Tag: trade grade

49ers – Broncos trade grades: Who won the surprising deal for Randy Gregory?

Instead of waiving him as initially reported, the Broncos are sending Randy Gregory to the Super Bowl-contending 49ers.

It was widely reported earlier this week that the Denver Broncos were planning to release veteran linebacker Randy Gregory, who the team signed ahead of the 2022 season on a five-year, $70 million contract but has ultimately failed to live up to that deal.

Gregory missed the majority of his first year with the team due to injury, and he’s only appeared in 10 games with just three sacks since joining the team. He was removed from Denver’s starting lineup in Week 4, signaling the team planned to move on.

The Broncos threw the league a curveball, however, as they ultimately found a trade partner in the San Francisco 49ers.

Gregory will be shipped off to a San Francisco team that is 4-0 and seen by many as the early Super Bowl favorites. General manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan hope to revive the 30-year-old’s career and bolster a scoring defense that already ranks third in the league while sitting at fifth in total defense.

A second-round pick in 2015 for the Cowboys, availability has been a concern for Gregory, who has never played a full season due to a combination of suspensions and injuries. When on the field, however, he’s been fairly productive. He totaled six sacks in both the 2018 and 2021 seasons despite playing in just 14 and 12 games, respectively.

The 49ers are looking for that level of production coming off the bench as they search for their first world championship since 1994.

Let’s break down who won the surprising trade between the 49ers and Broncos.

Vikings – Browns trade grades: Who won the deal for Za’Darius Smith?

Cleveland adds a major pass rusher in Za’Darius Smith. Did Minnesota get enough in return?

The Cleveland Browns have landed a major piece for their defense post-2023 NFL Draft.

On Friday evening, the Minnesota Vikings traded outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith to Cleveland in exchange for draft picks.

The former Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers pass rusher posted up 10 sacks for the Vikings last season and has posted up double-digit sacks three out of the last four seasons. He missed most all of 2021 with injury.

Smith reportedly wanted out of Minnesota as early as March, but the Vikings didn’t want to release him and opted instead to trade the veteran rusher to the AFC.

In Cleveland, he’ll pair with elite defensive end Myles Garrett for at least a year to form a lethal pass-rushing duo.

Who came out on top in this trade, Cleveland or Minnesota?

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Grading the Bears’ trade of the No. 1 pick with the Panthers

Ryan Poles got the Bears everything they needed when he traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers. Here’s our initial grade of the move.

One of the biggest trades in Chicago Bears history went down on Friday afternoon. The Bears dealt their No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for multiple first and second round picks, as well as veteran wide receiver D.J. Moore.

The move ensures the Panthers get their choice of quarterback prospect in this year’s draft, while the Bears are set for years to come with future capital as well as a proven receiving threat.

The trade for the Bears isn’t surprising in the slightest as general manager Ryan Poles wasn’t shy about stating his intentions to move down. The Bears showed their commitment to Justin Fields and needed more picks to fill the many holes they had.

Did they do enough with the Panthers to get proper value for the pick, though? Here is our initial grade of the trade.

Grading the Bears’ trade for Steelers WR Chase Claypool

Did the Bears make the right move to surrender a second-round pick for Chase Claypool? Here’s our initial grade of the trade.

The Chicago Bears are trading away young players for draft picks one day and doing the exact opposite the next. Nearly 24 hours after shipping out linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for two draft picks, the Bears turned around and acquire wide receiver Chase Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Chicago sent the Steelers their own second-round pick to secure the big-bodied pass catcher that will hopefully become a prime target for quarterback Justin Fields for the foreseeable future.

Claypool was selected by the Steelers in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, just a few picks after the Bears selected his Notre Dame teammate tight end Cole Kmet and one spot ahead of cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Claypool has had a productive couple of years in the league, totaling more than 800 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons and scoring 11 total touchdowns, but was beginning to fall behind receivers such as Diontae Johnson and George Pickens.

In eight games this season, Claypool had 32 catches for 311 yards and one touchdown, as well as one passing touchdown with the Steelers. He had been a rumored trade candidate for well over a month and Pittsburgh finally cut bait when they received an offer they felt was acceptable.

The Bears decided to bolster their offense with Claypool while also stripping away parts of their defense by parting with Smith and Robert Quinn in less than a week. Was it a good move to finally acquire a player instead of draft picks? Here is how we’re grading the trade out of the gates.

Grading the Bears’ trade of LB Roquan Smith to the Ravens

It will take years to fully evaluate the Roquan Smith trade to the Ravens, but here is our initial grade of the move.

The Chicago Bears were giving out treats in the form of star players on Halloween as they traded linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens for a second and fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, as well as veteran linebacker A.J. Klein. The trade was general manager Ryan Poles’ latest and arguably most notable attempt yet at rebuilding the roster for the future. It’s the second deal the Bears have made in a week after trading defensive end Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles last Wednesday in exchange for a fourth-round pick.

Entering the 2022 season, Smith was viewed as the unequivocal leader of the defensive unit after other veterans such as Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks moved on to other teams. But Smith and Poles got off to a rocky start due to a standoff with a contract extension. Smith was entering the final year of his rookie contract and wanted to be paid top dollar, but he and Poles couldn’t agree on a figure and Smith held out of most of training camp before returning just before the start of the regular season.

Now, Smith heads to Baltimore to help the Ravens keep the AFC North division lead and will become a free agent at the end of the season. The Bears, meanwhile, add two more draft picks to their arsenal to help them rebuild for the 2023 season and beyond. Smith finishes his Bears season with a league-leading 83 tackles, four for loss, 2.5 sacks, and two interceptions.

The complete evaluation of this trade won’t be complete for a few years, but here is our initial grade of the move as the Bears continue to look towards the future.

Here’s how CBS Sports grades the Sidney Jones trade

The Jaguars moved on from one of their key players from a year ago, and they received a “B” from CBS Sports for the deal.

Jacksonville made a move that caught some by surprise on Monday, as just ahead of the final roster cut date, it decided to trade backup cornerback Sidney Jones IV to the Seattle Seahawks in return for a sixth-round pick. Jones joined the Jaguars’ practice squad last September after the former second-round pick was waived by the Philadelphia Eagles after three seasons.

He joined the active roster last September and played in nine games, six of which were starts. Jones was arguably Jacksonville’s best defensive back during that part of the season as he totaled a career-best 26 tackles.

With the return of Henderson and the additions of Shaquill Griffin and Tyson Campbell, Jones was likely to be relegated to a backup role in 2021, and he had struggled in the preseason. The decision to move on from him and add a pick makes a good deal of sense, and that’s why CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani gave the Jags’ a “B” for the trade. Meanwhile, Seattle received just a “B-.”

Let’s not beat around the bush. What this deal hinges on is the health of Jones. If he struggles to stay healthy yet again, then the Jaguars clearly win this deal. After being selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft and playing just one game in his rookie season, a hamstring issue hampered Jones over his next two seasons. So much so that he was released by the Eagles before the start of the 2020 campaign. Jones was even injured in his “breakout” season for lack of a better descriptor.

The Jaguars have CJ Henderson back healthy and then acquired former Seahawk Shaquill Griffin in free agency. Jones was going to be a depth player — and the Jaguars have some young talent at the position. Plus, acquiring a sixth-round pick is better than a seventh-round pick.

Jones had the most success while playing on the outside last season, but he struggled after starting in the nickel in the final preseason game on Sunday. He isn’t a great fit for what the Jags are trying to do in the secondary, and now they have even more draft capital in the future.

Jacksonville currently has four sixth-round picks in the 2022 draft, but the pick acquired from the Gardner Minshew II trade is conditional and will become a fifth-rounder if Minshew is involved in 50% of Philadelphia’s plays in three games this season.