NFL Deadline Trades

      You may correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe the NFL has had a trade deadline as crazy as this years has been. There is always big trade talk circulating, but very rarely do these rumors ever come to fruition. The trade deadline becomes more like the deadlie.

     This season, it seems that star players are just being shipped around with no warning. Here are all of the trades in the 36 hours leading up to the NFL trade deadline, and what to expect from them.

Seattle Seahawks Acquire OT Duane Brown from Houston for CB Jeremy Lane & Draft Picks

     This was the first trade of our Monday evening, and this one wasn't too much of a shocker. Reports have been surfacing from just about every NFL insider that the Seahawks were trying to land Brown in a trade for the last month, and it's finally gone through.

     The Texans were trying to move their Pro Bowl left tackle for the right price, as he wasn't even activated to the active roster until week 8 due to a contract holdout. Brown gave up $3.87M in game checks as well as a $1.5M penalty for missing training camp. The Texans received CB Jeremy Lane from the Seahawks, along with a 2018 5th round pick and a 2019 2nd round pick.

     Seattle is looking to upgrade their offensive line that hasn't allowed them to run the ball at all this season. By adding Brown to the left side, not only do they get an upgrade in pass protection for Russell Wilson, but they get to move Germaine Ifedi to the right side and allow him to focus more on run blocking. This could be the boost that Pete Carroll has been looking for on offense.

     The Texans get to add a solid nickelback in Jeremy Lane to be paired with Jonathan Joseph and Kevin Johnson, and opens up the Texans ability to line up in the dime package. With a 5th round pick this draft and a 2nd round pick next draft, it's solid value to continue the Texans rise with.

San Francisco 49ers Acquire QB Jimmy Garoppolo from New England for Draft Pick

     The 49ers have gone all in on their new franchise quarterback, and have selected this lucky one to be Jimmy Garoppolo, the former pupil to Tom Brady in New England. Garoppolo started the first two games of last season while Brady was serving a 4 game suspension for his involvement in Deflategate before suffering a shoulder injury that kept him out of the last couple before Brady's return.

     In return for Garoppolo, the 49ers are giving New England a 2nd round pick, which could very likely be the 33rd overall selection.

     San Francisco has stumbled to an 0-8 start behind the arms of Brian Hoyer and rookie 4th round pick CJ Beathard. Hoyer had a 74.1 passer rating before being benched week 4, and Beathard has a 65.2. They compiled a 6-7 TD-INT ratio.

     San Francisco knew that neither quarterback would be a franchise cornerstone, but had originally planned on running through the season with the temporary quarterbacks before taking one in the 2018 draft. It appears that both John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan both have lost a lot of faith in the class of 2018, and want to take someone who has already received a large amount of NFL coaching to be their answer.

     Brady has had many promising successors that have been traded away, and Garoppolo is the second this season, Jacoby Brissett being the first to go right before the regular season to Indianapolis. Matt Cassel was taken in 2005, started the entire 2008 season before being signed away by Kansas City to be their starter the following year, then Ryan Mallett was taken in 2011 and was stolen by the Raven in 2014.

     Garoppolo will take a couple weeks to begin to learn Shanahan's system, so don't expect to see him start until maybe week 12 when the 49ers return from their bye week. When he does play, don't expect him to wow you away, he still has a new system to learn how to operate.

Philadelphia Eagles Acquire RB Jay Ajayi from Miami for Draft Pick

     The Eagles have had major issues with keeping running backs healthy this season as Darren Sproles and rookie Donell Pumphrey are both on the IR with torn leg ligaments. Running with LeGarrette Blount, Kenjon Barner and Corey Clement was starting to make the Eagles one-dimensional with Carson Wentz and the passing game performing so well.

     The Eagles acquired for Pro Bowl running Back Jay Ajayi in a trade that came with no warning. Rumor had it that Philadelphia was inquiring about Colt Running Back Frank Gore late Monday Night, but no trade was imminent. They send a 2018 4th round pick to Miami in return.

     To fans and football junkies, this trade was a huge surprise. However, to the Dolphin faithful this trade was imminent. Gase complained in the press conference after Thursday Nights 40-0 loss to the Dolphins that some of his unnamed offensive players weren't studying the playbook at home and learning other assignments after the loss of run game coordinator Chris Foerster from the fallout around a video that surfaced of the coach snorting cocaine. That unnamed player was most definitely Ajayi.

     Apart from three 200 yard performances last season, Ajayi has struggled to get anywhere with a Dolphins offense that has been dead since the loss of QB Ryan Tannehill.  Moving him to a stronger Eagles offensive line might be the recipe for success that Ajayi needs to get his career moving forward. You can most certainly expect a small impact right away and his workload should be increased as the season progresses.

New York Jets Acquire CB Rashard Robinson from San Francisco for Draft Pick

     The Jets were suppose to be one of the worst teams in the league this year and yet they have fought resistantly against all the odds to compile their 4-3 record. One of the clear weaknesses on this squad has been the secondary, and the Jet's are trying to fix it. Robinson has struggled with penalties this season but as a second year player from the fourth round, his talent is undeniable.

     Jets Cornerback Buster Skrine has been battling injuries this season so trading for a cornerback makes a lot of sense. Skrine has been the #1 corner with Morris Claiborne playing on the other side. Robinson should be a small boost that should feel an immediate impact for the Jets for the rest of the season. He has 27 tackles and an interception this season.

     The Jets are giving their 5th round draft pick to San Francisco, a good deal for a starting cornerback.

Buffalo Bills Acquire WR Kelvin Benjamin from Carolina for Draft Picks

     The Bills drafted big bodied WR Sammy Watkins in the 1st round of the 2014 NFL draft to add that tight end size with receiver speed going down field and becoming that big playmaker that was needed so badly. Watkins never materialized into such a player, and became a less then mediocre player with untapped superstar potential.

     They moved on from Watkins this offseason, and now they have added a player who has proven he can be exactly what they are looking for. At 6'5", Kelvin Benjamin set off the Panthers front office when he came into training camp overweight after missing an entire season with an ACL injury. Becoming a favorite target of Cam Newton, Benjamin is the stud the Bills wanted Watkins to be.

     The Bills have given up their 3rd and 7th round picks in the upcoming draft, and we should see Benjamin pressed into service as early as this Thursday. Don't expect much of an impact until Benjamin becomes more familiar with the Bills system.