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Poll: Who Will Win NFL MVP Award?

November 21st, 2023 at 11:18am CST by Sam Robinson

Through 11 weeks, this NFL season has not produced an MVP favorite. Oddsmakers have slotted a number of usual suspects as frontrunners, but the stretch run will be important to generating a lead candidate.

No non-quarterback has won this award since Adrian Peterson‘s 2,097-yard rushing season edged Peyton Manning‘s Broncos debut in 2012, though J.J. Watt did finish second in voting in 2014. A quarterback will be expected to claim the honors this season, but that player has not declared himself just yet.

Two of the favorites faced off Monday night, with Jalen Hurts‘ Eagles besting the Chiefs in a Super Bowl LVII rematch. The Chiefs stifled Hurts for much of Philadelphia’s 21-17 win, but the dual-threat passer came through late. He is also the quarterback on the NFL’s only one-loss team. Hurts would have represented a strong MVP challenger to Patrick Mahomes last year, but a late-season shoulder injury led to the Chiefs superstar pulling away. QBR ranks the Super Bowl LVII QBs fifth and sixth, respectively, with Mahomes slipping to No. 5 after Kansas City’s loss.

After Hurts’ breakthrough 2022, the Eagles gave the fourth-year QB a then-record five-year, $255MM extension — one that set the market for Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow. Hurts has accounted for 24 touchdowns — nine on the ground, as he makes a case as the most unstoppable short-yardage QB rusher in NFL history — and has upped his completion percentage (68.5) from 2022.

Mahomes responded to the Tyreek Hill trade by notching the first MVP-Super Bowl MVP since Kurt Warner in 1999, and the Chiefs updated his contract to fall in line with the market Hurts helped set. Kansas City, however, has seen its oft-questioned wide receiver setup play a big role in both its home losses this year. Mahomes ranks 20th in yards per attempt, at 6.9; he cleared eight in each of his two MVP campaigns. With Travis Kelce in his age-34 season, will the seventh-year QB be able to overcome a suspect receiver setup?

Brock Purdy is leading the NFL (by a wide margin, at 9.7) in yards per attempt. After a midseason slump, Purdy has put together two strong games. He accomplished the 49ers’ first perfect passer rating in a game since 1989. Last year’s Mr. Irrelevant has been a revelation for the 49ers, who have his seventh-round contract on the books through 2025. Purdy also leads the league in QBR, providing an efficient season while blessed with an elite skill-position corps. Although this skill group could end up working against Purdy, he would become the most unlikely MVP since Warner.

No. 2 in QBR, Dak Prescott has put together a strong stretch since the Cowboys endured a blowout loss in San Francisco. After four straight one-touchdown showings, the eighth-year Cowboys starter has 13 TD tosses over his past four games. At this pace, the 30-year-old passer will be in position for another monster contract. With the franchise tag off the table and a $59MM cap hit awaiting in his 2024 contract year, Prescott is in one of the most player-friendly extension positions in league history.

Jackson sits ninth in QBR but has the Ravens perched as the AFC’s top seed for the time being. Given a $52MM-per-year deal that differed from his peers’ 2023 re-ups — in that it contains no extra years of control due to it coming after a Ravens franchise tag — Jackson is still operating a run-oriented offense. His 12 touchdown passes rank 16th, though his yards per attempt (8.1) and completion rate (69.5) figures are in the top six. Among this year’s contenders, Jackson joins Mahomes as the only former MVPs.

No rookie has claimed this award since Jim Brown in 1957, but this particular season does keep the door slightly ajar for C.J. Stroud. Almost no one expected the Texans to be in the playoff race, and the team sweeping the Jaguars would move an AFC South title closer to reality. Stroud has run away with the Offensive Rookie of the Year race, doing so despite numerous O-line injuries. The No. 2 overall pick’s 2,962 passing yards sit second, but QBR places the Ohio State product 12th. Stroud’s three-INT game against the Cardinals hurt his cause, but the Houston rookie still has some time to make a historic push.

While Jared Goff (seventh in QBR) was once the throw-in in a trade that keyed a Matthew Stafford-led Rams Super Bowl charge, the Lions are 8-2 for the first time in 61 years. Detroit is 1-2 against teams with winning records, but a favorable schedule down the stretch stands to allow Goff — in Year 2 with OC Ben Johnson running the show — to make a case. The Lions ending up with home-field advantage in the NFC would obviously strengthen the former No. 1 overall pick’s cause. Regardless, the 29-year-old QB has moved into position for a lucrative Lions extension.

How the AFC East plays out stands to produce a contender. Although Josh Allen‘s turnover issues helped lead the Bills to fire OC Ken Dorsey, the sixth-year superstar leads the NFL with 22 TD passes (while pacing the league with 12 picks) while adding seven more scores on the ground. Tua Tagovailoa ranks just 10th in QBR — six spots behind Allen — and the Dolphins have fallen short in matchups against the Bills, Chiefs and Eagles. That said, the Bills have five losses to the Dolphins’ three. Miami first-place scoring ranking will obviously benefit its ascending passer, though Tua could conceivably split votes with Hill.

No wide receiver has ever won MVP acclaim, and Hill’s off-field history will not help his case. But his impact on the Dolphins has been undeniable. The former Chiefs speed merchant has changed Tagovailoa’s career trajectory, and the eighth-year wideout leads the NFL with 1,222 receiving yards — in front by 209 — despite the Dolphins already resting during a bye week. While Jerry Rice and Calvin Johnson could not parlay their receiving yardage records into MVP honors — respectively losing out to Brett Favre (1995) and Peterson (2012) — this QB pace persisting would stand to keep Hill going. Christian McCaffrey also makes sense as a candidate. His midseason 2022 arrival catalyzed the 49ers, and despite missing a game, the ex-Panthers extension recipient leads the NFL with 825 rushing yards. No other RB has posted more than 700, and this would obviously be an interesting year to see a running back emerge as a true MVP candidate.

Could this be the year a defender sneaks through? Only Alan Page and Lawrence Taylor have done so, but with no QB residing as a clear frontrunner, is a door ajar for Myles Garrett or T.J. Watt powering offensively limited teams? Is there an off-grid player who shapes up as a late-season threat? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts on the race in the comments section.

Who will win the NFL MVP award?
Jalen Hurts 20.88% (352 votes)
Christian McCaffrey 11.98% (202 votes)
C.J. Stroud 11.86% (200 votes)
Brock Purdy 11.21% (189 votes)
Lamar Jackson 10.97% (185 votes)
Tyreek Hill 9.61% (162 votes)
Patrick Mahomes 6.64% (112 votes)
Tua Tagovailoa 5.10% (86 votes)
Someone else (specify in comments) 4.51% (76 votes)
Dak Prescott 4.27% (72 votes)
Josh Allen 2.97% (50 votes)
Total Votes: 1,686

Latest On Bills HC Sean McDermott, GM Brandon Beane

November 19th, 2023 at 10:30am CST by Rory Parks

The Bills entered the 2023 season on the short list of Super Bowl favorites, but Buffalo currently sports a 5-5 record and has a difficult schedule over the remainder of the campaign. With the team already having moved on from offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, it is fair to wonder if even more significant changes could be on the horizon.

Both Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post and Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) used the terms “scapegoat” and “scapegoating” when describing Dorsey’s recent dismissal. As Russini writes, head coach Sean McDermott told reporters that he fired Dorsey following the Bills’ narrow loss to the Broncos last week because he felt his team could not walk back into the locker room without knowing something had changed. That is about as blunt as a coach will be when it comes to publicly assigning blame, and since the team has bid adieu to both of its top coordinators in less than a year — longtime defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier stepped away in February — the pressure is squarely on McDermott to right the ship (interestingly, La Canfora said the Frazier situation was fueled by panic-stricken scapegoating, which suggests that his exit was not entirely voluntary, as had been presumed).

Scapegoat or not, Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News believes it was the right call to part ways with Dorsey, whose scheme lacked creativity and whose play-calling had become predictable in Skurski’s eyes. That said, while Skurski believes McDermott will be on the hot seat if the Bills miss the playoffs, he does not believe McDermott will be fired. After all, Buffalo snapped its 17-year playoff drought in McDermott’s first season at the helm in 2017, and McDermott has posted a 67-40 regular season record while failing to qualify for the postseason field just once from 2017-22. La Canfora also hears from rival execs that McDermott has built up enough goodwill to survive one disappointing campaign.

However, additional staff shakeups should be expected. McDermott took over defensive play-calling duties in the wake of Frazier’s departure, and the Bills have slipped from sixth in the league in total defense in 2022 to 17th in 2023. While injuries have certainly played a major role in that regression, McDermott’s failed decision to call an all-out blitz in the Denver loss and the subsequent special teams snafu that allowed the Broncos a second chance at the game-winning field goal support one rival GM’s belief — as articulated to La Canfora — that Bills ownership will not allow McDermott to continue as de facto DC and defensive play-caller in 2024.

That same general manager does not believe that the Buffalo offense will find its footing under interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady. The GM said Brady’s scheme was proven to be a flawed one during his brief stint as OC with the Panthers, though Albert Breer of SI.com reports that most people within Carolina’s organization saw Brady as an imaginative and detail-oriented coach, and that Brady’s ouster was fueled primarily by a personality clash with then-head coach Matt Rhule. Still, should the Bills’ offense falter under Brady’s stewardship, Skurski believes McDermott will also be looking for a new offensive coordinator in the offseason.

GM Brandon Beane, who came to Buffalo alongside McDermott in 2017, also seems like a good bet to keep his job, as Skurski suggests. While La Canfora reports that team ownership is getting a bit restless, it should be noted that both Beane and McDermott were handed thru-2027 extensions earlier this year. Their contract situations and their track records may afford them the chance to return the Bills to powerhouse status, but if Buffalo misses the playoffs in 2023 and does not exhibit marked improvement in 2024, Beane and McDermott will likely be looking for new employment.

AFC East Notes: Bills, Patriots, Eichenberg

November 17th, 2023 at 12:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Buffalo-Kansas City has been one of the 2020s’ defining NFL rivalries. The AFC squads have played five times this decade, twice in the playoffs, with the Chiefs’ two postseason wins playing a role in the Bills‘ roster construction. The AFC powers’ plans intersected during the 2022 first round as well. When the Chiefs moved up from No. 29 to No. 21 in the ’22 first round, they took the player the Bills eyed. The Bills sought Trent McDuffie with their top pick last year, per SI.com’s Albert Breer, but the Chiefs were able to make a deal with the Patriots to move in front of Buffalo.

The fallout from this miss became costly for the Bills, whose subsequent trade-up — from No. 25 to No. 23 — produced Kaiir Elam, who has been unable to earn steady playing time. As Elam has vacillated between backup or emergency starter and healthy scratch, McDuffie has progressed in Kansas City. Pro Football Focus rates McDuffie eighth overall among corners; the Washington product has been a central part of the Chiefs’ defensive improvement this season.

Here is the latest from the AFC East:

  • The Patriots opted not to sell at the trade deadline, keeping the door open for longer-term futures with some of their contract-year players. New England held onto Josh Uche, Michael Onwenu and Kyle Dugger despite interest coming in before the deadline. Dugger has become a player teams are monitoring ahead of free agency, with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler noting some teams view the Division II alum as the 2024 UFA class’ second-best safety — behind the Buccaneers’ Antoine Winfield Jr. This year’s safety market producing only one contract north of $8MM per year (Jessie Bates‘ outlier $16MM-AAV accord) could impact Dugger, but it is clear the former second-round pick will be costly for the Pats to retain.
  • Benched in Week 9 and left in the States ahead of the Patriots’ Week 10 Germany trip, J.C. Jackson was initially believed to have arrived late at the team hotel the night before the Pats-Commanders game. But the recently reacquired corner did not show up at all that night, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss notes. Jack Jones missed curfew as well, but Reiss adds the since-waived corner did surface later. Both players were benched for Week 9, and despite Jackson’s unavailability, the Patriots further limited Jones against the Colts. Jackson is expected to remain with the Pats, but the ballhawk has not escaped the rough patch that began last year in Los Angeles.
  • Trent Brown did not make the trip to Frankfurt for personal reasons, and Reiss adds the veteran tackle’s missed game will affect his recently reworked contract. Including $88K per game in roster bonuses, the Patriots set playing-time thresholds for additional Brown escalators as well. The starting LT would collect $1MM for playing 75% of the team’s offensive snaps this season. Hovering at 75% after Week 9, Brown has now missed two games. The low end of this incentive structure is 65%, which Reiss notes will pay out $750K. He would receive another $750K by hitting the 70% snap barrier.
  • Dolphins contract-year guard Robert Hunt will miss a second straight game due to a hamstring injury. As a result, Liam Eichenberg will complete a rare NFL feat. The 2021 second-round pick began the week practicing at left guard, his primary 2022 position, but the swingman moved to right guard midway through practice this week, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson notes. The Dolphins view Eichenberg as more comfortable there. Once Eichenberg replaces Hunt on Sunday, he will have started at all five O-line positions as a pro. While the converted tackle could not retain his LG job to start this season, having accomplished this O-line tour of sorts in his third season is certainly noteworthy. Lester Cotton will start at left guard for the Dolphins, who are uncertain to have LG first-stringer Isaiah Wynn back this season.

Bills Fire OC Ken Dorsey

November 14th, 2023 at 10:26pm CST by Adam La Rose

In the aftermath of another underwhelming performance, the Bills are making a signficant change on the sidelines. Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey has been fired, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The team has since confirmed the move.

The Bills have struggled to an extent on offense in 2023, Dorsey’s second year in charge of the unit. He will be replaced by quarterbacks coach Joe Brady, Schefter adds. The latter has also been in Buffalo since 2022, having previously served as the Panthers’ offensive coordinator under head coach Matt Rhule.

The departure of Brian Daboll led to questions about Buffalo’s ability to remain amongst the league’s top offenses with Dorsey at the helm. It came as little surprise when the Bills decided to look in-house for Daboll’s successor, promoting Dorsey from the QB coach position he had held with the team for the previous three years. While Buffalo has posted strong statistical showings during Dorsey’s time as OC, he has been dismissed in the hopes of providing a spark for the unit and getting the team’s postseason push back on track.

The Bills ranked second in the league in both total and scoring offense last season, a sign that the switch to Dorsey could have been one with long-term appeal. However, the team suffered a lackluster defeat in the postseason during the divisional round, and week-to-week consistency has been hard to come by in 2023. This year, Buffalo sits eighth in the NFL in both points (26) and yards (377) per game.

After recording three straight high-scoring wins starting in Week 2, the Bills have failed to score 30 points in their last six games. Turnovers have been a major issue for the unit, which has led to increased criticism of quarterback Josh Allen. Aiming to produce a rebound from their franchise passer, the team will now proceed with a new face for the stretch run. Today’s move will leave Buffalo with neither the offensive nor defensive coordinator which was in place following the end of the 2022 campaign.

DC Leslie Frazier stepped away from football in February, though he intends to return to the sidelines either as a coordinator or a head coach in the future. Head coach Sean McDermott has called plays on defense this season, and that unit has not delivered to the extent it has in past seasons. Injuries on defense have been a major storyline for Buffalo this year, but McDermott has drawn criticism on a number of fronts, including most recently the disorganization which resulted in a penalty to give the Broncos a chance to win in come-from-behind fashion last night. In the wake of that special teams mistake, McDermott will move forward with a new voice for the offense.

Dorsey will now join the 2024 coaching cycle early. The 42-year-old interviewed with the Panthers for their head coaching vacancy last offseason. Given the manner in which his Buffalo tenure has come to an end, it will be interesting to see how much of a market he generates in the winter. Buffalo, meanwhile, will aim for a step forward in efficiency with Brady at the helm.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/23

November 13th, 2023 at 7:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

JaMycal Hasty was waived by the Jaguars this past weekend following a year-plus with the organization. The running back had 320 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns during his first season in Jacksonville but was limited to only three games and zero touches this year. He’ll be hard pressed to carve out a role in New England with Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott leading the depth chart.

Injured Reserve Return Tracker

November 11th, 2023 at 9:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a 2022 rule change, teams can activate up to eight players from injured reserve. That has reintroduced some strategy into how franchises proceed with their activations, and teams will again need to be cognizant of their activation counts in 2023.

The NFL had reintroduced IR-return options in the 2010s, after a period in which an IR move meant a player’s season was over. But the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the league to loosen restrictions on IR from 2020-21. Teams were permitted to use unlimited activations to start the decade, but roster math is again a consideration.

Players who land on IR after cutdown day must miss at least four games. Once a team designates a player for return, the activation clock starts. Clubs have 21 days from a player’s return-to-practice date to activate that player. If no activation commences in that window, the player reverts to season-ending IR.

Here is how the NFL’s remaining two IR situations look for Super Bowl LVIII:

Kansas City Chiefs

Activated:

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 3

San Francisco 49ers

Designated for return:

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 4

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

November 10th, 2023 at 8:44am CST by Adam La Rose

Yesterday’s Panthers-Bears game carried signficant draft implications, as many noted in the build-up to the primetime matchup. With Carolina having dealt its 2024 first-round pick to Chicago as part of the deal involving last year’s No. 1 selection, the Bears were able to boost their chances of picking first in April with a win.

Owning the top selection in a draft touted for having multiple high-end options at the quarterback spot would of course add further to the speculation surrounding Justin Fields. The Bears gave the 24-year-old a vote of confidence last spring by trading out of the No. 1 slot, but he has yet to develop as hoped this season. Chicago could opt for a fresh start under center (particularly if they declined Fields’ fifth-year option) this spring while also having the opportunity to add help elsewhere on the roster with their own first-rounder, which seems destined to fall within the top 10 or perhaps even top five selections.

Of course, teams like the Giants, Cardinals and Patriots have experienced signficant troubles of their own this year. A continuation of their first half performances could leave them in pole position for the Caleb Williams–Drake Maye sweepstakes. All three teams face potential uncertainty with respect to their current passers’ futures, despite each having term remaining on their respective contracts.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2024 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. With plenty still to be sorted out over the coming months, here is an early look at the current draft order:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. Arizona Cardinals: 1-8
  3. New York Giants: 2-7
  4. New England Patriots: 2-7
  5. Chicago Bears: 3-7
  6. Los Angeles Rams: 3-6
  7. Green Bay Packers: 3-5
  8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3-5
  9. Denver Broncos: 3-5
  10. Tennessee Titans: 3-5
  11. Atlanta Falcons: 4-5
  12. Washington Commanders: 4-5
  13. Indianapolis Colts: 4-5
  14. Las Vegas Raiders: 4-5
  15. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  16. New York Jets: 4-4
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: 4-4
  18. Buffalo Bills: 5-4
  19. New Orleans Saints: 5-4
  20. Minnesota Vikings: 5-4
  21. Dallas Cowboys: 5-3
  22. Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-3
  23. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  24. Cincinnati Bengals: 5-3
  25. Seattle Seahawks: 5-3
  26. San Francisco 49ers: 5-3
  27. Miami Dolphins: 6-3
  28. Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-2
  29. Detroit Lions: 6-2
  30. Baltimore Ravens: 7-2
  31. Kansas City Chiefs: 7-2
  32. Philadelphia Eagles: 8-1

Poll: Who Fared Best At Trade Deadline

November 7th, 2023 at 10:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

A week removed from this year’s trade deadline, every team will soon have its acquired talent in uniform. The 49ers, Lions and Jaguars made trades while in bye weeks; Chase Young, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Ezra Cleveland will suit up for their new teams soon.

On this note, it is time to gauge the position every notable buyer and seller landed in following the deals. This year’s deadline featured two second-round picks being moved, though the teams that made those moves (Chicago, Seattle) have different timelines in place.

We have to start with the Commanders, who scrapped their yearslong Young-Montez Sweat partnership by making the surprise decision to move both defensive ends hours before the deadline. Although the team was listening to offers on both, it was widely assumed they would only part with one, thus saving a contract offer or a 2024 franchise tag for the other alongside well-paid D-tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen. New owner Josh Harris looks to have made his bigger-picture plan clear, however, pressing upon the Commanders’ football-ops department to explore moving both.

Washington collected a second-rounder that likely will land in the 30s in exchange for Sweat, who was in a contract year at the time. It only obtained a compensatory third for Young, who drew interest from other teams (including the Ravens). For the first time in the common draft era, Washington holds five picks in the first three rounds. It cannot be assumed Ron Rivera and GM Martin Mayhew will be making those picks, but Harris has effectively forced his hot-seat staffers to make do this season without Young and Sweat, who have combined for 11.5 sacks this year.

The initial team to pounce on the Commanders’ sale made a buyer’s move despite being in a seller’s position for the second straight year. After trading what became the No. 32 overall pick for Chase Claypool, GM Ryan Poles signed off on the Sweat pickup. The Bears have struggled to rush the passer under Matt Eberflus, having traded Khalil Mack in March 2022 and Robert Quinn last October. While acquiring a veteran in a contract year injects risk into the equation, Poles had the franchise tag at his disposal. But the Bears made good use of their newfound negotiating rights with Sweat, extending him on a four-year, $98MM pact. Despite no Pro Bowls or double-digit sack seasons, Sweat is now the NFL’s fifth-highest-paid edge rusher. Though, the Bears’ long-term edge outlook appears rosier compared to its pre-Halloween view.

Mayhew, Robert Saleh and Mike McDaniel have provided third-round compensatory picks for the 49ers, who have been the NFL’s chief beneficiary of the Rooney Rule tweak that awards third-round picks to teams who see minority coaches or execs become HCs or GMs. The team has more picks coming after the Ran Carthon and DeMeco Ryans hires. Using one to acquire Young seems like a low-risk move, given the former Defensive Rookie of the Year’s talent. Young has made strides toward recapturing the form he showed before his severe 2021 knee injury, and he is on pace for a career high in sacks.

The 49ers, who won last year’s trade deadline by landing Christian McCaffrey, will deploy Young alongside ex-college teammate Nick Bosa and the rest of their high-priced D-line contingent. The team will have a decision to make on Young soon; the free agent-to-be is not eyeing in-season extension talks, either. San Francisco could at least be in position to nab a midround compensatory pick, should Young leave in 2024.

The Young move came a day after the Seahawks obtained Leonard Williams from the Giants. That move cost Seattle second- and fifth-round picks. Williams is also in a contract year, but with the Giants picking up most of the tab, Seattle has the veteran D-tackle on its cap sheet at $647K. The former Jets top-10 pick has shown consistent ability to provide inside pressure, and the USC alum’s best work came in his previous contract year (2020). Gunning for another big payday, Williams joins Dre’Mont Jones in what is probably the best interior D-line duo of the Seahawks’ Pete Carroll era.

Seattle still surrendered a second-round pick for a player who could be a rental. Williams cannot realistically be franchise-tagged in 2024, with the Giants tagging him in 2020 and ’21, and he is not yet on Seattle’s extension radar. The Giants have already paid Dexter Lawrence and were planning on letting Williams walk. They passed on a comp pick for the trade haul, effectively buying a second-round pick in the way the Broncos did in the 2021 Von Miller trade. The Giants, who suddenly could be in the market for a 2024 QB addition, now have an additional second-rounder at their disposal.

While they made their move a week before the deadline, the Eagles landed the most accomplished player of this year’s in-season trade crop. Kevin Byard is a two-time first-team All-Pro safety, and although he is in his age-30 season, the former third-round pick is signed through 2024. The Eagles sent the Titans fifth- and sixth-round picks (and Terrell Edmunds) for Byard, a Philadelphia native, marking the team’s second splash trade for a safety in two years. Philly’s C.J. Gardner-Johnson swap turned out well, and Byard not being a pure rental could make this a better move.

Rather than turning to a fifth-round rookie, the Vikings acquired Josh Dobbs in a pick swap involving sixth- and/or seventh-rounders and saw the move translate to a surprising Week 9 win. Dobbs following in Baker Mayfield‘s footsteps as a trade acquisition-turned-immediate starter also made him the rare QB to see extensive action for two teams in two weeks; Mayfield was inactive in his final game as a Panther. The well-traveled Dobbs could give the Vikings a better chance to stay afloat in the NFC playoff race.

The Lions (Peoples-Jones), Jaguars (Cleveland) and Bills (Rasul Douglas) also made buyer’s moves at the deadline. The Bills gave the Packers a third-round pick, collecting a fifth in the pick-swap deal, for Douglas. They will hope the Green Bay starter can help stabilize their cornerback corps after Tre’Davious White‘s second major injury.

Who ended up faring the best at this year’s deadline? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts on this year’s moves in the comments section.

Who fared the best at this year's trade deadline?
San Francisco 49ers 33.89% (572 votes)
Washington Commanders 15.11% (255 votes)
Chicago Bears 13.21% (223 votes)
Minnesota Vikings 10.78% (182 votes)
Philadelphia Eagles 8.29% (140 votes)
Seattle Seahawks 4.74% (80 votes)
Detroit Lions 4.68% (79 votes)
Green Bay Packers 4.03% (68 votes)
Buffalo Bills 3.79% (64 votes)
Jacksonville Jaguars 1.48% (25 votes)
Total Votes: 1,688

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/7/23

November 7th, 2023 at 7:59pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the NFL’s practice squad moves from today:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: LB Ace Eley

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

  • Signed: WR T.J. Luther

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

The Jets have decided to shoulder the risk of bringing on Winfrey, who was waived by the Browns in July after facing his second allegation of violence against a woman. He was not charged with anything in the case that led to his release from Cleveland, but combined with past off-field incidents, the allegations were enough to propel him towards free agency.

RB Leonard Fournette Addresses Bills Deal, Free Agent Interest

November 4th, 2023 at 9:21pm CST by Adam La Rose

Leonard Fournette will have to wait at least one week to make his Bills debut, but he has already spoken about the deal sending him to Buffalo to close out the season. The veteran back recently touched on his lengthy free agent process, which included suitors other than his new team.

“I had a couple teams reach out to me,” Fournette said, via Nick Wojton of BillsWire. “But I really wanted to do what’s best for me, a fresh start out here in Buffalo. I have a lot left in the tank to play, it was all about the right opportunity.”

The 28-year-old joined the Bills’ practice squad this week, but as is the case with many veterans, he is expected to soon see time as a least a gameday elevation to the active roster. Fournette will look to earn a workload behind lead back James Cook in conjunction with fellow veteran Latavius Murray. Damien Harris currently finds himself on IR, so a depth role should be attainable for Fournette in the short term at a minimum.

It came as no surprise that the 28-year-old finalized a deal with Buffalo, given Harris’ absence and their previously-arranged visit. That was ultimately canceled, but Bills general manager Brandon Beane confirmed when speaking to the media after the agreement that the sides remained in contact. Now that a deal is in place, it will be interesting to see how much Fournette is used down the stretch and thus the degree to which he can help his free agent value ahead of 2024.

The Super Bowl winner averaged exactly 4.0 yards per carry with both the Jaguars and Buccaneers during his three-year stints with each franchise, serving as a focal point of Tampa Bay’s offense in the postseason during the team’s title run. However, Fournette received little interest during the offseason (one in which the RB position as a whole saw its finanal valuation continue to decline) after his Buccaneers release, having to wait deep into the campaign to find a deal. While his remarks indicate that was partially by choice, he will no doubt need to produce at a notable level in the coming weeks to generate a larger market for his services in the spring.

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