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Whether they were active or stagnant, which teams won and lost the 2023 NFL trade deadline?
Well that was something (?).
Yes, the NFL trade deadline has reached its midnight hour, and several players that were expected to have new homes remained within the walls they had already occupied.
That said, some players did get moved, but were they good moves? And what teams will be left with their head in their palms wishing they had been a tad more aggressive? Here are the winners and losers from the NFL trade deadline.
Here’s the updated 53-man roster by jersey number going into tomorrow’s game against the Cleveland Browns.
The Seahawks are serious about making a deep postseason run this year. Just hours after their home win over the Browns, Seattle pulled off a trade that should help them get there. The front office has sent a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-rounder to the Giants in exchange for Leonard Williams, one of the top interior pass rushers in the league.
To make room for Wiliams, the Seahawks have waived wide receiver Cody Thompson. Our roster tracker is now updated (Oct. 31).
The Seahawks and Giants have agreed to a trade that will bring Leonard Williams to Seattle.
The Seahawks and Giants have agreed to a trade that will bring Leonard Williams to Seattle. The deal is pretty good for both sides, as the Seahawks get a difference-maker where they needed it, and the Giants netted second-round and fifth-round picks.
As far as the salary cap goes, this one was a no-brainer for Seattle’s front office. The Giants have essentially agreed to pick up the entire tab for the rest of Williams’ 2023 season. They gave him a signing bonus yesterday worth over $9.35 million to pay off what they owed. Meanwhile, the Seahawks will only pay Williams the veteran minimum, which is less than $650,000.
The specifics of the financials in the Leonard Williams trade:
The Giants paid Williams $9,352,778 in a signing bonus today.
Seattle will owe him just $647,222 for the rest of the season.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 30, 2023
Williams is in his ninth NFL season. So far he’s appeared in 132 games between the Jets (61) and the Giants (71). In that time he’s totaled 39.5 sacks, 162 quarterback hits and 59 tackles for a loss.
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Ranking all 32 NFL starters by QBR going into Week 9
Here’s what head coach Pete Carroll had to say about him.
The Seahawks finally got the boost to their interior defensive line they’ve been looking for all year on Monday. Seattle has agreed to terms of a trade with the Giants, second a second and a fifth-round pick to New York in exchange for defensive lineman Leonard Williams.
Williams gives the rising Seahawks defense exactly what it needs – another pass rusher who can make an impact lining up inside and outside. Here’s what head coach Pete Carroll had to say about him.
What does Pete Carroll like about Leonard Williams?
“Oh man. Everything. Everything.”
Carroll was long gone at USC by the time Williams got there, but he’s kept a close eye on Williams throughout his career because of their Trojan connection. pic.twitter.com/Ys1qIrAIe9
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) October 30, 2023
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Following the trade of defensive lineman Leonard Williams, the New York Giants now have seven picks in the 2024 NFL draft.
The New York Giants traded defensive tackle Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday afternoon in exchange for a pair of draft picks.
In return, the Giants received a 2024 second-round draft choice and a 2025 fifth-round selection.
The trade gives the Giants a total of seven total selections in the 2024 NFL draft and eight in the 2025 NFL draft.
Should the Giants and Seahawks continue to win games at their current pace, the Giants will select fourth overall in the first round and Seattle will select 29th, per Tankathon.
As it currently stands, the Giants will have their first-round pick — No. 4 overall — along with two second-round picks, theirs (No. 35) and Seattle’s (No. 61).
The Giants will also have their selections in rounds three (69), four (104), five (139), and six (182) but do not have a seventh-rounder. That was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for linebacker Isaiah Simmons.
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Pete Carroll didn’t coach Leonard Williams at USC, but he will coach Williams with the (USC) Seahawks.
Imagine a world in which Leonard Williams not only played at USC but was coached by Pete Carroll as a Trojan. Wow. That would have been something. Williams, of course, came to USC a few years after Carroll left. Now, however, this elite defensive player and this elite football coach will work together.
As Seahawks Wire reports, “Seattle cut a deal with the New York Giants to acquire defensive lineman Leonard Williams. All it cost the Seahawks was a 2nd round pick in 2024, and a 5th round pick in 2025. The Giants will still be on the hook for most of his salary in exchange for better draft capital.”
Williams isn’t accumulating huge sack numbers in 2023, but remember: Great defensive linemen often occupy double-teams and make an impact without racking up stats. They allow teammates to make the sacks and accumulate numbers.
Williams will also bolster a Seahawk rush defense which showed some weakness against the Cleveland Browns. Guys are exhausted up front because there isn’t a lot of depth. Seattle defensive linemen have played too many snaps, quite frankly. Williams will dramatically change snap counts and provide much-needed relief to Jarran Reed and Dre’Mont Jones.
Pete Carroll should have a lot of fun using Williams up front with the Seahawks, who lead the NFC West heading into November.
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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame.
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Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.
USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs.
Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.
Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.
Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality.
The New York Giants have reportedly received several trade inquiries on RB Saquon Barkley but continue to insist he will not be dealt.
The NFL trade deadline is now just mere hours away and already, the New York Giants have been doing some wheeling and dealing.
On Monday, general manager Joe Schoen pulled the trigger on a trade sending veteran defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a pair of picks. But will that be all?
The Giants cleared minimal salary cap space by trading Williams, having assumed the vast majority of his remaining pay. As a result, there is still some work to be done in order to create enough room to operate for the remainder of the season.
And the Giants’ phone lines will be burning. Despite their 2-6 record, there seems to be significant interest in their roster.
The Giants at 2-6 have a lot of interest in their roster, according to a source. Williams was the name that was getting the most buzz.
A second-round pick in 2024 and fifth-rounder in 2025 is a big return. A move they had to make given where they're at. Giants basically buying…
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) October 30, 2023
One player who is generating quite a bit of attention is running back Saquon Barkley, who has reportedly been the focus of several inquiries.
Inquiries have still arisen on #Giants RB Saquon Barkley, but said teams are being told he 'isn't going anywhere.'
Barkley is not only a core piece, but the clear face of the franchise.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) October 30, 2023
The Giants have been transparent about their lack of interest in trading Barkley. Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll even pulled him aside earlier this month to assure him that he will not be dealt at the deadline and that negotiations on a long-term deal will resume after the season.
“Well, someone told me that there were some rumors out there. So, I walked up to him at walkthrough and said, ‘Yeah, that’s not happening, let’s go to walkthrough.’ That’s it,” Daboll recalled to reporters.
Another player the Giants could trade is cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, but given his salary and the potential need for a restructure, that seems unlikely.
Skeptical on Adoree’ trade since they would have had to restructure his deal by 4 today (like they did with Williams). Hard to see any team trading for his full salary https://t.co/id9ca5mXwP
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) October 30, 2023
If the Giants are going to pull off any more deals, they must be filed with the league by 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
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This trade makes two things perfectly clear: The 5-2 Seahawks are in it to win it.
The Leonard Williams trade gives the Seahawks another force multiplier in a defense that’s been evolving right under your nose.
The Seattle Seahawks, after their 24-20 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, find themselves ranked 15th overall in Defensive DVOA, and ninth against the run. Both pretty decent upgrades over the 2022 season, when the Seahawks ranked 22nd in Defensive DVOA, and 24th against the run. Seattle did a lot in the offseason to upgrade their interior defensive line, signing former Denver Broncos star Dre’Mont Jones and journeyman Mario Edwards Jr., and bringing Jarran Reed back after seasons in Kansas City and Green Bay — Reed was Seattle’s second-round pick in 2016.
So, the Seahawks have had multiple guys who can stop things up inside, and can also show out in multiple fronts. That process accelerated seriously on Monday, when general manager John Schneider dropped the hammer on a trade that sends former New York Giants and New York Jets lineman Leonard Williams to the Emerald City for a second-round pick in 2024, and a fifth-round pick in 2025.
For the Giants, the thought process is obvious — they’re sellers at 2-6, and they were going to have trouble re-signing Williams, who’s in the last year of the three-year, $63 million contract extension he signed in 2021. 2024 is a void year in that contract, so the Seahawks rented Williams for the second half of the season and however far they make it through the postseason, and the Giants will eat a lot of the 2023 money.
For the Seahawks, this move gives them four legitimate inside/outside guys who can all disrupt the quarterback and stop the run, which is an obvious boon for defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt just as young edge-rushers Boye Mafe and Darrell Taylor starting to show up hard. Add in a linebacker group led by Bobby Wagner that’s playing lights-out, and a secondary with as much talent as any NFL team could boast, and… well, this might not be a return to the Legion of Boom, but it’s pretty impactful.
What does the tape show for Seattle’s newest defender, who has two sacks, 22 total pressures, 14 tackles, and 13 stops this season? Let’s get to it.
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Leonard Williams will bolster already stout Seahawks defensive line
To say the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive front has improved this year is putting it incredibly mildly. Last season, the Seahawks were incapable of slowing down any rush attack they faced. Now, Seattle is back to making life difficult for opposing ball carriers. Still, if there was one area of the defense we’d all agree could probably use a little bit more help, it would be the interior defensive line.
Well 12’s, ask and you shall receive. With the trade deadline approaching on Tuesday, Seahawks management understood the assignment and took advantage. Defensive line help is on its way in the form of Leonard Williams, by way of the New York Giants.
In today’s NFL, a quality defensive lineman is worth his weight in gold. The numbers may not be popping off the screen for Williams this year (21 total tackles, 1.5 sacks) but numbers don’t always tell the whole story. Williams is a force up front, and will only help make this Seattle defensive line even deeper.
The only question with Williams is can the Seahawks lock him up long term? Seattle did send over a decent haul of draft picks, suggesting they plan to have Williams for more than just a one-year rental. With his contract expiring at the end of this season, general manager John Schneider will need to work his magic once again to ensure Williams’ new NFL home is a more permanent one.
Regardless, this is clearly a move to help this year first and foremost. Whatever the future holds will be dealt with in due time. For now, it’s hard to not get excited about adding one of the league’s better defensive linemen. Especially when you consider what group he’s going to be joining:
Seahawks defense looking NOICE with the addition of Leonard Williams to the front line.
DL: Lenny Williams, Jarran Reed, Dre'Mont Jones, Frank Clark
LB: Taylor, Wagner, Brooks, Mafe
CB: Woolen, Spoon, Tre Brown
Safety: Adams, Diggs, Love— Thoughts of Jim (@classicjtrain) October 30, 2023
Now hopefully the 12’s will get to see Williams doing this to opposing quarterbacks, instead of ruining their afternoons!
Leonard Williams called GAME. The New York Football Giants just beat the Seattle Seahawks. pic.twitter.com/ROfY0gkrmb
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) December 7, 2020
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