SI:AM | The Most Important Deals Made at the NFL Trade Deadline

A few contenders addressed important weaknesses.

Lattimore (23) joins a surprising contender in Washington. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I spent much more time last night watching MACtion than I thought I would.

In today’s SI:AM:

🏈 NFL trade deadline
🏆 Analyzing the CFP rankings
🏒 Scary NHL injury

Pencils down

The NFL trade deadline came and went on Tuesday with more than a few intriguing deals made. Let’s take a look at a few of the most notable moves.

Browns trade DE Za’Darius Smith to Lions

Detroit receives Smith, 2026 seventh-round pick; Cleveland receives 2025 fifth-round pick, 2026 sixth-round pick

The Lions have been in need of help at defensive end since Pro Bowl pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson went down with a broken leg in Week 6. Rumors swirled about big names they could potentially target, but they didn’t rush into making a move. Instead, they waited until the deadline to acquire Smith, a veteran former Pro Bowl selection who was excelling in Cleveland this year (Pro Football Focus ranks him 31st out of 192 edge rushers).

The Lions have leaned on a variety of players to make up for the absence of Hutchinson, including Levi Onwuzurike, James Houston and Josh Paschal, but none of them has been an every-down player like Hutchinson was. Adding Smith gives Detroit another player to add to that rotation.

Saints trade CB Marshon Lattimore to Commanders

Washington receives Lattimore, 2025 fifth-round pick; New Orleans receives 2025 third-, fourth- and sixth-round picks

The Commanders have been one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season, racing out to a 7–2 start that has them in first place in the NFC East. But they had a glaring hole at cornerback and moved to address that need at the deadline in acquiring Lattimore, a four-time Pro Bowl selection.

Rookie Mike Sainristil has been solid this season, but Washington’s other corners have struggled. PFF ranks Benjamin St-Juste 182nd out of 205 cornerbacks and Noah Igbinoghene 138th. St-Juste has played 96.9% of Washington’s defensive snaps this season, which certainly isn’t what you want from a player ranked near the bottom of the league.

The good news for the Commanders is that their defense has been adequate even without reliable cornerbacks. Washington ranks 11th in points allowed per game and 14th in yards allowed. Improving the defense’s biggest weak point will only make the Commanders an even stronger contender in the NFC.

Bears trade RB Khalil Herbert to Bengals

Cincinnati receives Herbert; Chicago receives 2025 seventh-round pick

The Bengals are in the thick of the wild card hunt at 4–5 and were in need of a running back after Zack Moss was placed on injured reserve with a neck issue that’s likely to sideline him for the rest of the season.

Herbert was a featured part of the Bears’ offense during his first three years in Chicago, logging more than 100 carries in each season, but he was a distant third on the team’s depth chart this season behind D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson and only took eight handoffs in six games.

Herbert seems like just what the Bengals needed: a reliable backup running back who could be acquired for a modest price. At the same time, though, the Bears are also battling for a playoff spot and they better hope Swift and Johnson stay healthy down the stretch, otherwise they’ll be wishing they still had Herbert.

Jets trade WR Mike Williams to Steelers

Pittsburgh receives Williams; New York receives 2025 fifth-round pick

It should come as no surprise that the Jets dumped Williams. His days in New York were always numbered after Aaron Rodgers threw him under the bus following the team’s Monday Night Football loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 6, when Rodgers blamed Williams for running the wrong route late in the fourth quarter. Rodgers’s apparent lack of trust in Williams and the Jets’ trade for Davante Adams made the veteran receiver expendable.

Williams fills a need at receiver for the Steelers, who were severely lacking wideout options beyond George Pickens. Pickens leads Pittsburgh with 35 catches on 58 targets and 548 receiving yards. Tight end Pat Freiermuth is next with 26 catches on 31 targets for 264 yards. Calvin Austin III, Van Jefferson and Darnell Washington have jockeyed for position as the No. 2 receiver, but none of them has emerged as a consistent option for Russell Wilson.

Williams is 30 and coming off a torn ACL suffered in Week 3 last year, but he was productive enough in his time with the Los Angeles Chargers that the Steelers should have reason to believe that he can be a useful addition to a team locked in a tight division race.

The College Football Playoff committee didn’t show Indiana much love, despite its dominant, undefeated start. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The best of Sports Illustrated

• The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season were a lot like previous rankings, Pat Forde writes, with the committee favoring the big-name programs.

• Albert Breer believes the Marshon Lattimore trade makes sense for both the Commanders and the Saints.

• Conor Orr broke down the winners and losers from the NFL trade deadline.

• With the Chiefs left standing as the only undefeated team in the NFL, Gilberto Manzano explains why they’re probably not going to go 17–0.

• Here are Michael Fabiano’s Week 10 Start ’Em, Sit ’Em recommendations for quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends.

• Blues center Dylan Holloway was taken to the hospital after being hit in the throat by a puck.

• Shohei Othani underwent surgery to repair the shoulder he injured in the World Series.

The top five…

… things I saw last night:

5. New Orleans guard Jamond “Turk” Vincent’s thunderous dunk.
4. Kennesaw State freshman Mekhi Turner’s emphatic block.
3. Two goals by the Sabres in a span of 16 seconds.
2. Sharks rookie Jack Thompson’s first NHL goal.
1. This wonderfully chaotic defensive touchdown in the Ball State–Miami (Ohio) game.