Our Halloween 2023 NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and some teams that were expected to be active have run out of time and turned into pumpkins (Tennessee Titans, anyone?) The biggest buyers ahead of the in-season trading deadline were the Chicago Bears, the Minnesota Vikings, and the San Francisco 49ers (again).
The Bears were surprising suitors, trading a 2024 second-rounder to the Washington Commanders in exchange for DE Montez Sweat. Expected to be sellers at 2-6, Chicago showed what may be a sneaky belief in a late-season playoff push. The NFC North is watered down, especially with the Vikings losing Kirk Cousins for the season, and the NFC South is weak. Maybe a Wild-Card spot is not such a long shot for Da Bears.
Montez of the Midway 😈
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 31, 2023
We have traded for @_sweat9, pending a physical
Minnesota did address the loss of Cousins by making a deal to snatch QB Joshua Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals. With Kyler Murray returning from injury, it made sense for the Cardinals to do this deal with the Vikings. Minnesota is hoping that Dobbs can help to keep the Vikings’ dwindling playoff dreams alive. Perhaps Dobbs can be the man in Minnesota as we likely head into what will soon become the post-Cousins era.
We have agreed to a trade with the Minnesota Vikings. pic.twitter.com/XIdr9PXeM2
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) October 31, 2023
San Francisco made the biggest splash of deadline day by bringing DE Chase Young over from Washington. Giving up a third-round pick for a player with Young’s talent is a bargain, and the 49ers have come away as the winners at the trade deadline for the second consecutive year. San Francisco really wants to win another Super Bowl. Now.
Breaking: Washington is dealing DE Chase Young to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round pick, sources told @AdamSchefter. pic.twitter.com/TCch45Qgjm
— ESPN (@espn) October 31, 2023
We were not overwhelmed by NFL trades on this eerily quiet Halloween, but it is not always that way. Some years we find ourselves in the midst of bizarre transformational transactions. There are deals that have altered the landscape with an undeniable stamp of permanence, giving us clear winners and losers.
These are some of the top trade-deadline deals in NFL history:
1. Cowboys Trade Herschel Walker to Vikings & Build Dynasty
Superstar RB Herschel Walker was at the top of his game in 1989, and the Dallas Cowboys capitalized on it. The Cowboys “sold high” on Walker, shipping him to the Minnesota Vikings for five players and six draft picks. Dallas received LBs Jesse Solomon and David Howard, DB Issiac Holt, DE Alex Stewart, and RB Darrin Nelson.
The six draft picks were parlayed into what would become the building blocks for the Cowboys’ dynasty of the 1990s. Players like Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Darren Woodson, and Kevin Smith helped to bring Dallas three Super Bowls in four years. Smith has now been the NFL’s All-time leading rusher for 22 years, and tallied the second-most all-time touchdowns with 175 (behind Jerry Rice’s 207). Maryland, Woodson, and Smith all enjoyed solid, if not spectacular, careers with the Cowboys.
Walker rushed for a total of 2,264 yards and 20 touchdowns over the course of his three-year stint in Minnesota. However, the Cowboys were on the right side of this mostly one-sided transaction, laying the foundation for three Super Bowl wins in the 1990s. To this date, the Vikings have never won a Super Bowl, and to bring this full-circle Walker wound up back in Dallas to close out his career there in 1996-97.
2. Buffalo Ships Marshawn Lynch to Seattle for Late-Round Picks
In 2010, bruising running back Marshawn Lynch wanted a change of scenery, so the Buffalo Bills obliged. The Bills sent Lynch to the Seattle Seahawks for a fourth-round pick and a conditional pick that turned out to be a fifth-rounder. “Beast Mode” became the linchpin for a hard-nosed, tough Seattle squad that reached back-to-back Super Bowls.
Seattle trounced Denver 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII, and seemed primed to repeat as champions the following year. If not for Seahawks’ head coach Pete Carroll’s boneheaded play-calling at the goal line in Super Bowl XLIX vs. New England, it is very likely that Seattle would have been back-to-back champs. Instead of handing the ball to their virtually unstoppable workhouse (Lynch) at the one-yard-line, Carroll inexplicably called a passing play that was picked off by Malcolm Butler, sealing a 28-24 victory for the Patriots. The Seahawks’ aspiring dynasty lost its mojo after that baffling Super Bowl loss, but Lynch was integral in the success that Seattle had during that stretch.
3. Jalen Ramsey Jettisoned from Jags to Rams
It was no secret that shutdown CB Jalen Ramsey wanted out of Jacksonville in 2019. The Jaguars moved the disgruntled defensive back over to the Rams, receiving two first-round picks and a fourth-round pick in return. Ramsey quickly became a cornerstone of L.A. 's stingy, punishing defense, helping the Rams’ to reach Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals. Ramsey and the Rams defeated the Bengals 23-20, the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory since 2000 when the team was still in St. Louis.
4. Carolina Sends Christian McCaffrey to San Francisco
We still don’t know the sum total of the return for the San Francisco 49ers on this deal, but it’s safe to say that the Niners are happy with the acquisition of stud RB Christian McCaffrey. Last season San Francisco received McCaffrey from Carolina in exchange for a second, third, fourth, and fifth-round pick, which is reasonable for a player of McCaffrey’s caliber. The 49ers closed the season strong, reaching the NFC Championship game where Philadelphia defeated San Francisco by a score of 31-7.
As of this writing, the 49ers have lost three games in a row, but San Francisco is still a serious Super Bowl contender. The addition of DE Chase Young before the trade deadline boosts a defense which already has sharp teeth. On the offensive side of the ball, McCaffrey is a huge piece of the puzzle when it comes to winning a championship.
