Welcome to Staten News — where the clock hit 4 p.m., the last deal landed at the buzzer, and Indianapolis somehow still has its running back.
The NFL trade deadline closed Tuesday afternoon with six deals done on the final day, per NFL.com’s count. That’s 18 trades since the season started. And the player everyone circled for three weeks didn’t move.
Jonathan Taylor asked out. The Colts sold four players. Taylor is still a Colt.
🏷️ The teardown stopped one name short
Indianapolis finished the deadline as the league’s busiest seller. Quenton Nelson to Seattle. DeForest Buckner to San Francisco. Then on Tuesday, Josh Downs to Kansas City and Keenan Allen to the 49ers.
Four deals, zero first-round picks coming back. The best return was a 3rd for Nelson.
Taylor was the one piece that could have changed that math. ESPN reported he’s staying put. A team that sold its two best linemen and its slot receiver kept its most valuable trade chip. That’s either patience or a price nobody wanted to pay.
🐆 Jacksonville did its shopping on Monday
While everyone stared at Indy, the Jaguars bought three defenders in one day.
S Jessie Bates III from the Falcons for a 2027 2nd and a 2028 5th.
DT Jordan Davis from the Eagles for a 2027 1st and a 2029 2nd.
DT Davon Godchaux from the Saints for a conditional 2028 6th.
Davis is the headline. He signed a three-year, $78 million extension this offseason, per SI, so this isn’t a rental either. It’s the second interior lineman this season to cost a first-round pick, after Chicago paid two firsts for Jeffery Simmons in October.
And the part that tells you what Jacksonville thinks of itself? ESPN reported the Jaguars turned away interest in Brian Thomas Jr. Buyers don’t sell their WR1 in the same week they spend a first on a nose tackle.
🏈 Everything else that moved
Deadline week, newest first:
Ravens get C Ryan Neuzil from the Falcons, who get OL Andrew Vorhees and a 2028 6th. ESPN had it landing at the buzzer.
Bills get S Amani Hooker from the Titans in a deal built around a 2027 2nd.
Broncos get LB Daiyan Henley from the Chargers for a 2027 4th and a 2028 5th.
Vikings get QB Kirk Cousins from the Raiders for a 2027 3rd, per ESPN and NFL.com’s trackers.
49ers get WR Keenan Allen from the Colts for a 2027 6th.
Chiefs get WR Josh Downs (plus a 2027 7th) from the Colts for a 2027 4th and a 2027 5th.
Lions get S Andre Cisco from the Jets for a 2028 6th.
Ravens get QB Jacoby Brissett (plus a 2027 5th) from the Cardinals for a 2027 4th and a 2028 7th.
Baltimore quietly made three moves this season: Cam Jurgens in October, Brissett last week, Neuzil on Tuesday. None of them made a headline. All of them were about keeping the offense upright.
📋 Grading our own homework
On Oct. 30 we gave you four names that could still move. Here’s how that went.
Jonathan Taylor to the Vikings. Miss. Taylor stayed, and Minnesota went and got Kirk Cousins back instead.
Saquon Barkley to the Bengals. Miss, and we called it a long shot. CBS relayed ESPN’s report that Barkley wouldn’t be traded. Philadelphia sold Jurgens and Davis and kept the face of the offense.
Brian Thomas Jr. to the Chiefs. Miss. See above: the Jaguars said no.
Josh Downs to anyone who calls. Hit. We wrote that if we had to bet on one deal getting done, it was this one. Kansas City made the call. CBS reported the Colts first wanted a 3rd and got offered a 4th, which is about where it landed.
One for four. The one we’d have bet on is the one that happened. We’ll take it.
🔮 What it means from here
Kansas City got the receiver it was linked to for weeks, just not the one most people expected. Downs works out of the slot. Translation: the Chiefs added a reliable target on third down, not the deep threat everyone pictured.
This is the week the AFC picked sides. Jacksonville and Kansas City bought. Indianapolis sold almost everything. The bill for all of it comes due in January.
Sources: ESPN trade deadline tracker, NFL.com trade tracker, CBS Sports deadline live blog
— The Bandicoots 🏈📞🔥