The New York Jets were 2-4 when they traded for receiver Davante Adams, but team owner Woody Johnson believed the acquisition was the start of something big.
“We’re going to dig … you can add words after,” Johnson said after the exchange. “We’re going to do really well.”
The Jets are 1-6 since the trade.
Adams didn’t help the Jets all that much, but that’s true of most offseason trades this season. The moves generated a lot of talk and hype, and almost none of the traded players had the impact their new teams had hoped for.
With a few weeks left in the season, let’s assign grades to the trades that were made after week 1. Like NFL Draft grades, instant trade grades can be fun and informative. As long as you understand, they all have a context. There’s still time to make moves, but few of them look good right now. Here are the grades for trades made before the deadline (with grades for teams that traded for a player, not draft picks):
Incomplete: Commanders are still waiting for their return
Chiefs get CB Marshon Lattimore and 2025 fifth round pick, Saints get 2025 third round pick, 2025 fourth round pick, 2025 sixth round pick: The Commanders traded for Lattimore despite the cornerback dealing with a hamstring injury. And more than a month later, Lattimore still hasn’t played in his first game with the Commanders due to injury. Lattimore has two years left on his contract and the Commanders are in good shape to make the playoffs, so there is plenty of time to make the trade worthwhile.
Fs: The Ravens did not deal on Diontae Johnson
Ravens get WR Diontae Johnson and 2025 sixth-round pick, Panthers get 2025 fifth-round pick: This looked like a steal for the Ravens. Apparently you get what you pay for. Johnson has one catch for six yards in four games. He refused to start a game in Week 13 and was suspended for Week 14. So Johnson has as many team suspensions as receptions with the Ravens. That makes it a bust, even at a bargain base price.
Chiefs get LB Josh Uche, Patriots get 2026 sixth-round pick: The Chiefs got next to nothing out of Uche. He didn’t play more than 11 snaps in any game for Kansas City, took one snap against the Raiders in Week 13 and was a healthy scratch in Week 14. The Chiefs sent a sixth-round pick to two games and no sacks from Uche.
Ds: What were the Jets thinking?
Jets get WR Davante Adams, Raiders get conditional third-round pick in 2025: Adams really wasn’t bad. He has 40 catches for 453 yards and three touchdowns and is coming off a game with nine catches for 109 yards. But the context of the team is important. Everyone laughed at the Jets for making a trade when they were 2-4 in what clearly looked like another attempt to appease Aaron Rodgers. Adams was pretty good, but he absorbed a lot of targets that went to Garrett Wilson, the young star the Jets should feature. If Adams moves on after this season — he’s due $38.3 million next year and the Jets will practically force him to be fired if he doesn’t retool — then that’s a really expensive hire for a three-win team. And it seems the Jets were the only side that didn’t realize it was a misstep.
Bengals get RB Khalil Herbert, Bears get seventh-round pick in 2025: On Herbert’s first carry with Cincinnati, there was a failed handoff and a fumble. Herbert got it, but it seemed to shake the Bengals’ confidence in him. Herbert has just 19 snaps in four games. He has three carries and a catch for 25 total yards. Cincinnati could get it from virtually any practice squad that came back into the league.
Cowboys get WR Jonathan Ming and 2025 seventh-round pick, Panthers get 2025 fourth-round pick: No one could believe the Cowboys paid a fourth-round pick for Mingo, who had limited production in Carolina. And while the move was made with the future in mind, Mingo had no awakening in Dallas. He has two catches for 10 yards in four games. Hopefully, this isn’t a sign of things to come for Dallas.
Steelers get WR Mike Williams, Jets get 2025 fifth-round pick: In his first game with Pittsburgh, Williams caught the game-winning 32-yard touchdown with 2:22 left against the Commanders. That alone could make the trade worth it if this win leads to the AFC North title. Aside from that play, Williams did very little. After the Washington game, he went three games without a catch (the TD was his only catch in that game) and then had three catches for 36 yards last week. This lack of production is why he fell out of favor with the Jets.
49ers get DT Khalil Davis, Texans get 2,026 seventh-round pick: Davis has played 37 snaps in three games with the 49ers and has three tackles. The 49ers appear to be slipping out of the playoffs. It doesn’t seem like much of a return on investment for San Francisco.
Cs: Amari Cooper could still impact the Bills
Bills get WR Amari Cooper and a sixth-round pick in 2025, Browns a third-rounder in 2025 and a seventh-rounder in 2026: Cooper has missed two games with a wrist injury that shouldn’t count against him. However, he hasn’t had much of an impact yet. He has a decent 16-231-1 line in five games. He had six catches for 95 yards last week, indicating a growing role, but Cooper has been fine for the Bills up to this point.
Seahawks get DE Roy Robertson-Harris, Jaguars get sixth-round pick in 2026: Robertson-Harris did not start a game and has 11 tackles and no sacks in seven games. If Seattle wins the NFC West, they might not regret sending a pick on a little-used rotation lineman who didn’t add much, but it’s hard to say it was a smart move.
Vikings get RB Cam Akers and a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick, Texans get a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick: Akers replaced Ty Chandler as the Vikings’ RB2, but didn’t produce much. He has 187 rushing yards on 41 carries and added 33 receiving yards on six catches through eight games. He was a perfectly reasonable backup, and it’s not like the Vikings are paying much.
Cardinals get OLB Baron Browning, Broncos get 2025 sixth-round pick: Browning was supposed to help the Cardinals’ pass rush, but still doesn’t have a sack despite playing 44% of the team’s defensive snaps in his four games. Browning has seven tackles, which didn’t move the needle much either.
Steelers get OLB Preston Smith, Packers get 2025 seventh-round pick: Smith requested a trade and the Packers granted him, but there was probably a reason they wanted to move on. Smith has one sack in four games. Smith has played about a third of the Steelers’ defensive snaps since joining the team and provides some depth, but the 32-year-old hasn’t made much of a difference.
Bs: DeAndre Hopkins was an upgrade for the Chiefs
Chiefs get WR DeAndre Hopkins, Titans get conditional fifth-round pick in 2025: In seven games with the Chiefs, Hopkins has a 30-357-4 line, a little better than 51 yards per game. All four of his touchdowns are less than 10 yards. That has value in the red zone, but Hopkins hasn’t been the big difference-maker the Chiefs hoped he would be. Still, he wasn’t bad with games of 90 and 86 yards, and he’s better than anything Kansas City has had since Rashee Rice’s injury. In addition, there is time for him to be a big player in the postseason.
Vikings get OT Cam Robinson and conditional seventh-round pick, Jaguars get conditional 2026 fifth-round pick: The Vikings were in trouble after losing Christian Darrisaw to injury and made a smart trade to get Robinson. He started in all six games and allowed just one sack, according to Pro Football Focus. He hasn’t been great, allowing 16 pressures, and his 61.3 PFF grade would rank him 60th among tackles this season, but he’s held down a left tackle position that hasn’t been much of a problem in Darrisawa’s absence. For the price Minnesota paid, it was a good move.
Ravens get CB Tre’Davious White and 2027 seventh round pick, Rams get 2026 seventh round pick: White didn’t start a game for the Ravens, but he played a significant role in the cornerback rotation and was solid. He allowed four catches for 26 yards on 56 coverage snaps, according to PFF. Baltimore will take it for the minimum price they paid.
How: Lions, Seahawks got what they needed
Seahawks get LB Ernest Jones, Titans LB Jerome Baker and 2025 fourth-round pick: It was the only deal since the start of the season involving players on both sides. We rate the Seahawks side and it’s a hit. The Seahawks raved about Jones, who has 63 tackles and an interception in six games. Baker has dealt with injuries and has 17 tackles in three games. Both parties should be satisfied with this step. The rebuilding Titans got a valuable pick and the Seahawks got a player who has helped them go 4-0 since the bye.
Lions get DE Za’Darius Smith in 2026 seventh round, Browns in 2025 fifth round and 2026 sixth round: Very few of the mid-season player acquisitions via trade have come to fruition. This one has. Smith came on to replace the injured Aidan Hutchinson and went down. Smith has three sacks and seven quarterback hits in four games. The Lions will be thrilled if he can keep up that level of production in the playoffs.