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Bleacher Report 2024 NFL Trade Deadline Grades and Analysis
S.Wilson26 min ago
- Jeff Bottari/ The NFL trade deadline isn't usually as sexy as any of the other four major sports leagues. But this year's version proved to be vastly different. Long before Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline, names such as Davante Adams, Amari Cooper and DeAndre Hopkins found themselves on different rosters. Tuesday's action began with a bang, as the Detroit Lions demonstrated they aren't content with just being the NFC's best squad. They went out and acquired Aidan Hutchinson's replacement after the team's defensive centerpiece suffered what's essentially a season-ending broken tibia and fibula. Conversely, the Cleveland Browns understand they're in the midst of a lost season despite the organization's preseason expectations. These types of choices have to be made across the board for all 32 organizations. They could elect to make a push for the postseason over the second half of the season or start looking toward the offseason, specifically free agency and the NFL draft. As the day progresses, Bleacher Report will provide analysis and grade each of the trades, while everyone can continue to check out which names remain on the trade block and potential suitors .
- Lauren Leigh Bacho/ Za'Darius Smith has to be the happiest man in the NFL right now. After enduring the dysfunction that the 2-7 Cleveland Browns became this season, he now gets to play for arguably the league's best and deepest team. The Detroit Lions are loaded at nearly every level. But they understood the assignment after Aidan Hutchinson suffered a grotesque leg injury in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys. As talented as the Lions are, the unit lacked a legitimate edge-rusher beyond Hutchinson, while the 2022 No. 2 overall pick was tracking toward being an NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Thus, Detroit flipped a 2025 fifth-round and 2026 sixth-round picks to the Browns for Smith and a '26 seventh-rounder, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler . The 32-year-old is an established veteran with plenty of gas still left in the tank. Smith registered 10.5 sacks in his season-plus as a member of the Browns. His five sacks this season already double the Lions' next-best, not including Hutchinson. Furthermore, Smith is signed through the 2025 season. Cleveland, meanwhile, isn't anywhere close to where it wanted to be and didn't get much in return. However, the organization can start something of a youth movement. Both Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire have flashed, with one potentially becoming a long-term bookend to Myles Garrett.Lions Grade: ABrowns Grade: C
- Perry Knotts/ The Cincinnati Bengals may be 4-5 overall, but they've won three of their last four with quarterback Joe Burrow rounding back into Pro Bowl form. Burrow can be helped by a manageable run game, though. On Monday, head coach Zac Taylor revealed that running back Zack Moss is out indefinitely because of a neck injury. Chase Brown has improved greatly during his second season. He's coming of a career-high 127-yard performance against the Las Vegas Raiders, but the Bengals wanted to make sure they had depth in their backfield. On Tuesday, Cincinnati traded a seventh-round draft pick to the Chicago Bears for Khalil Herbert, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler . Herbert took a back seat to D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson this season and has been barely used. However, the fourth-year back ran for 1,775 yards during his first three campaigns. The 26-year-old ball-carrier gets to be part of a rotation again, while the Bengals add a proven runner with some juice to lengthen their backfield depth chart. Bengals Grade: BBears Grade: C+
- Cooper Neill/ A three-game winning streak completely changed the direction of the Arizona Cardinals' season. They became buyers at this year's trade deadline instead of potential sellers. First, Arizona's five wins are already more than the back-to-back four-win campaigns the franchise pieced together in 2022 and '23. More importantly, the Cardinals currently sit atop the NFC West standings with a half-game lead over the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. But something needed to be done about Arizona's lackluster pass rush. As a unit, the Cardinals have 21 sacks. It's a group effort, though. No one on the roster has more than 3.5. For context, the second number doesn't even crack the league's top 40 individual performances. Browning found himself in a backup role for the Denver Broncos despite 9.5 sacks over the previous two campaigns. He's also a pending free agent after this season. So, Arizona flipped a sixth-round draft pick to Denver for Browning, per ESPN's Adam Schefter . The 25-year-old Browning has a lot of natural ability, with the potential to win one-on-one matchups off the edge. According to Pro Football Focus , the fourth-year defender produced 76 pressures with a 12.4 percent pass-rush win rate since the start of the 2022 campaign. The Cardinals needed an injection of athleticism and explosivity in their pass rush. They bought low on Browning while retaining significant upside for this season and possibly beyond. He's not a needle-mover, though the team improved with his inclusion. Cardinals Grade: C+Broncos Grade: C
Read the full article:https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10141502-bleacher-report-2024-nfl-trade-deadline-grades-and-analysis
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