For another year, the NFL trade deadline has passed, and while it may not be quite as spicy as the MLB, plenty of impactful moves were made. Here are all the moves you need to know about, and what they mean.

Eagles acquire safety Kevin Byard from Titans

Maybe not the Titans move many fans thought would happen, and spoiler alert, King Henry’s throne still resides in Tennessee for now. But the Titans established themselves as sellers early, with this trade coming Oct. 23, eight days before the deadline.

For the Titans, they acquire a 2024 5th and 6th round pick and also add safety Terrell Edmunds. Edmunds, 26, is much younger than Byard and has been an effective player over his career, now in his sixth season. Last season he had 70 tackles, two sacks and five passes defended. It was a slight drop from the very solid years he had in 2020 and 2021.

For the Eagles, they are going all in again and building another potential super team adding a two-time All-Pro and Pro-Bowler in Byard. He provides fantastic experience and leadership as well as playing a ball-hawking deep safety role for them as he has recorded 27 interceptions in his eight-year career. 

This is a win-win trade, the Titans are clearly not a contender this year at 3-4 and want more youth and draft picks and are looking to clear cap space. For the Eagles, they now add to their already elite secondary and are currently the clear favorite in the NFC.

Seahawks acquire defensive lineman Leonard Williams from Giants

Seahawks general manager John Schneider loves to make big defensive moves, and made another one here by adding the 6 foot, 5 inch tall 300-pound Williams. Williams fills a huge need for the Seahawks as he is a true space eater but also a dominant pass rusher on the interior defensive line.

With the loss of Uchenna Nwosu for the season, Seattle needed to add help to the front, and despite the offseason signing of Dre’Mont Jones, the interior of the line has been thin this season. Williams is in his ninth season and has 39.5 sacks, 59 tackles for loss and 162 quarterback hits in his career. 

He fills the three-tech spot well for the Seahawks and will help allow Jarran Reed, who has broken out this year, to get a few more breathers each game. 

The Seahawks gave up a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick. They will also only pay $650,000 of his remaining contract as he is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

For New York, they get a high draft pick in exchange for a veteran player who most likely would have left in the offseason.

Official diagnosis: the Seahawks essentially get a money-free rental of a stud interior defensive lineman filling a huge team need and if he leaves in the offseason, they get a compensatory third-round pick back anyway, as well as already having two third rounds picks in the 2024 draft. The Giants clear some cap flexibility and get draft capital in return, so ultimately a win-win.

Bears acquire defensive end Montez Sweat from Commanders

For the second straight year, the rebuilding Bears are trying to accelerate things by selling a second-round pick for a potential young star. It obviously did not work out last year with receiver Chase Claypool, but Sweat could be different.

Sweat, 27, is 6 feet, 6 inches tall and 262 pounds posing elite size and the production is there as well, having recorded 35.5 sacks already in just his fifth season. He is also on pace to set a new career high already having 6.5 this year in just eight games with nine left. 

More than sacks, Sweat already has nine forced fumbles, 47 tackles for loss and 85 QB hits in his young career. Sweat is currently playing on his fifth-year option having been the 26th overall pick in 2019, meaning Chicago will need to resign him this offseason for this to not be a disaster.

There is something to be said for moving high picks as a rebuilding team, but not often can you use a second-rounder on an immediate potential star pass rusher and run stopper. The Bears have a chance to rebuild their defensive unit behind a new franchise icon.

For the Commanders, this move makes sense as Sweat will need a big deal this offseason and they are going the wrong direction, especially considering the second-round pick will likely be close to the first as the Bears will not magically become a contender this year.

Official diagnosis: The Bears are going for the rebuild with players route while the Commanders go with picks and cap space. This specific move is good for Washington and for the Bears, who are projected to have the most cap space in the NFL this offseason, so overall it is a win-win.

49ers acquire defensive end Chase Young from Commanders

The most shocking move of the day as the Niners are going head to head with the now division-leading Seahawks on the trade wire. For San Francisco, Young now pairs with Nick Bosa both having been the second overall pick rushing the edge coming out of Ohio State.

Young may not be the elite edge presence that he was hyped up to be coming out of the draft, but coming off of a major knee surgery, returning to form takes time. Also in the Niners defensive scheme, he is likely to become a far better-utilized weapon.

Reports coming out of Washington were Young was immature and often hunted the big play rather than doing his job. Regardless, he has five sacks on the year and is a special talent when locked in.

For the Commanders, this is shocking to see as it was highly expected they would only deal with one of their young defensive ends. Young is not at the same level as Sweat right now and as a result, they do not get nearly as much, just getting what is likely to be a low third-round pick. In the end, they have plenty of draft capital in the upcoming draft.

Official diagnosis: This will depend on Young’s performance and if he is extended by San Francisco, but right now it is a huge win for the Niners, who fortify their front, and only sacrifice a pick received through the NFL’s minority hiring rule. For the Commanders, their defense is in shambles, and it will be very hard to replace all that production with the newly acquired picks.

Other moves and winners

The Jaguars acquired some offensive line help by getting guard Ezra Cleveland for a late-round pick from Minnesota, who made a move of their own grabbing QB Joshua Dobbs as insurance with the injury to Kirk Cousins. The Buffalo Bills also snagged a solid corner in Rasul Douglas from Green Bay for a mid-round pick swap as they try to fill in for the injured Tre’Devious White.

The winners are pretty clear, Seattle, San Francisco, and Philadelphia appear to be the clear front runners in the NFC at the moment after the deadline, while Chicago seems to have a future in sight with their upcoming draft capital and cap space. The losers are those who made no moves, the Kansas City Chiefs need more help in their receiver room and only re-acquired Mecole Hardman, while the Dallas Cowboys need a spark and stayed silent.