It’s NFL trade season, and activity is booming more than at any time in league history. There have been 60 trades this calendar year through October, the fourth most since at least 1990 and nearly double the annual average between 2007 and 2016, per ESPN Research. And we can expect things to get even spicier over the next week with teams wheeling and dealing ahead of the trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Executives I talk to believe we will see double-digit trades between now and the deadline. The skillet is already scorching hot and full of grease -- we’ve had seven in-season deals. The Bears’ all-in move to land defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons last week shows us fewer and fewer players are truly off limits. So ... stay close to your phone.
“I don’t talk with other general managers much about it, but it’s like an unspoken understanding of this new generation of GMs. We’re going to make trades,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. “People have been more creative. Pick swaps have allowed more opportunity.”
For many years, the NFL trade deadline was a non-event snoozer. In 2015, there were no deadline-day trades and just one deadline-week deal. The yearly average between 2010 and 2016 was one player trade per deadline day and fewer than three trades during deadline week. Fast-forward a decade, and we had eight deadline-day trades and 14 deadline-week deals in 2025. In fact, there were at least six trades on deadline day in each of the past four seasons. Prior to that, there were never more than five.
“The old-school way of thinking was more anti-trade,” one NFC assistant general manager said. “Now people are much more open to how they add talent to their teams.”
General managers couldn’t identify the exact moment trade movement took off, though. Two executives pointed to the 2018 Khalil Mack deal, when the edge rusher was traded from the Raiders to the Bears -- but that was in September. One former general manager noted the October 2019 pre-deadline deal in which the Jaguars sent Jalen Ramsey to the Rams for a package that included two first-round picks. L.A. won the Super Bowl two years later, and GM Les Snead wore a “F--- them picks” shirt at the parade that became the mantra for contenders going all-in via trade. Halloween 2017 serves as a key marker, too. The Dolphins traded running back Jay Ajayi to the Eagles, and the Patriots dealt quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers.
No matter which deal sprang the door open, the NFL deadline now rivals the NBA and MLB deadlines in activity and excitement. What happened? What caused this quick change? I spoke with a dozen high-ranking front office executives (including several general managers) and three player agents to dive into the when and why behind this trade deadline boom. Three reasons emerged.
Reason No. 1: Less patience, more deals
There were 10 head coach changes in the 2026 offseason, representing nearly a third of the league and serving as a crystal-clear sign to the rest that they need to win or else. Simply put, fear leads to action.
“There’s no more patience. Coaches are getting fired one-and-done. It’s so much pressure to win quickly,” one AFC high-ranking front office executive said. “You don’t have the luxury to wait around to see if a player can figure it out. They are going to move on from you before you get your guys built up. So, let’s go get a guy.”
From 2017 to 2025, there was an average of 3.6 trades per season involving first- or second-team All-Pro players, per ESPN Research. Teams are more willing to deal significant draft capital for the perceived “missing piece.” A couple of All-Pros moved last year on deadline day. The Colts sent two first-round picks to the Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner, trying to maximize their 7-2 start. The Jets traded defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys, who were 3-5-1 and trying to get back on track.
Of course, Indianapolis and Dallas both missed the playoffs after going a combined 5-11 post-deadline. As Beane said, “You’re never one player away. ... If you told me trading for a player gave me a 95% chance to win it, then we do it. You don’t get that.”
Not every in-season deal works out, and Jaguars GM James Gladstone even mentioned that shifts in locker room dynamics can be unintended side effects of trades. Ahead of last year’s deadline, Gladstone made a CB-for-CB swap, sending Tyson Campbell to Cleveland for Greg Newsome II. The move made sense for Jacksonville from a schematic and long-term perspective, but Gladstone wondered if the Jaguars’ ensuing two straight losses before the bye had something to do with losing Campbell: “It requires a lot more energy to deal with drastic locker room changes.”
Still, more NFL teams have put all their chips in, deciding they’re willing to give up premium first- and second-round picks to get a difference-maker. From 2012 to 2016, there was an average of 13.8 trades involving first- or second-round picks per year, according to ESPN Research. Over the past five years (since 2022), that average has jumped to 20.4 per year.
“I’ve been in situations where negative social media chatter from media or fans increases pressure on the coach and GM. It impacts decisions. It 1,000% does,” one assistant general manager said. “It’s the owners putting pressure on you, too. Owners read it every day on Twitter and sometimes listen to it more than the people they work with day-to-day.
“You must be more aggressive because you don’t have five years to figure it out. Twenty years ago? General managers knew they’d get five to eight years for sure, so they acted differently.”
Reason No. 2: Growing power for the players
Front offices also feel the pressure from players in today’s NFL.
“Guys are more educated on the business side and their strength, compared to earlier years,” said one prominent NFL agent who has helped multiple star players get traded. “At the same time, it’s a case-by-case situation. Just because one guy can easily get traded doesn’t mean it happens as easily for the next guy. Trust and respect between player, agent and general manager are key.”
At the end of September, the Cowboys traded for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. after a long contract standoff with the Steelers. It became public that he didn’t feel valued in Pittsburgh, as the two sides failed to agree on an extension that satisfied him in terms of guaranteed money. Porter sat out training camp, the preseason and the Steelers’ first three games with a back injury that multiple executives said they believe was basically a hold-in strategy. And while Porter didn’t have to explicitly say “pay me or trade me” like others, his stance was clear. The saga screamed “Come get Porter” to teams needing help at cornerback.
“Nothing is secret anymore. Back in the day, you could calm down issues internally,” Beane said. “But with social media and media 24/7, you can see players’ raw emotions in real time. I’ve made calls on players who looked unhappy based on something that came out publicly.”
Colts receiver Josh Downs requested a trade last week, and he could be the next starter out of Indianapolis after the team dealt defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and guard Quenton Nelson. Eagles guard Landon Dickerson appeared to express disconnect with the team’s front office on his long-term future, too. Multiple execs told me they are eagerly awaiting clarity on whether the Eagles will be open to dealing several of their intriguing veterans.
“I’ve never called a GM to say we want to get traded and they immediately say ‘yes.’ They always say they don’t want to trade [the player]. I try to help GMs realize that [they] don’t want to have major distractions,” one longtime agent said. “I have been in situations where pressure was applied without having to take it publicly.”
Another agent added: “I always want the GM to feel like he’s really driving the bus. I don’t want them to be embarrassed. I want to show him the value he’s getting whether it’s trade value vs. production or not having to deal with a headache. Some people’s hand you can’t force. We’re dealing with humans. Some people act or don’t act on impulse or emotion.”
Reason No. 3: More salary cap maneuverability
Browns general manager Andrew Berry made the biggest splash of the offseason by dealing Myles Garrett to the Rams in large part to, as he said, “maximize the salary cap” in a world of skyrocketing salaries for star players.
“You think about it like we get three or four good players and $20-30 million saved from trading Myles,” Berry said. “Now, you’re giving up a great player in Myles. We think that’s worth it.”
The Titans used similar thinking this past week, dealing a great player in Simmons with the hopes that the two first-round picks they acquired and eventual cap savings will net them five or six good young players in the years to come. Simmons, now 29 years old in Year 9 of his NFL career, might not still be a prime player once Tennessee is finally ready to compete in 2028-29.
“We know that we have to be better this year, next year, the year after,” Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said. “This draft capital gives us the opportunity. We have a lot of work to do.”
Since the salary cap was created in 1994, it has grown from $34.6 million to $301.2 million. It took 15 years to go from $100 million to $200 million. But it took only four years to go from $200 million to $300 million. The average annual cap increase over the past five years is about 10.6%. That matters. The higher salary cap means teams can be more aggressive adding star veterans with more room to pony up for their salaries.
“It doesn’t work like fantasy football. If you and I trade players in fantasy, it doesn’t impact these players’ lives at all,” Beane said. “When I trade for a player, there’s how much money he makes, how much is the trading team eating, what is his long-term contract, can he learn the playbook, system, signals in time. It doesn’t always translate.”
Beane recalled his October 2024 pre-deadline trade for receiver Amari Cooper as a perfect example. The Bills were looking for an impact receiver but were very limited in cap space. Cooper was due $20 million that season, a number Buffalo couldn’t afford. But the Browns converted most of that money into a salary bonus that made him more obtainable and therefore more costly in trade compensation.
“People publicly questioned why we gave up a third-round pick for Cooper but not a second-round pick for Davante Adams,” Beane said. “I couldn’t afford Davante salarywise, and there was no salary-cutting option available. So for Amari, it would have been fourth- and sixth-round picks, but since Cleveland ate $10-plus million, we raised our compensation up to a third and sixth.”
Ultimately, Cooper made some impact on the offense, but it wasn’t seen a lot on the stat sheet and certainly was not as big as expected at the time. Buffalo limited Cooper’s playbook to make a complete midseason scheme shift digestible, and he didn’t play in key two-minute drills. Over the second half of the season, Cooper had 20 catches for 297 yards and two touchdowns.
Is the trade deadline boom here to stay?
Several league executives believe this deadline boom is just getting started, and the numbers support that observation. Deadline-week trades have occurred five times more frequently this decade compared with the previous decade.
“Analytics have certainly played a key role. Decision-makers are smarter with more info,” Berry said. “Positional value has larger priority, and we have so much more information overall on other teams and players.”
Information is king. Beane described the wave of younger staffers in NFL teams’ analytics departments as an asset. Their expertise using advanced technology and AI gives general managers a lot of data and trade comparisons to guide their decision-making. As Gladstone said, “The industry is getting younger in thought and more creative in building. You must be aware of trends and teams that think similarly to you.”
Funny enough, Gladstone said he doesn’t enjoy the trade aspect of the job. “It’s not fulfilling to me,” he said. “I just want to build rosters.”
But trades have become an almost mandatory element of long-term roster-building success. And if recent history is any indication, you should expect more surprises, blockbusters and trade alerts over the next week.