The Washington Commanders got rid of their highest-paid defender. The Miami Dolphins landed a star pass rusher. The Super Bowl-favorite Buffalo Bills added another playmaker to their loaded roster. And the trades didn’t seem to stop.
The league’s annual trade deadline featured a total of 12 deals made hours — even minutes — before the 4 p.m. deadline — the most in the last 30 years, according to NFL Research.
That included the Commanders, who sent high-priced cornerback William Jackson III and a 2025 conditional seventh-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a 2025 conditional sixth-round pick.
By sending Jackson to Pittsburgh, the Commanders moved on from one of the bigger mistakes in free agency over the past few years. Washington signed Jackson to a three-year, $40.5 million contract in 2021 — but the deal failed to pan out as the former first-rounder struggled to adapt to Washington’s zone-based scheme.
Jackson was benched in a Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans and had not played since. Perhaps not coincidentally, Washington has since won three straight games — with its defense looking much improved.
Reports indicated that Washington was prepared to cut Jackson if it was unable to move him, but the team found a taker in the Steelers — whose defense figures to be better suited to Jackson’s strengths.
“Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong,” Commanders coach Ron Rivera told NBC Sports Washington after Jackson was dealt. “And when you get it wrong, when you recognize it, realize it, time to move on.
“That’s what we’re trying to do here.”
Rivera said the Commanders “were wrong” in their evaluation process of Jackson, believing the cornerback’s skillset would mesh well with Washington. But as a corner who excelled in man-to-man coverage with the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson struggled to execute the Commanders’ mix-and-match zones. “We didn’t find the fit we were hoping to find,” Rivera said.
According to Over The Cap, the Commanders paid Jackson more than $24 million for what amounted to just 16 games. That’s a costly mistake, though the team will now save an estimated $12.75 million in 2023 by clearing his salary from the books.
Elsewhere, the Dolphins had arguably the biggest trade of the day — acquiring star edge rusher Bradley Chubb and a 2025 fifth-rounder from the Denver Broncos in exchange for a package that included a 2023 first-round pick that originally belonged to the San Francisco 49ers, running back Chase Edmonds and a 2024 fourth-round selection.
The Dolphins and Broncos then made additional deals with other teams, with Miami acquiring running back Jeff Wilson from San Francisco for a 2023 fifth-round and Denver picking up defensive end Jacob Martin and a 2024 fourth-rounder from the New York Jets for a 2024 fifth-rounder.
Both teams are trying to stay alive in the playoff hunt as the 5-3 Dolphins are currently the five seed in the AFC, while the Broncos are a few games back at 3-5. Though losing Chubb hurts Denver, the Broncos regain some valuable draft capital after parting ways with multiple picks this offseason in a trade for quarterback Russell Wilson.
Chubb wasn’t the only notable player on the move Tuesday. The Vikings and the Detroit Lions executed a rare in-division trade with Minnesota acquiring tight end T.J. Hockenson and a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick for a 2023 second-rounder and a 2024 third-rounder.
Hockenson, the eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft, should help out Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who has a history of producing with star tight ends, dating back to his days with Washington.
The Bills added pass-catching running back Nyheim Hines in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts, the Chicago Bears acquired wideout Chase Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Jacksonville Jaguars landed receiver Calvin Ridley from the Atlanta Falcons.
Ridley’s trade was particularly surprising given the 27-year-old is suspended this year for gambling on NFL games. But the Jaguars were still willing to give up two picks — a 2023 fifth-rounder and a 2024 conditional fourth-rounder — for the talented wideout.
While the Jaguars made a trade with the future in mind, the Bills made one for the present — landing running back Nyhiem Hines from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for running back Zack Moss and a 2023 sixth-rounder.
The NFL’s trade deadline still ended up being a whirlwind even after most of the splashiest deals came in the days beforehand. The most notable players to be traded before Tuesday included running back Christian McCaffrey (from Carolina to San Francisco) and linebacker Roquan Smith (from Chicago to Baltimore).
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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