A Fork in the Road
The NFL trade deadline is November 4. NFL franchises must assess their prospects for the balance of the 2025 season and look toward 2026. Fantasy gamers playing in dynasty and contract leagues likely face their own trade deadlines that force similar decisions.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on @1053thefan when asked if he'd only be willing to make a notable trade deadline move if he thought he had a team that could be a Super Bowl contender:
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 24, 2025
"I do think this team has a chance to be in competition, so under that criteria, and that's a good…
The Rams have the best record and current-year outlook among teams active in the trade market. Roger McCreary, a cornerback in the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, transfers from Tennessee to L.A. He'll replace former Commanders' first-round bust Emmanuel Forbes Jr. The Rams' attempted reclamation project is allowing quarterbacks a passer rating of 151.9—the highest (worst) by any cornerback in the league.
The Titans, meanwhile, are clearly resetting for 2026. They've now traded two of the three cornerbacks projected last summer to start for them.
Much Ado About Nothing?
Many dynasty gamers find trading the most exciting aspect of roster management. In-season NFL trading activity has long disappointed, paling in comparison to that in Major League Baseball. As of this writing, trade activity has been minimal, especially in the context of recent seasons.
Nevertheless, real-life trading creates new opportunities for NFL players and fantasy gamers alike. Teams in transition dealing away defenders have precipitated most of the trades of the past two months.
The highest-profile move remains the Micah Parsons deal. By including two future first-round picks, the Packers indicated they are all-in for 2025. The Cowboys, meanwhile, have had to learn the hard way that 29-year-old Kenny Clark has become a replacement-level player as their season swirls downward.
Micah Parsons has done in Green Bay what several recent star pass rushers have done immediately after their trades: underperform statistically. Parsons has collected a respectable total of 6.5 quarterback sacks but has no other big plays to his credit in 7 games. He's made just 17 combined tackles in 342 snaps for a disappointing 5% tackle rate.
Von Miller (2021), Bradley Chubb (2022), Robert Quinn (2022), Chase Young (2023), and Za'Darius Smith (2024) were all moved midyear over the past four seasons. All came up small for fantasy gamers in their new homes. Von Miller played well but didn't quite get home as regularly in his first several games after leaving Denver for L.A. He erupted in the playoffs, helping the Rams win a Super Bowl title.
Montez Sweat is the notable exception. He enjoyed the best stretch of his career in Chicago immediately after arriving from Washington.
Keion White will attempt to replicate Sweat's heroics. White departs an interesting situation in New England, where a new regime continues to jettison 2024 starters, all while improving into a divisional contender in 2025. White steps into an immediate opportunity in San Francisco. Nick Bosa is out for the year, and bookend Bryce Huff is out with a shorter-term injury.
Now in his third season, the 6-foot-5, 285-pound White failed to demonstrate the tools of a defensive end capable of rushing the passer in obvious passing situations in Mike Vrabel's defense. San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has turned these lemons into lemonade once before. Drafted as an odd-front defensive end in 2015, 6'7, 290-pound Arik Armstead played predominantly outside in Saleh's 4-3 defense and recorded 10.5 sacks for the 49ers in 2019.
Keion White can't be expected to yield similar results, but he has flashed. In his first two games as a permanent starter, he compiled 4.0 sacks and 11 combined tackles at the beginning of his 2024 campaign.
This is the NFL: 49ers trade acquisition Keion White rushed in to the Bay Area from Boston and joined his new team mid-practice.
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) October 29, 2025
Mere seconds between introductory handshakes with coach Kris Kocurek and his new teammates and White's first rep with the 49ers pic.twitter.com/zTgmYSKEWH
Another Comeback Story
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