
OLB Michael Kennedy
DT Keith Rodriguez

Denver grabs a WR3 on a 2 year contract from the Jets for what might be the last two players under 25 on their roster to be listed on their gameday depth chart. The 2 year contract does eat into the pool of cash to extend/resign London and other starters after this season.

Buyer Grade: B

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Los Angeles 
ILB Tram Signh - 76 OVR
DE Richard Lucia - 87 OVR

New York (Jets)
ILB Jack Ousley - 72 OVR
2024 3rd Round Pick
2024 3rd Round Pick
2025 2nd Round Pick

For a pretty modest price, LA just grabbed one of if not the best DE in the game, while also improving their LB situation slightly. For a team that is always finding itself in shootouts, this is a strong move for immediate contention, and the two 2024 picks are near the mendoza line (basically 4th rounders) and don't worry me at all as far as value lost in future production.

Buyer Grade: A 

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Los Angeles
OT Sung Liu - 86 OVR
2024 3rd Round Pick

Jacksonville
2024 1st Round Pick
OT Ryan Dunn - A- OVR

Los Angeles picks up an all-pro offensive lineman for the cost of what is probably going to be two starting quality players in the near future in A- overall prospect Dunn and the 2024 first. However, the Rams did get a 3rd round pick to ensure they at least have fresh bodies and contracts coming in the door. 

Buyer Grade: B 

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Washington
OG Louis Perez - 82 OVR
DT Casey Rodgers - B- OVR
2024 7th Round Pick
2025 6th Round Pick 

Minnesota
2024 3rd Round Pick
OG Christopher Regala - 73 OVR
DE Trea Taumoepenu - 57 OVR

Washington acquires a different starting OG and moves off of the veteran Regala, Minnesota picks up a 3rd that essentially initiates the trade below - meaning both teams got better, in exchange for some camp bodies and mid-rounders changing hands. 

Buyer Grade: F

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Minnesota
CB Charles Kling - 74

Jacksonville
CB Trayvon Johnson - B- OVR
2025 3rd Round Pick

Minnesota picks up a starting CB to give them a punchers chance as stopping some of their division's offenses as they gear up for a playoff run. This is essentially an extension of the previous trade, but even in isolation, a 3rd isn't a high cost to pay a player that should be able to start for them for at least 2 years if re-signed. 

Buyer Grade: C

Overall Grades

Las Vegas
Loaded up on offense to pressure teams down the field and at the linebacker position more than they already do. 

Defense is still a WIP, but they won't have any trouble scoring points. 

Overall Grade: B

Denver
Denver loaded up on players and gained some long desired flexibility in offensive and defensive gameplanning, but it came at the cost of their entire stock of draft picks.

Overall Grade: C

Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles traded the top of their drafts to become the clear second best betting option in the NFC. Will that pay off against Washington? It seems given the players that they grabbed that they got their 'money's worth' so even if they don't win it this year, the acquired value in veterans should keep them in contention in the near future.

Overall Grade: A

Washington
Overall the Commanders exchanged over half their starters and upgraded the average overall of most multi-player units (OL, DL, Secondary, WR, RB) on the field. They also freed up cap space to resign players like Padilla - who will likely be looking for a big payday if he hits the market. These moves keep Washington as the clear best team in the league and also set them up for some degree of being able to sustain their roster into next season.

Overall Grade: F

New England
Quiet moves in comparison to their AFC counterparts, but the Patriots have a strong defense out of nowhere. Within a couple of days they've become the second most talented pass defense in a conference chock full of strong passing attacks. Will this modest retooling help them make a run in January? Perhaps - but it didn't mortgage their future to try.

Overall Grade: A

Minnesota
The Vikings decided to make a move late and position themselves to lock down the NFC North, essentially trading their OG for an OG and CB. Not a big buyer, but the bar isn't all that high in the NFC North. We're likely to see Minnesota in the playoffs after a rough first year.

Overall Grade: B 

Baltimore
Getting a starting RB for a 3rd to pair with their long frustrated QB Chop isn't a big move even compared to their relative peers New England and Minnesota, but it's a solid move to stay relevant in a packed AFC North. However, Piper is a 9 year vet and likely has just 1-3 years left of top level production. It's not quite clear whether the Ravens will retool the rest of the roster in time to take advantage of that, but this move gives them some tools to find a strong attack going into 2024.

Overall Grade: C

Quotes from Teams around the League

Pittsburgh Steelers
"Exciting trade deadline. Vegas and Denver in the AFC West brought in some good players and even Baltimore went out and tried to improve.  We respect the moves those teams made, but we're good with the guys in our locker room.

I'm excited to be 8-0.  I expected us to compete for a playoff spot, but not start this strong. Defense has been really good, but I'm still not super confident offensively.  Morris is really good sometimes or very meh sometimes" - @smackemz

Los Angeles Rams
"It’s a bit more aggressive than we would like to be but we saw other teams making moves. If we wanted to truly make a run for the championship like we know we can, we knew we needed to take some chances. We had a few opportunities to get better at a few key positions and we took them. Liu and Lucia are among the best in the league at what they do. We can’t wait to get them in the building and show them what it’s like to be a Ram." @Vivid

Denver Broncos
"Overall I thought the increase in league activity around the deadline is a sign teams are getting comfortable with how players are progressing season to season, as well as getting more comfortable with what their offensive and defensive identities are. Teams were shedding players that didn't fit their vision, and for some damn reason they kept getting swept up by AFC teams, so we had to make some choices to ensure we make it an interesting and worthwhile trip to the playoffs this year. Carter in particular is someone we're very excited about as he can take carries off of our other veteran running back, leaving him free to play more of a Kevin Faulk-type role in the offense." @alexfall862

Washington Commanders
"I eat crayons" @tsweezy

Also - huge shoutout to @Piercewise1 for being an awesome commissioner.

[cultur3]

Love the F for Washington. Losers!!

[tsweezy]

Very fair and unbiased reporting, nice to see

[Jieret]

Our current core doesn't have that much time left, so we thought we owed it to them and our fans to not just roll over and let Washington and especially Denver do whatever they wanted.

But we want our @cultur3 of winning to be sustainable, we didn't want to mortgage our entire future. It was more like a home equity line of credit we took out. No one we paid significant prices for are intended to be just rentals, and we don't expect to just fade back to the pack after this season.