It has been quite an exhilarating and eventful season in the NFL thus far.
First, the Raiders have finally fired head coach Josh McDaniels, a move that should have been made ages ago. Additionally, they fired their general manager Dave Ziegler and named linebackers coach Antonio Pierce and assistant GM Champ Kelly as their interim head coach and interim general manager, respectively.
The firing of McDaniels is something that many NFL fans saw coming, as the Raiders have looked atrocious both offensively and defensively. Pierce will have a lot to take on as interim head coach, but honestly, anything is better than what has transpired in Vegas the past few weeks. Hopefully, they can get things going, despite benching mediocre franchise QB Jimmy Garoppolo to place 25-year-old rookie Aidan O’Connell at the helm.
In addition to the fiasco in Las Vegas, the trade deadline has just passed as playoff-bound teams across the league made minor moves to improve their depth. The Bills added veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas, who experienced a career resurgence in 2021 and has continued to be one of Green Bay’s best defensive weapons.
In other news, the Chicago Bears have acquired star pass rusher Montez Sweat from the Commanders in exchange for a 2024 second-round draft pick. Sweat has consistently been one of the league’s top defensive ends ever since he was drafted in 2019, and will likely continue to thrive in Chicago.
Washington also shipped off defensive end Chase Young to the 49ers in exchange for a compensatory third-round pick. This is Young’s first healthy season since 2021 and he has shown flashes of the abilities he exhibited in his first year in the league that earned him the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
In my opinion, the Commanders did not get enough for Young. While not the player he once was, Young has still played fairly well this season and is certainly worth more than a third-rounder. If Washington wants to rebuild, obtaining third-round picks is not the way to do it. The Commanders will continue to trek along with a Chase Young-free roster.
After Kirk Cousins’ Achilles tendon popped live on TV last Sunday, the Vikings have acquired former Cardinals starting QB Joshua Dobbs who has had a career resurgence of his own in the desert. The Vikings hope that Dobbs can become a Case Keenum-like underdog figure who carries them to the playoffs after an 0-4 start.
In the NFC East, executive vice president Howie Roseman worked his magic once again as the Eagles added an all-pro safety in Kevin Byard while the Giants have seemingly thrown in the towel and given up their star defensive tackle Leonard Williams.
It remains to be seen how much this shake-up will affect the final standings but it will be interesting to see how these proven stars do on their new teams.
