NFL trade grades: Lions add Za’Darius Smith, land their Aidan Hutchinson replacement

Posted by Admin November 5, 2024 NFL

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.

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Terms: The Chicago Bears traded running back Khalil Herbert to the Cincinnati Bengals for a 2025 seventh-round pick.

Why they made the trade

The Bengals (4-5) became desperate for running back depth after a neck injury suffered last week ended Zack Moss’ season, leaving starter Chase Brown with very little backup. Cincinnati has newfound playoff hopes after Sunday’s win over the Raiders but wasn’t comfortable putting a massive workload on Brown for the second half of the season. Herbert is expected to fill a similar role to Moss handling passing downs and relieving Brown.

The only other running backs on Cincinnati’s roster are Trayveon Williams and Kendall Milton.

The Bears (4-4) have prioritized running backs D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson, so the former sixth-round pick Herbert was no longer much of a factor, becoming a healthy scratch the past two weeks. This is the final season of Herbert’s rookie contract, and the team didn’t intend to re-sign him, so getting any draft capital for him was worthwhile.

Bengals grade: A

That can really just be an A for effort. In a world where the Bengals have only acquired one player via in-season trade (BJ Finney in 2020 as Carlos Dunlap went nuclear forcing his way out the door) in five decades, this participation serves as a positive sign. It also shows the level of desperation with Moss likely for the season.

Herbert brings a history of breaking tackles and creating explosive plays; he merely got buried on the depth chart in Chicago. He won’t be buried in Cincinnati and can help preserve Brown, who will continue to be the driving force on the ground through the rest of the year.

Considering Moss wasn’t bringing the explosiveness they’d hoped to see when they signed him, Herbert could even end up a significant upgrade. Not only did he average 4.9 yards per carry the last two seasons, but he’s now had half a year to steam with two months before he hits the open market as a free agency for the most important contract of his career. He instantly tweeted, “Thank you God,” following the deal. The Bengals look to be receiving the best version of a player who’s had some notable highs in this league (5.7 yards per carry on 129 rushes in 2022). Considering they are only giving up a seventh-round pick after rostering 12 rookies this past year, that’s essentially gaining a player for nothing. There’s plenty to like beyond just participation from the Bengals side. — Paul Dehner Jr.

Bears grade: B

A seventh-round pick is slightly more than nothing. The only thing of less value would’ve been a conditional seventh. This might have been a situation where the general manager, Ryan Poles, is doing right by a player who was no longer part of the team’s game-day plans.

Herbert had reportedly asked for a trade once he became a healthy scratch, and while Poles certainly could’ve held onto Herbert for depth purposes — he’s a better running back than the current No. 3, Travis Homer, and he has special teams value — instead, Poles gets a draft pick and does Herbert a favor by sending him to a more competitive team.

While the Johnson draft pick in 2023 and the free-agent addition of Swift both previewed this move, it didn’t make a ton of sense that the coaching staff didn’t have use for Herbert earlier this season when the run game was scuffling. Now that Swift is playing better and Johnson and Homer are healthy, Herbert was relegated to the bench, and as a Ryan Pace draft pick, he was unlikely to be part of any long-term plans. It’s hard to celebrate a seventh-round pick, but the Bears got some draft capital and helped out their now-former player. — Kevin Fishbain

Terms: The Cleveland Browns traded defensive end Za’Darius Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Detroit Lions for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick.

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.

Terms: 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