Jimmy Garoppolo, Christian McCaffrey and the biggest NFL trade deadline moves of the last decade

June 26, 2024

The Philadelphia Eagles, arguably the best team in the NFL through seven weeks, didn’t have to make a move. With the top record in the NFC at 6-1, they could have kept their roster intact and still remained a threat for a deep postseason run. But that’s just not Howie Roseman’s style.

The Eagles general manager acquired former All-Pro safety Kevin Byard last week in a trade with the Tennessee Titans for fifth- and sixth-round picks in 2024 along with safety Terrell Edmunds. Some might say the rich are getting richer. But in Roseman’s eyes, simply being a title contender isn’t good enough. Anything less than a Super Bowl at the end of the season is a disappointment, and to get that, Philadelphia needed to shore up its secondary.

Roseman’s decision is one all NFL GMs are faced with every October as the trade deadline nears: Is my team where it needs to be to compete for a championship or should I search for an upgrade? On the other side, if your team is struggling or in a rebuilding phase, it could be worth sending out veteran talent for future assets that will benefit the franchise long-term.

Trades must be completed by the 4 p.m. ET deadline on Oct. 31. In years past, some of these had major repercussions on how a season turned out. Let’s look back at the five biggest trades of the last decade.

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Oct. 30, 2017

San Francisco receives:

New England receives:

2018 second-round pick (No. 43)

Garoppolo, a second-round pick out of Eastern Illinois in 2014, backed up legendary QB Tom Brady for more than three seasons. During Brady’s four-game suspension for his part in Deflategate, Garoppolo stepped up in his third season and played well. He threw for 264 yards and a touchdown on 24-for-33 passing in Week 1 versus the Arizona Cardinals and then followed that up with a 234-yard, three-touchdown performance in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins. In that win, however, he suffered a shoulder injury that would force rookie Jacoby Brissett to play until Brady returned.

The Patriots, knowing they could get high value for a backup that would not start with Brady healthy, decided to move him at the trade deadline. 49ers GM John Lynch felt it was important to take that chance despite Garoppolo’s lack of appearances.

“Albeit in limited game action, Jimmy has displayed the characteristics and traits that we believe are vital to being a successful quarterback in this league,” he said. “He has had the rare opportunity to sit and learn from a future Hall of Fame quarterback in a championship atmosphere. We look forward to Jimmy joining the team tomorrow and hitting the ground running.”

Garoppolo would go on to start 55 games for the 49ers over six seasons, finishing with a 38-17-0 record. He threw for 13,599 yards and 82 touchdowns with 42 interceptions during that span.

His biggest achievement came in 2019-2020, leading San Francisco to a 13-3 season and an appearance in Super Bowl 54. He put up 219 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Injuries derailed some of Garoppolo’s career trajectory in San Francisco. He missed 30 career games with ankle, thumb, knee and shoulder injuries. The QB left the 49ers in March to sign with the Las Vegas Raiders on a three-year, $72.75 million contract.

Amari Cooper had 53 catches for 725 yards and six touchdowns in nine games in his first season in Dallas. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Oct. 22, 2018

Dallas receives:

WR Amari Cooper

Oakland receives:

2019 first-round pick (No. 27)

Cooper, a first-rounder out of Alabama, was named a Pro Bowl alternate his rookie season after catching 72 passes for 1,070 yards and six touchdowns. He became the first rookie in Raiders history to surpass 1,000 yards and the only receiver since Randy Moss in 2005. He posted similar numbers the following season — 83 receptions for 1,153 yards and five scores — but saw those numbers dip in 2017 and the start of 2018.

At 1-5 through six games, Oakland decided to sell high on its 24-year-old wideout.

“I hate to see good players go, but I was on the practice field when (Raiders GM) Reggie McKenzie came to me and said the Cowboys would do this for a No. 1 and I said, ‘Let’s do it,'” Raiders coach Jon Gruden told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen at the time. “We’re going to try to build this thing the right way. We now have five No. 1 picks in the next two years, so I’m excited about that.”

McKenzie said they were open to dealing their young star due to inconsistency.

“I think he’s a first-round player, that’s why I had to get that first-round pick,” McKenzie said. “Now, has he been inconsistent? Absolutely. But, has he shown greatness? Absolutely. The consistency is something that I’m sure he’s worked on, and this guy’s still a young player. I think he’s going to do well down in Dallas.”

The Cowboys, 3-4 at the time of the move, badly needed to provide help for Dak Prescott. Dez Bryant was released the previous offseason and they added Tavon Austin, Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson to a group with Cole Beasley and Terrance Williams. But those moves proved inadequate. By Week 7, Dallas ranked 29th in passing as no receiver besides Beasley had more than 13 catches.

Cooper provided an instant spark for the Cowboys offense, hauling in 53 catches for 725 yards and six touchdowns in nine games while earning his third Pro Bowl honor.

“Whatever the circumstance may be, there are certain reasons why one place might not work for a guy and another place will,” Cooper told NBC the following year. “I think the change of scenery was really necessary. I really honestly don’t think if I would have stayed at the Raiders last season that I would have been able to flourish and, you know, reach some heights that I was able to reach as a Cowboy.”

Cooper would play four seasons in Dallas, racking up 3,183 yards and 19 touchdowns. He was later traded after the 2021 season to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for their 2022 fifth-round pick and a swapping of 2022 sixth-round picks.

The Raiders used the No. 27 pick in the 2019 draft on safety Johnathan Abram. He would record 34 career starts, 207 tackles and 12 passes deflected before being released in November 2022.

The Athletic’s Tashan Reed explained why the Raiders decided against re-signing him after his rookie deal.

“After the trade deadline came and went without a deal for Abram, his playing time dropped off significantly,” Reed said. “He played no fewer than 51 snaps in a game through the deadline, but he was benched afterward. He played a season-low 22 snaps against the Saints in Week 8 and only played 32 snaps against the Jaguars last week. With Abram being phased out of their plans on defense, the Raiders essentially did him a favor with this move by giving him the freedom to sign with another team and potentially take on a larger role elsewhere.”

Abram has been with the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and now the New Orleans Saints.

Oct. 15, 2019

Los Angeles receives:

CB Jalen Ramsey

Jacksonville receives:

2020 first-round pick
2021 first-round pick
2021 fourth-round pick

Ramsey, a first-round pick out of Florida State in 2016, started all 51 games in his first three-plus seasons in Jacksonville. During that time he recorded 193 tackles (169 solo) while grabbing nine interceptions and earning a first-team All-Pro selection in 2017.

Despite these accolades, Ramsey and the Jaguars found themselves in disagreements during the 2019 season. Vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin reprimanded him for not reporting to voluntary workouts in the offseason. Ramsey later got into it on the sideline with coach Doug Marrone after he decided not to challenge a completion to DeAndre Hopkins. Ramsey eventually demanded a trade and was granted his wish at the deadline.

“Given the situation with Jalen, we made this decision based on what we thought is in the best interest of the Jacksonville Jaguars, for this season and well into the future,” Coughlin said at the time in a statement. “We feel the trade that we struck with the Rams gives us great value for the next two drafts, and we remain very confident that our team today will compete this season for a division title. Jalen was a productive player, but the time came to move on and we wish him and his family the best in Los Angeles.”

The Rams paid a steep price for Ramsey but it was highly needed. Los Angeles was sitting at .500 on the season and had major concerns in the secondary. Aquib Talib was placed on IR with a rib injury earlier that week and Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters was dealt to the Baltimore Ravens.

Ramsey made the Pro Bowl all three seasons in Los Angeles, starting 56 of 57 games. He had 209 tackles and 10 interceptions during that span and, most importantly, helped Los Angeles win Super Bowl 56. He had four tackles and a pass breakup in that matchup.

In March 2023, the Rams traded their star CB to the Dolphins for a 2023 third-round pick (No. 77 overall) and tight end Hunter Long.

Von Miller, along with defensive tackle Aaron Donald helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI in 2022. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today)

Nov. 1, 2021

Los Angeles receives:

DE Von Miller

Denver receives:

2022 second-round pick
2022 third-round pick

Miller starred for the Broncos from 2011-2021 after being selected No. 2 in the 2011 draft out of Texas A&M. He made an impact from (literally) his first play, forcing a fumble on Oakland Raiders receiver Jacoby Ford on “Monday Night Football.” Miller was a wrecking ball in Denver for the next decade, starting all 142 games and compiling 490 tackles, 225 QB hits and 110 1/2 sacks. The eight-time Pro Bowler was named Super Bowl 50 MVP following a six-tackle (five solo), 2 1/2-sack performance as the Broncos defeated the Panthers 24-10.

Simply put, he was a beast for the Broncos. But with Miller at age 32 in 2021, the franchise was clearly headed in a different direction. It was 4-4 in a very tough AFC West with very little hope of winning the division or a wild-card spot. Denver general manager George Paton fielded many offers for Miller, who was also on an expiring contract, and would later tell members of the media it was a “win-win” for both sides.

“We had teams call that were interested … but we wanted to do right by Von,” Paton said. “He’s done right by us for 11 years, we were going to do right, otherwise we weren’t going to trade him.”

The Broncos received coveted draft picks to help build the future and the Rams received major pass-rushing help as they looked to make a postseason run. The move paid off for Los Angeles GM Les Snead, as Miller had two sacks in the Rams’ 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 56.

Christian McCaffrey traded from Carolina Panthers to San Francisco 49ers

Oct. 20, 2022

San Francisco receives:

Carolina receives:

2024 fifth-round pick
2023 second-round pick
2023 third-round pick
2023 fourth-round pick

McCaffrey, the No. 8 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Stanford, was one of the league’s premier offensive players when he was dealt. A first-team All-Pro in 2019, he had 3,980 yards and 32 touchdowns over six seasons in Carolina. His rushing ability might even be eclipsed by his pass-catching skills, as he had 390 receptions for 3,292 yards and 18 touchdowns over that same period.

Why would the Panthers consider moving such a star at the deadline? For one, they were in clear rebuilding mode. At 1-5, the postseason was looking highly unlikely and Carolina faced questions in all three facets of the game, particularly at quarterback. Last season, a combination of Baker Mayfield (six games), Sam Darnold (six games) and P.J. Walker (five games) started and we all know what transpired next: Carolina selected Alabama signal-caller Bryce Young at No. 1 in the draft.

Carolina was able to move McCaffrey and immediately add a ton of crucial assets for the future. San Francisco, in turn, was more than happy to give up some draft capital and take on the salary (only $646,000 of 2022 salary-cap space and the 49ers had about $5 million available at the time). He also filled a major need with San Francisco, which lost running back Elijah Mitchell to a knee sprain in Week 1.

“Obviously, I took it personally,” McCaffrey told ESPN. “When you get traded, it’s one team saying ‘We don’t value you as much anymore and so we’re going to get rid of you.’ That’s how I took it and that’s what it is but I know it’s a business. Just another chip on my shoulder and here I am.”

McCaffrey has helped turn the 49ers into Super Bowl contenders, if not the outright favorites this season. He has 11 combined touchdowns in 2023 and his 598 rushing yards lead the league. It’s safe to say both teams benefitted from this midseason move.

Other key trades of the last decade

October 2016: LB Kyle Van Noy, 2017 seventh-round pick traded from the Detroit Lions to the New England Patriots for a 2017 sixth-round pick.

October 2017: RB Jay Ajayi traded from the Miami Dolphins to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2018 fourth-round pick.

October 2018: DE Dante Fowler traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Los Angeles Rams for a 2019 third-round pick and 2020 fifth-round pick.

October 2019: CB Marcus Peters traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the Baltimore Ravens for LB Kenny Young and 2020 fifth-round pick.

October 2019: WR Emmanuel Sanders, 2020 fifth-round pick traded from the Denver Broncos to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2020 third-round pick, 2020 fourth-round pick.

October 2022: LB Roquan Smith traded from the Chicago Bears to the Baltimore Ravens for LB A.J. Klein, a 2023 second-round pick and 2023 fifth-round pick.

November 2022: TE T.J. Hockenson, a 2024 fourth-round pick (conditional), a 2023 fourth-round pick traded from the Detroit Lions to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2024 third-round pick and 2023 second-round pick.

November 2022: WR Calvin Ridley traded from the Atlanta Falcons to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2024 fourth-round pick and 2023 fifth-round pick.

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