This year’s NFL trade deadline has turned out to be incredibly active and filled with big names, highlighted by the Jets making the first truly shocking deadline transaction in years. They sent Sauce Gardner to the Colts for a pair of first-round picks. Shortly thereafter, the Cowboys got in on the action with another trade featuring New York.
MORE: NFL Trade Deadline Tracker
In the second blockbuster transaction of the day, the Jets agreed to send All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to Dallas in exchange for a second-round pick in 2026, a first-round pick in 2027, and DT Mazi Smith. It is a huge decision by both teams and a big surprise no matter which way you slice it. Williams is only 27 years old with three Pro Bowl and one All-Pro team selections. He has six sacks this season. While his play hasn’t been terribly consistent the last two seasons the talent is obviously there, enough so that it was assumed Williams was a cornerstone of the Jets moving forward no matter how much losing was done.
Apparently not. The franchise decided the cost the Cowboys were willing to pay for his services were worth a trade. And it is a high cost indeed. Dallas is offering up the better of its two first-rounders in 2027—the Cowboys’ pick and the Packers’ pick, acquired in the Micah Parsons trade. That plus a second-rounder this year is a big bet on Williams’s potential. Not to mention his ability to fix what has been an absolutely putrid run defense, the biggest single reason for the team’s 3-5-1 start to the year.
Jerry Jones swung for the fences. Nobody can deny that. But there were many reactions on every part of the spectrum to the Cowboys’ massive trade.
Analysts react
The various personalities that dot the NFL media landscape were skeptical that Williams will solve all the Cowboys’ woes, as well as whether he’ll be worth the price they paid. But some were willing to give credit for at least trying
Fans react
As always, fans were ready with many jokes after the Cowboys made a big move. Dallas fans in particular seemed thrilled, though, that Jones was swinging for the fences.
Jets players react
The fire sale in New York was shocking and left a few of Williams’s teammates reeling.
DE Jermaine Johnson responded to the news of his teammate’s trade with a truly depressing gif. You can feel the sadness coming off the screen.
RB Breece Hall’s reaction had similar energy. Nothing quite hits like a simple sad face emoji.
Both players seem not just likely but probable to follow Williams on his way out of town in some capacity. The Jets are trading anybody and everybody; they may not be done before the 4 p.m. deadline.
The Cowboys probably are, though. The Williams trade makes for the second deal Jones struck to shore up the defense, and Williams required a significant investment of assets. It would be a shock to see Dallas make another trade.
But today is showing that nobody has any idea what’s going to happen. What a deadline.
