2024 NFL trade deadline winners and losers: AFC QBs, Lions, Steelers benefit from last-minute moves

The 2024 NFL trade deadline has come and gone, with teams making last-minute deals knowing they must now wait until the 2025 offseason to acquire players from other clubs.

Several teams stayed busy Tuesday, with the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions among notable teams to land in-season depth at key positions. Here are some of the biggest winners and losers of the deadline, keeping in mind that plenty of moves were also made in the preceding weeks:

Winner: AFC quarterbacks

On both deadline day and the weeks prior, almost every top AFC contender got in on the action, adding at least some level of weaponry. Take a look at how the signal-callers benefited:

• Aaron Rodgers (Jets): WR Davante Adams
• Josh Allen (Bills): WR Amari Cooper
• Lamar Jackson (Ravens): WR Diontae Johnson
• Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs): WR DeAndre Hopkins
• Joe Burrow (Bengals): RB Khalil Herbert
• Russell Wilson (Steelers): WR Mike Williams

Odds are almost every one of the acquisitions will play a hand in the playoff race, too.

Loser: Jerry Jones

It’s one thing to buy low on a distressed asset. It’s another to give up a fourth-rounder for a wide receiver in Jonathan Mingo who, while young (23), fell to the bottom of the Carolina Panthers‘ depth chart after one and a half uninspiring NFL seasons. Worse yet: Jones did this after spending weeks publicly resenting folks who wondered why he wouldn’t pay Derrick Henry over Ezekiel Elliott, and on the same day Dak Prescott went to injured reserve with Jones’ Dallas Cowboys at 3-5.

Winner: Za’Darius Smith and the Lions

A classic win-win deal, but not so much for the Cleveland Browns as the acquiring team and acquired player. Smith wasn’t going to be contending for meaningful victories anytime soon in Cleveland, but his relocation to Detroit means a potential Super Bowl bid. The Lions, meanwhile, get a proven pass rusher to fill in for the injured Aidan Hutchinson at a reasonable price. Cheers all around.

Loser: The 2024 New Orleans Saints

A day after firing Dennis Allen, the Saints leaned deeper into their apparent overhaul, selling four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore to the Washington Commanders. Notice that we said “2024 Saints,” however. Lattimore’s exit signals bad news for this team, and current Saints like Derek Carr, Cameron Jordan, etc. But it honestly may spell a much-needed change in perspective from team brass, pushing the Saints toward the kind of proper rebuild they’ve so long ignored.

Winner: The Pittsburgh Steelers

Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah deserves props for filling holes without sacrificing premium draft capital this season. Omar Khan, the Steelers’ chief decision-maker, followed suit on Tuesday, adding proven pieces at wide receiver (Mike Williams) and pass rusher (Preston Smith) for the price of two late-round picks. Both veterans may be best-suited for rotational roles, but they should only assist Pittsburgh in its push to be taken seriously atop the AFC North.