NFL Trades We Wish We Would Have Seen at the 2024 Trade Deadline

It's all or nothing for an Eagles team that hasn't gotten anything out of receivers not named DeVonta Smith or A.J. Brown.

Both of those stars have already dealt with injuries this season, so the addition of a proven veteran like Cooper Kupp would have given the Eagles more insurance as well as another option for quarterback Jalen Hurts.

A potentially cheaper and more realistic option might have been Adam Thielen in Carolina. Instead, the Eagles are riding with Jahan Dotson and a bunch of question marks beyond their star duo.

That could become hugely problematic if either goes down—Brown is currently day-to-day with a knee injury that he suffered Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars—or if they run into defenses that are equipped to limit their damage.

The Dallas Cowboys don't look like a contender, despite their acquisition of wide receiver Jonathan Mingo at the trade deadline. They're 3-5, and starting quarterback Dak Prescott may be headed to injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

The aging and expensive Zack Martin may be nearing the end of his time days in Dallas if the team undergoes a reset soon.

In-state neighbor Houston would have made a lot of sense as a landing spot for Martin. The Texans were already a mess along the offensive line even before losing starter Kenyon Green to a season-ending shoulder injury.

Second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud needs more protection and support, and the interior line needs more talent in general. Martin could have brought that to the table as well as veteran leadership for a team that is quite young but expects to contend this year.

The Cleveland Browns weren't willing to trade franchise cornerstone Myles Garrett even though this is a lost season for them. But as he puts together another All-Pro-caliber campaign, it would have been nice to see the Atlanta Falcons continue to go all-in on 2024 with a splash move for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Imagine what that could have done for a Falcons team that is 6-3 and could have a more-open-than-expected path to the Super Bowl considering the problems currently plaguing fellow NFC contenders? The Falcons have a glaring need for help on the edge, with a league-low nine sacks midway through a season in which they've gambled it all on a pricey 36-year-old quarterback.

Even if they couldn't have landed Garrett, settling for a veteran like Ojulari from the New York Giants could have made a huge difference. Alas, they remained idle ahead of the deadline.

Maybe this could wait for the offseason, especially now that the Dolphins are playoff long shots this year regardless of Tua Tagovailoa's status. They've been more competitive since Tagovailoa returned from his latest concussion, but his injury history clouds his future as Miami's franchise quarterback.

So, why not attempt to get a discount on a young and talented quarterback who might need time to develop and could already require a change of scenery considering how poorly things have gone in Carolina?

Bryce Young's career is off to an awful start in Carolina, and the Panthers seem non-committal on his future. The Dolphins would have been a logical landing spot for him as a hedge against Tagovailoa's health. Young is still 23 and could still jump-start his career in Miami or elsewhere.

That could still happen in the 2025 offseason, but for now, the Dolphins continue to roll the dice on Tagovailoa.

With Matt Milano currently sidelined by a biceps injury, the Buffalo Bills have a clear weakness at linebacker. With the Las Vegas Raiders in sell mode, it would have made sense for Buffalo to take a swing at veteran Robert Spillane in a contract year.

Spillane is the only player in the NFL this season with at least 85 tackles and at least five tackles for loss, and he shouldn't have cost much since he's on an expiring two-year, $7 million contract.