The NFL trade deadline was once just another week in a sprawling regular season. Recently, it’s become an event.
The league’s in-season cutoff date comes Tuesday, October 31 at 4 p.m. E.T.. After that, the only moves that can affect the race to Super Bowl 58 will have to come via free agent pickups and waiver wire bids. This fall, we’ve already seen two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard dealt from the only franchise he’s ever known (the Tennessee Titans) to reinforce the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary.
There’s more to suggest 2023 could be a busy year for big name in-season trades. Last fall saw contenders like the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills add pieces to boost eventual playoff runs. With a wide-open playoff field and plenty of feasible contenders, there could be another wild flurry of action to close out trading season on Halloween.
Will those swaps meet the standard of some of the biggest in-season trades in recent memory? Here are the 15 biggest trade deadline season deals — i.e. occurring in October or later — of the past decade. They’re listed in chronological order so we can appreciate just how much more action we’ve gotten in recent years than the past.