The NFL hot stove has been burning for weeks now. Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins and Amari Cooper headline the marquee names that have already been dealt, and there’s sure to be more trade action on the way. We’ll keep you updated on all the wheeling and dealing around the league with trade grades for every major move made between now and Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline.
Lions acquire LB Za’Darius Smith from Browns
The Cleveland Browns traded defensive end Za’Darius Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Detroit Lions for a 2025 fifth-rounder and a 2026 sixth-rounder.
Why they made the move
The Lions have been looking for pass rushers since Aidan Hutchinson broke his leg three weeks ago. While they’re still viewed as legitimate Super Bowl contenders without Hutchinson, they surely didn’t want to stand pat at the position considering no one else on the roster has more than 2.5 sacks this season.
Smith, 32, will hardly fill the entirety of Hutchinson’s void, but he’s still got something left in the tank. He has five sacks this season — it certainly helps to play across from reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett — and had 10 sacks in 2022. His pressure rate this year (13.9%) is the same as Khalil Mack’s.
Smith was one of the league’s better pass rushers from 2018-20 when he totaled 34.5 sacks.
The Browns (2-7) aren’t making it back to the playoffs this season, and the organization overall is at a crossroads. They’ve failed to meet expectations and didn’t get anything from injured quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is on the books for another two years. The Browns are likely about to shed payroll to be able to afford all of Watson’s guaranteed money under the salary cap.
Lions grade: B
We’ll see how Smith produces as opponents treat him as the Lions’ top pass rusher, but the Lions paid a budget price for a solid player. He’s also under contract through 2025, though the Lions might need to adjust his contract if they choose to keep him beyond this season.
The Lions aren’t going to miss these picks, not with how well they’ve filled the roster through the draft under general manager Brad Holmes. This was an easy trade to make, though it wouldn’t be a bad idea to continue looking for help on the edge if pass rushers continue to go for Saturday draft picks.
Browns grade: C+
The whole league knew Smith was available, so a fifth-round return – plus a late-round jump in 2026 – is a pretty decent return.
The Browns are about to be in a world of hurt with Watson’s back-to-back $72.935 million cap hits, and they’re going to have to unload veteran contracts to make that work. They started that process Tuesday by parting with a veteran who wasn’t in their long-term plans.
Cardinals acquire Baron Browning from Broncos
The Denver Broncos traded edge rusher Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals for a 2025 sixth-round draft pick.
Why they made the move
The Cardinals have been poking around for pass rush help — they’re 29th in the NFL in pressure rate at 29.3% (league average is 34%), according to Pro Football Focus — and Browning had fallen down the Broncos’ depth chart due to injuries and an emphasis on youth.
Browning, a third-round pick in 2021, is in the final year of his contract. He’s flashed his potential at times with 9.5 sacks over 24 games from 2022-23, but injuries have been part of his story since he entered the league. He was on injured reserve earlier this season with a foot issue and doesn’t have a sack in five games, including two starts.
The Broncos traded linebackers Von Miller and Bradley Chubb before the deadline in 2021 and 2022, partly hoping Browning could make more of an impact with a bigger opportunity. Head coach Sean Payton took over in 2023 and has since deferred to Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto and Jonah Elliss.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, just jumped into first place in the NFC West with a three-game winning streak against the Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears. The upstarts’ staying power seems real, particularly while the rest of the division deals with a rash of injuries.
The Cardinals are tied for 13th with 21 sacks this season, but that included a half dozen takedowns of Caleb Williams on Sunday. They needed more of a boost to maintain their consistency against better offensive lines down the stretch.
Cardinals grade: B-
General manager Monti Ossenfort has been patient and disciplined with his roster construction both through the draft and free agency. His approach has impressed rival executives, and the Cardinals’ rebuild has been on a faster track than many expected when he took over with coach Jonathan Gannon in 2023.
The Cardinals aren’t going to miss the draft pick — doubly so because they’ve done a good job with their selections for a couple years. Now they’ve got a chance to tap into Browning’s potential. Maybe the defensive-minded Gannon can find something the Broncos hadn’t. Browning, 25, is hardly a finished product.
“He’s explosive off the ball and I think that’s why he’s able to, to threaten the edge often. So I think he adds that to the locker room.”
Arizona Cardinals LT Paris Johnson Jr. reacts to the team acquiring his former Ohio State teammate, Baron Browning from the Broncos. pic.twitter.com/olGDXmdJeW
— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) November 4, 2024
Broncos grade: C+
It’s a little surprising the Broncos would be selling, especially with the defense being the main reason they’ve won five of their last seven games. But they’ve also been winning without Browning being a big contributor.
Payton is decisive when it comes to moves like this. He’s probably known for a while Browning wouldn’t be part of the offseason plans, and this type of move suggests the edge rusher also wasn’t going to have much of a role in the second half of the season.
Considering the Broncos are still scrambling from a cap standpoint after the Russell Wilson release, it is at least mildly useful to save roughly $1.5 million by moving Browning
More trade grades:
• Diontae Johnson: Ravens load up for Super Bowl run; Panthers focus on future
• Josh Uche: Chiefs can’t lose with high-upside deal; Patriots enter sell mode
• DeAndre Hopkins: Chiefs get Patrick Mahomes the help he desperately needed
• Davante Adams: Kudos to Jets for pushing all in; why did Raiders wait so long?
• Amari Cooper: Bills load up; Browns try to make best of bad situation
(Photo of Za’Darius Smith: Trevor Ruszkowski / USA TODAY Sports)
