The 2026 NFL trade deadline has come and gone. Teams looking to pave their path to the playoffs added big name talent throughout the lead-up to November 10. Franchises who saw their fate laid out for them in the standings made the deals that can restock rosters for 2027 and transform them into contenders down the road.

And some did nothing, content to thrive or flail with their current rosters and practice squad call-ups to sustain them through January (and, for a select few, into February and Super Bowl 61). Since there was plenty of action leading up to Tuesday, we already know how some of these deals have impacted their teams. 

Jeffery Simmons is a force multiplier up front in the Chicago Bears defense. Marvin Harrison Jr. was not a change of scenery away from realizing his vast potential in Houston. Jacoby Brissett hasn’t played a game for the Baltimore Ravens yet, but pretty much anything would be better than Joe Fagnano after Week 9.

That gives us a little data to extrapolate into this year’s trade deadline winners and losers. The rest we can make educated guesses about. So who looks the best headed into the final half of the 2026 regular season? And who dropped the ball when it came to underwhelming talent and overpays on the trade market?

Winner: Chicago Bears

The Bears had one major flaw in their goal of winning Super Bowl 61. As talented and well-coached as their high-powered offense is, they didn’t have a four-man pass rush. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was forced to MacGyver a semi-coherent, blitzing defense that could get off the field on third down, but would probably be victimized by any halfway decent offense in the playoffs.  

Enter Jeffery Simmons. The All-Pro defensive tackle is a force multiplier, a one-man wrecking crew. He’s a guy who opens up opportunities for his teammates and allows his coach to call defensive plays that won’t compromise the integrity of his back end if they don’t hit.

It’s a small two-game sample size, but we’ve already seen the tremendous effect Simmons has on the Bears defense with Chicago teeing off on Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield in back-to-back wins. The Bears still don’t have an elite defense, by any means. But with Simmons in the fold, they clearly have one that can close games and hold its own if the offense sputters. 

That’s more than enough to cement themselves as one of the true contenders for the Lombardi Trophy this winter. 

Loser: Baltimore Ravens

When the Ravens took a swing at center Cam Jurgens, they were right to think of themselves as championship contenders. How could they not? Any time you have a two-time MVP quarterback in his prime like Lamar Jackson complemented by what looked like an excellent defense on paper, you definitely have a shot at being the last NFL team standing in February. 

Woof. About that. 

With Jackson likely out for the season, the Ravens are out a premium second-round draft pick for the NFL’s fourth-highest-paid center as they continue to spiral. What’s particularly troubling about the Jurgens trade now is that Baltimore simply could have paid Tyler Linderbaum instead of letting him jet to Las Vegas. They elected not to, traded a draft pick that could be in the top 40 for his replacement out of desperation, and are paying premium money to a good (but worse) center anyway. Oh, and Jurgens is older, too. 

Let’s put it this way: I'm pretty confident that semi-competent journeyman Jacoby Brissett won't do any season-saving whatsoever. 

I’d like to say general manager Eric DeCosta will get a chance to rectify glaring mistakes like this in the spring. But with the way Baltimore’s season is going, something tells me someone new might be calling the shots in January. 

Winner: Justin Jefferson

Jefferson’s average production with Kirk Cousins as his quarterback: 6.5 catches, 98.3 receiving yards per game and nine touchdown catches per 17-game season.

Jefferson’s average production in 2025 and 2026: 4.8 catches, 60 yards per game and four touchdown passes per season.

There’s no guarantee Cousins can return to his early 2020s form now that he’s 38 years old. But he’s got to be better than this.

Loser: Houston Texans

At the time it seemed like a reasonable deal. Marvin Harrison Jr. was once the most electric wide receiver in college football. He was the safest bet in a string of Ohio State first rounders that included Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. Sure, he struggled with the Arizona Cardinals, but the Cardinals were a mess for most of his time there.

But he’s gotten worse as a Texan. Harrison’s 0.84 yards per route run (YPRR) ranks 97th out of 111 wide receivers to run at least 100 routes. That’s not even a top four mark among Texans wideouts and that doesn’t even count Tank Dell! Dell’s return to full strength has given Houston a deep and useful receiving corps that seemingly has no use for Harrison; he has only 11 targets and 60 receiving yards in his last three games. For that, the Texans gave up second- and sixth-round picks.

Winner: Arizona Cardinals

Let’s not mince words. The Cardinals’ situation still looks pretty bleak overall. With Michael Wilson’s season-ending neck injury and Jeremiyah Love’s ankle issues, Arizona’s offensive supporting cast consists of the all-worldly Trey McBride and Some Guys who no one, even Cardinals fans, have ever heard of. 

But there are signs of a strong culture being built by Mike LaFleur. The Cardinals are 3-6, and it’s the “oh, huh, that’s a feisty team” kind of 3-6 (at least when they play opponents like the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers). Recouping draft capital for the future in exchange for negative assets like Marvin Harrison Jr. is something an old version of the Cardinals never would have done. 

Given how utterly sad Harrison looked as a Cardinal, it’s still kind of unbelievable that the franchise managed to salvage a second-round draft pick for him. And look at Harrison in Houston now as his old college buddy C.J. Stroud revitalizes his career. Even in a competent passing offense with a worthwhile quarterback, Harrison still looks like a massive disappointment. 

Kudos to the Cardinals for fleecing Houston and getting a premium draft pick that can change their long-term future. 

Loser: The Cincinnati Bengals front office

Ever had to renege on a deal because you had no idea what it actually cost? Well, the Cincinnati executive suite sure has!

The Bengals had to back out of an agreed-upon trade for Eagles edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie because it would have ruined the balance of their compensatory draft pick formula. Instead of trading a sixth-rounder, Ebiketie would have also taken away the team’s pending third-round compensatory draft pick next spring.

The Eagles were probably briefly annoyed, but not too bothered because…

Winner: Howie Roseman

If that phone rings and it’s the Philadelphia Eagles’ general manager on the line, you’d better assume you’re about to give up the farm. That’s what happened with the deal for Jordan Davis, with the Jaguars moving all in this week. The deal netted the Eagles a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second-rounder. And then we got the almost-trade for Arnold Ebiketie that fell through. All of this is a reminder that Roseman is the best at this.

Hoooooo buddy, give general manager James Gladstone credit. He does not half-ass things. His first major move with the franchise was to deal two first round picks for the right to select Travis Hunter second overall in 2025. Now he’s back in full Les Snead mode, taking a Rams-esque “[expletive] them picks” approach to maximize his championship window in 2026.

In a series of three deals, Gladstone turned one first round pick, two second-rounders and a pair of Day 3 selections into Jessie Bates III, Davon Godchaux and, most expensively, Jordan Davis. That will buttress the interior of the defensive line and the secondary for a unit that already ranked third in the NFL in expected points added (EPA) allowed.

It also locks the Jags into this roster for the foreseeable future. Gladstone is a projected $15 million over next year’s estimated salary cap. Inexpensive help will have to be found in the depths of the draft and free agency. Jacksonville took a massive risk in hopes of a massive reward. They’re better off as a result, for now. The question is whether it will be enough to end the franchise’s Super Bowl drought.

Winner: Fernando Mendoza

You’re up, kid. The first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft will get the chance to start the final eight games of the Raiders’ season.

Loser: Fernando Mendoza

Oh, and your top wide receivers are Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor and Jack Bech and your first start is against the Seattle Seahawks. Good luck!

Winner: Brandon Beane (and Josh Allen)

Do my eyes deceive me? Did he really do it? NO way. 

Oh my goodness, Brandon Beane finally made a win-now trade for the Bills’ middling defense in Josh Allen’s prime!!! I can’t believe it. The city of Buffalo should throw a parade just for its GM showing some courage in the middle of a generational Super Bowl window. He won’t have to defend himself with specious and condescending reasoning on Buffalo sports talk radio anymore!

In all seriousness, Amani Hooker is exactly what the Bills ordered on the back end. Buffalo’s now-former starting free safety Damar Hamlin had become a regular punching bag for any quarterback with a pulse. He was untenable as a starter on a championship contender. That won’t be the case with Hooker, who has the athleticism and instincts to play like a free-ranging ballhawk and contribute to the run defense as a guy playing up in the box. What’s even better is that the Bills have Hooker under contract through 2028, should they choose to keep him that long, ensuring they likely won’t have to look for starting safety help for a while.

Kudos to Beane. For once, he made a bold but smart move that increases Josh Allen’s chances of Buffalonians happily jumping through tables in celebration in February at least once over the next few years.