The New York Jets threw a wrench into NFL trade deadline day, making two of the biggest in-season deals in recent memory.
Star cornerback Sauce Gardner was moved to the Indianapolis Colts, who are looking to sure up their defense ahead of a possible playoff run, while standout defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, who are hoping to get some sort of defensive spark. Both trades netted the Jets multiple valuable draft picks as a result.
But were they the most expensive trades made during the season in NFL history? Here are the five priciest in-season trades, in terms of assets moved, in NFL history.
1. Herschel Walker to Vikings (1989)
Herschel Walker was traded to the Vikings in 1989, but wasn’t able to bring them to the promised land, while the Cowboys used the haul they got for him to start a dynasty run. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Cowboys received LB Jesse Solomon, LB David Howard, CB Issiac Holt, DE Alex Stewart (all released in order to acquire five conditional draft picks), three draft picks (first-round pick, second-round pick, sixth-round pick).
It was the trade that helped start the Cowboys’ dynasty of the 1990s, even if they were far from a Super Bowl contender at the time. In Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson’s first year in Dallas, the two made the bold move to trade Walker amid the Cowboys’ poor start to a Minnesota Vikings team that was hoping he would be the final piece for a Super Bowl run. The Cowboys initially got four players in the deal, but they released all of them so they could receive five extra draft picks (two first-round picks, two second-round picks, one third-round pick) on top of the three draft picks they initially got in the deal.
The Vikings reached the playoffs the year they traded for Walker, but quickly fizzled out. The Cowboys, meanwhile, went 1-15 that year before using the draft picks they got in the trade to help select Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith, Clayton Holmes and Darren Woodson.
Not only is the trade considered to be one of the lopsided in sports history, but it even has its own Wikipedia page. How many trades can say that?
2. Eric Dickerson to Colts (1987)
Eric Dickerson continued to have some strong seasons with the Colts after starting his Hall of Fame career with the Rams. (Photo by E. Bakke/Getty Images)
Rams received RB Greg Bell, RB Owen Gill, three first-round picks, three second-round picks
It turns out the Colts are no strangers to making blockbuster in-season trades. In 1987, they swooped in and grabbed Dickerson from the Los Angeles Rams in a three-team deal that involved the Buffalo Bills as the future Hall of Fame running back was upset with his contract. Dickerson was quite productive for the Colts early in his Indianapolis tenure, rushing for 1,011 yards in just nine regular-season games in his first season with the team to help them make the postseason. He ran for nearly 3,000 yards over the next two seasons before struggling in his final two years with the Colts.
3. Sauce Gardner to Colts (2025)
Jets trade Sauce Gardner to the Colts, Is this a good trade?
Jets received two first-round picks (2026, 2027), WR Adonai Mitchell
Gardner became the fourth player traded for multiple first-round picks in an in-season trade on Tuesday. The Colts gave up their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks in order to get Gardner, who was named first-team All-Pro in each of his first two seasons in the league. He also won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, helping him earn a four-year, $120.4 million contract in July that made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.
However, the Colts will get Gardner on the league minimum for the remainder of the 2025 season before paying him $25.5 million in 2026, $24.95 million in 2027 and $20.2 million in 2028, according to the Monday Morning Quarterback.
Mitchell, a 2024 second-round pick, was also given up by the Colts as part of the deal. The wide receiver had 32 receptions for 464 yards in his career at the time of the trade.
Jalen Ramsey helped the Rams win a Super Bowl a couple of years after they acquired him in an in-season move. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Jaguars received two first-round picks (2020, 2021), 2021 fourth-round pick
Prior to Tuesday, the deal that saw Ramsey get moved from the Jaguars to the Rams in 2019 was the most expensive in-season deal involving a cornerback. The Rams, who were looking to make it back to the Super Bowl after their appearance in 2018, gave up a pair of first-round picks that turned into edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson and running back Travis Etienne.
While the Rams didn’t make the playoffs the year they acquired Ramsey, the deal eventually paid off. They won the Super Bowl in Ramsey’s second full season with the team (2021), with the cornerback being named first-team All-Pro twice in his four seasons with the team.
5. Quinnen Williams to Cowboys
Jets trade Quinnen Williams to Cowboys for a 1st-round pick
Jets received 2026 second-round pick, 2027 first-round pick (better selection between Cowboys and Packers‘ first-round picks), DT Mazi Smith
The Cowboys aren’t shy to make major trades. So, we shouldn’t have been too surprised that they gave up a first-round pick and a second-round pick for Williams on Tuesday despite holding a 3-5-1 record.
But maybe this deal could spark them in a way similar to how the Amari Cooper trade lifted them in 2018, when they gave up a first-round pick for the wide receiver to go from 3-5 to winning the NFC East. At the very least, Williams should help their defense, which ranks second-to-last in both yards and points allowed this season. The seventh-year defensive tackle was named first-team All-Pro in 2022 and has earned a Pro Bowl nod in each of the previous three seasons.
Other notable in-season trades involving first-round picks
- Raiders trade for Patriots CB Mike Haynes, giving up 1984 first-round pick, 1985 second-round pick (1983)
- Cardinals trade for Bengals QB Carson Palmer, giving up 2012 first-round pick, 2013 second-round pick (2011)
- Cowboys trade for Raiders WR Amari Cooper, giving up 2019 first-round pick (2018)
- Steelers trade for Dolphins S Minkah Fitzpatrick, giving up 2020 first-round pick, 2020 fifth-round pick, 2021 sixth-round pick (2019)
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