After more than a dozen trades that are sure to reshape the league for years to come, the 2025 NFL trade deadline has officially passed, with fans still sifting through the aftermath to determine the winners, losers, and everyone in between.
When it comes to losers, it’s really a mixed bag of teams that pulled off bad deals and teams that weren’t aggressive enough. The Dallas Cowboys went all in on their defensive front, acquiring three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams for a 2027 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, and former first-round pick Mazi Smith. While they are unquestionably a better team with Williams on the roster, the Cowboys aren’t very good, boasting just three wins after taking a tough loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. Or is this more about the future, replacing one generational talent with another All-Pro caliber player, even if they don’t exactly play the same position?
Other teams, like the Chiefs, simply opted to do nothing despite having clear needs on their roster. Kansas City reportedly inquired about Breece Hall but wasn’t willing to pay the third-round pick New York wanted for the rusher, with the fourth they offered being rejected by the Jets. They now enter the back half of the season with a major question mark in the run game, and may have to rely on the passing game even more, which had been up-and-down in 2025.
But which teams were the big winners of the 2025 NFL trade deadline? Which general managers looked at their roster, looked at the field, and decided to make a move to either get better now or in the future? There are three teams that really stand above the rest.
Credit: Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com
The New York Jets now control the NFL’s future
Heading into the 2025 NFL season, the New York Jets were widely considered a dark-horse team to do some damage under new head coach Aaron Glenn.
Loading up with quarterback Justin Fields while extending Garrett Wilson to a nine-figure deal, the wheels have fallen off for the Jets in a major way, to the point where they were all but eliminated from the playoffs before Halloween, with a win in Week 9 failing to tip the scales in any meaningful way.
Could the Jets have chalked their woes up to bad luck like their first season with Aaron Rodgers? Sure, but instead, they decided to strip their team down in order to focus on the future, trading away Quinnen Williams, Sauce Gardner, Michael Carter II, and Ja’Sir Taylor for an absolute boatload of draft picks.
Now initially, the idea of saying goodbye to Williams and Gardner was shocking to fans of Gang Green, as the duo were two of the three core players on the roster deemed worthy of being part of the future alongside Wilson, but it’s hard to argue with the return, as the Jets were able to land three more first round pick and a second round pick, in addition to young players in Mazi Smith and AD Mitchell who could still grow into starter roles on a new team.
If the Jets end up with the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, they could not only leave the proceedings with their favorite young quarterback to build around, be that Dante Moore, Fernando Mendoza, or another arm, but also with plenty of young talent to grow alongside them. If, however, they fall outside of that range, that’s fine too, as they have ample capital to trade up for their guy if they have one, or just go best player available, pushing the decision back to 2027, when they will have even deeper coffers and may like the QB class better.
Will saying goodbye to four quality defensive players make the Jets worse in 2025? Sure, but when they already aren’t winning games, it’s not like it will impact their final win-loss in any meaningful way. For a team often too afraid to embrace a long-term rebuild, this is a step in the right direction.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The Indianapolis Colts go all-in on winning now
While the Jets were very smart to sell, sell, sell at the trade deadline, that doesn’t mean the Colts were losers for getting in on one of the deals. No, considering Indianapolis has been one of the hottest teams in the NFL in 2025, they decided to embrace the moment and really go for it, adding a caliber of player that rarely becomes available at defensive back in Sauce Garner in order to embrace their success, instead of hedging against it.
Over the past few seasons, the Colts have struggled to find elite options at outside cornerback. In the slot, they have things locked down in Kenny Clark, but on the perimeter, they’ve largely sent out draft picks on rookie-scale contracts, including a few who were selected on Day 3 like Jaylon Jones.
In 2025, Charvarius Ward and Mekhi Becton have done a solid enough job, with the former the second-ranked overall cornerback in defensive rating, according to Pro Football Focus. But the former 49ers cornerback has struggled with injuries, leaving the team to give snaps to Xavien Howard, Johnathan Edwards, Chris Lammons, and Mike Hilton in a game of DB musical chairs across the defensive backfield.
Factor Gardner into that equation and suddenly, the Colts’ entire defensive backfield improves.
Is two first-round picks a lot to give up for any player, especially a cornerback? Yes. Has Gardner been as good as he looked early in his career? No, he’s struggled to remain a shutdown island cornerback as the rest of the defense has struggled around him, but the Colts’ defense is a much better unit overall, with players like Laiatu Latu, DeForest Buckner, and Camryn Bynum all playing at the top of their positions. If Gardner can help to take away opposing WR1s for the Colts down the stretch, their chances of making it to the Super Bowl go up, which, considering they were already pretty darn high, is what an all-in trade is supposed to do.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Philadelphia Eagles get better on a budget
For a time, it looked like the Eagles would also be among the teams that acquired a top-tier defensive difference-maker from the Jets, with the team being linked heavily to Jermaine Johnson II, but instead, Howie Roseman decided to make a smaller trade for slot cornerback Michael Carter II, saving his best ammunition for Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips.
That was sort of the trend for Roseman and the Birds so far in 2025, with the veteran GM being willing and eager to make moves for players he likes, but only if the price was right.
In season, the Eagles made four trades in total, adding Tank Bigsby for a fifth and sixth round pick, shipping John Metchie III and a sixth to the New York Jets for Michael Carter II on a reduced salary plus a seventh, acquiring Jaire Alexander and a seventh for a sixth round pick, and ultimately making Phillips the new No. 50 for a third round pick. In total, the Eagles moved five draft picks for a net total of minus-two, and still have a ton of ammunition heading into next spring’s three-day affair in Pittsburgh: a first, a second, two thirds, two fourths, and two fifths.
Now granted, could the Eagles have just kept some of their own players in free agency last spring, retaining Kenneth Gainwell, Isaiah Rodgers, Darius Slay, and Josh Sweat instead of giving up ammo for their replacements? Sure, and some have argued that, but in the end, Roseman gave those players away to acquire future compensatory draft picks, which he could then use to draft or trade for the talent his team needed in the future. Considering the Eagles’ defense has taken a step back in 2025, that need was certainly there and is hopefully met heading down the stretch.
The post Jets headline 3 biggest winners from 2025 NFL trade deadline appeared first on ClutchPoints.
