2025 NFL trade deadline winners and losers: Jets smartly stockpile for overhaul; Colts, Cowboys overpay?

The 2025 NFL trade deadline came and went Tuesday, but not without a tizzy of activity.

A slew of blockbuster deals were struck in the hours leading up to the in-season cutoff, bringing the running total of players dealt during the 2025 campaign to more than two dozen, setting a new NFL record. Three first-round draft picks were also moved Tuesday, which tied the in-season record of the last 25 seasons.

The New York Jets were at the forefront of the blockbuster shuffling, with two different former All-Pro starters in Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams shipped elsewhere, despite both stars inking lucrative contract extensions with the club in recent years. Plenty of others also got involved on Deadline Day, including the Jacksonville Jaguars and Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys, who struck not one but two different deals to help shore up a porous defense.

Which players and teams stood out the most before the league closed up shop on the trading front, for both better and worse? Here are some of the top winners and losers from this year's in-season NFL trade deadline:

Winner: The New York Jets

Jets fans may be shredding their wardrobes after the club dealt not one but two of the team's top talents in Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. But consider that with Sauce and Williams, this team was 1-7 and going nowhere fast. Even when both players were dominant at their respective positions a few years ago, the Jets couldn't even bother to make the postseason. Why? Because the offense has been a trainwreck for years.

Selling both Gardner and Williams supplies New York with a combined five first-round picks (!) over the next two seasons to address that side of the ball, namely the quarterback spot. Should we give the Jets the benefit of the doubt when it comes to actually maximizing those resources? Probably not. But we certainly can't fault them for selling their top assets when it's clear even the defense deserved overhauling under new coach Aaron Glenn. They may be sapped of premium playmakers, but they're set up to be smiling come 2026 and especially 2027.

That's not even accounting for the possibility, however remote, that wideout AD Mitchell and defensive lineman Mazi Smith, two recent early-round prospects, will also make an impact as part of the Jets' long-term planning.

How Quinnen Williams, Logan Wilson trades affect Cowboys' playoff chances with team sitting at 3-5-1

R.J. White

Loser: The Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones deserves credit for making a splash, this time to actually add, not subtract, talent from the defensive side of the ball. We have to admit we didn't envision Jones pulling the trigger on a deal as notable as Quinnen Williams, who instantly becomes the face of the unit once headlined by Micah Parsons. Williams' interior power, coupled with Logan Wilson's arrival via trade with the Cincinnati Bengals, may well improve the front seven.

And yet, when all is said and done, the Cowboys are now out a first- and second-rounder over the next two drafts, meaning they essentially dealt Parsons, who's now driving the Green Bay Packers' pass rush, to:

• Acquire DT Quinnen Williams
• Acquire DT Kenny Clark
• Move up from the second to first round in the 2026 NFL Draft
• And save roughly $70 million in salary cap space

Is that a fair swap? Parting with a generational edge rusher for a pair of interior defenders, one of whom is already 30 and another who will be 28 on a top 10 salary this December? It feels a bit like pressing to patch up a massive defensive hole that didn't necessarily need to be there -- and, odds are, too little, too late.

Winner: Sauce Gardner

Quinnen Williams is going from one bad defense to another. Gardner, meanwhile, is at least shifting out of the tumults of New Jersey for a likely playoff contender in the Colts. He has no contract to worry about after already inking a $120 million deal this summer. And now, while expectations will be sky high given what Indy paid to acquire him, he won't be tasked with single-handedly turning a secondary into a shutdown unit.

Charvarius Ward, the Colts' splashy free agent addition at cornerback, remains sidelined due to injury. But Gardner should have more help in the AFC South than he did playing for Gang Green, with rangy and savvy secondary counterparts like Cam Bynum and Kenny Moore II also on the Colts' back end. Oh and by the way, the Colts are also much more likely to hold the ball and actually put it in the end zone, lessening the defense's burden.

Usually players who sign lucrative extensions have to stand pat and pretend their riches can fully ease the pain of playing for a dysfunctional organization. In Gardner's case, he gets to keep his big bucks and gear up for a likely postseason push, with Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor and Co. cleanly atop their division at 7-2.

Loser: Chris Ballard

How is Gardner in a better place but Ballard, the general manager responsible for bringing the ex-Jets star to the Colts, wrong for pulling the trigger on such a deal? Well, it's not that he's wrong. We don't really know that yet. Gardner might rediscover his lockdown coverage skills now that he's in cozier confines. He might elevate Indy from surprise contender to legitimate force. Regardless, surrendering two first-round draft picks -- and absorbing Gardner's $30.1 million per-year contract -- is a gamble that suggests desperation more than level-headedness.

Does it make sense for the Colts to strike while the iron is hot, plugging one of their few glaring needs to capitalize on the surprising breakout of Daniel Jones at quarterback, and MVP-caliber production from Jonathan Taylor in the backfield? Isn't this, after all, their best shot to seize the South and stun the AFC? Maybe. But two first-rounders is two first-rounders; are we absolutely sure Jones is going to maintain his level of quarterbacking to the point Indy won't be in the market for a long-term starter after the season? Those picks might be pretty valuable then.

Are we also sure Gardner, who has just one interception in his last two and a half seasons, is still the difference-making talent he was as a Jets rookie three years ago? This is a sensible gamble if you're "all in," but when Ballard is also under much pressure to finally make good on playoff hopes, it's just as sensible to wonder if he isn't overpaying at the expense of sustainable foundation-building; after all, if everything crumbles late this year, he might not be around to deal with the depleted draft capital anyway.

Winner: Jakobi Meyers

The Jacksonville Jaguars quietly bolstered their receiving corps before the flurry of big-name deals Tuesday, sending a pair of picks to the Las Vegas Raiders for Meyers. It's partially an indictment of the Jags' own roster-building out wide, with team brass already spending premium resources to draft Travis Hunter this spring. But Meyers should have a good time with the relocation, leaving the aging, underperforming Raiders for a scrappy AFC South group that might still have a shot at a playoff push. Hunter's injury ensures Meyers should get plenty of immediate looks from Trevor Lawrence, and the best part for him is he shouldn't have to wait long to reassess his options and market, considering he's also due to test free agency in the 2026 offseason.