Big lingering questions on 2026 NFL trade deadline deals - ESPN

The NFL trade deadline has come and gone. For all the big names rumored to be in the mix Tuesday afternoon, the most significant trade of the day involved Titans safety Amani Hooker, who was dealt to the Bills with a fifth-round pick for a second-round selection. The Vikings reunited with quarterback Kirk Cousins for a third-round selection, but the biggest moves ended up taking place Monday, when the Jaguars sent out a first-round pick and two second-round selections to land Jordan Davis and Jessie Bates III.

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What we saw over the past 24 hours left me with more questions than answers. So, I set out to try to answer those questions.

I'll get to the Cousins deal, a trade that was ruined by the internet and the teams that missed an opportunity to make a deal, but I have to start this in Florida, where a Jags regime that has been very happy to bet on themselves doubled down.

Jump to:
Did the Jaguars give up too much?
Can Cousins elevate the Vikings enough?
What happened with the Bengals?
What does Downs mean for the Chiefs?
Why weren't there more trades?
Which teams missed out?

The most fascinating team at the deadline did its work Monday with a series of stunning trades. The impetus for those moves, seemingly, goes back to a pair of relatively under-the-radar injuries in the Week 8 win over the Colts. During that game, defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton tore his quadriceps muscle, and safety Eric Murray injured his elbow. Both are expected to sit out the rest of the season.

Hamilton and Murray aren't bad players — Hamilton was having his best season as a pro — but they're not the sort of load-bearing, cornerstone contributors who would lead a front office to panic that the defense will