The best NFL trade deadline deals in history: 7 Best NFL trades in history

With the 2024 NFL trade deadline a week away, it's the perfect time to look back at some past midseason acquisitions that have aged well.

The trade deadline can be a source of a wide range of activity. Given the brevity of the season, the time necessary to get players acclimated to a new team's schemes, and a salary cap to deal with, the NFL trade deadline is not quite as active as that of other sports. Some years feature very few transactions, while others are more active as teams try to push for playoff contention.

Not all trade deadline acquisitions have a significant impact, but several examples of excellent trades have been made in recent years. Some were easy to identify as great moves at the moment, while others took longer to age.

These seven trades are among the best midseason deals in NFL history.

Best NFL trade deadline deals in history

7. San Francisco 49ers acquire Jimmy Garoppolo (2017)

When Kyle Shanahan took over as the San Francisco 49ers' head coach before the 2017 season, he came with plans to overhaul the team's offensive scheme. He didn't believe San Francisco's then-starter Colin Kaepernick would fit in that scheme, so he allowed Kaepernick to walk, hoping to bring in a new starting quarterback to slot into his offense.

Shanahan found his man in a trade deadline deal to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo from the New England Patriots. It cost the 49ers their 2018 second-round pick, but the trade ended up being the spark the team needed that year.

Garoppolo made his debut for his new team in Week 12 following a lower-body injury to starter C.J. Beathard. He became the team's starter the following week. He led the 49ers to five straight wins to close the season after starting the year 1-10.

That February, San Francisco extended Garoppolo on a five-year deal.

"Jimmy G" had his ups and downs with the Niners, but the team made the playoffs in three of his six seasons – including its first Super Bowl appearance since 2012 in 2019. He also has the second-best win percentage (.684) by a San Francisco quarterback in franchise history, only behind Steve Young.

6. Baltimore Ravens shore up their defense with Roquan Smith (2022)

The 2018 first-round pick led the Chicago Bears in tackles in the four full years he played for the team. In 2020 and 2021, he earned second-team All-Pro nods after finishing in the top six in combined tackles in each of those years.

The writing was on the wall for Smith's time in Chicago when the team couldn't reach an agreement with the linebacker ahead of his fifth season. He requested a trade in August 2022 and told the media that he didn't feel properly valued by the new front office regime that had taken over that January.

After eight games, the Baltimore Ravens traded 2023 second and fifth-round picks to the Bears for Smith. He finished the year with a career-high 169 tackles across two teams, 4.5 sacks, 11 tackles for a loss, and six passes defended. That production was enough to earn him first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career.

Smith got a first-team All-Pro nod for a second straight time in 2023 with his 158 tackles. Including 21 in a single game, 1.5 sacks, five tackles for a loss, eight passes defended, and a forced fumble.

This trade might continue to age even better if Smith continues to establish that he's one of the league's best all-around inside linebackers. It's still been a big win for the Ravens, who signed him to a five-year, $100 million extension in January 2023.

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5. Pittsburgh Steelers trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick after Week 2 (2019)

The Pittsburgh Steelers' acquisition of Fitzpatrick was similar to the Ravens' trade for Smith.

Fitzpatrick requested a trade one week into the safety's second season with the Miami Dolphins. The 2018 first-round pick felt the coaching staff in Miami was not utilizing his skill set correctly. He made 12 tackles across two games before the Dolphins and Steelers completed their trade.

In September 2019, Pittsburgh sent its 2020 first and fifth-round picks and a 2021 sixth-round pick in exchange for Fitzpatrick, Miami's 2020 fourth-round pick and 2021 seventh-round pick. Fitzpatrick made his Steelers debut in Week 3 and established himself as one of the league's best safeties by the end of the year.

He was a first-team All-Pro safety in 2019 and again in 2020. Fitzpatrick earned a third such nod in four years with more first-team All-Pro honors in 2022. It was a year in which he tallied six interceptions that tied for the league lead. He has four Pro Bowl appearances in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023.

The Steelers signed him to a four-year, $73.6 million extension ahead of the 2022 season.

4. Dallas Cowboys add Amari Cooper to their receivers room (2018)

When Jon Gruden took over as head coach of the Raiders in 2018, it didn't take him long to make some big moves that flipped productive players for draft picks. Just ahead of that 2018 season, the then-Oakland Raiders traded star edge rusher Khalil Mack and two draft picks to the Chicago Bears for a return of four picks - including two first-rounders.

After a 1-5 start to the 2018 season, Gruden denied rumors that he was seeking trade partners for Amari Cooper, who was the Raiders' No. 1 receiver in each of his first three pro seasons. Nevertheless, the Raiders traded the wideout for the Dallas Cowboys' 2019 first-round pick in late October.

When he arrived in Dallas, Cooper didn't take long to re-establish his reliability as a top receiving option. Despite playing just nine games for the Cowboys in 2018, the Alabama product's 725 receiving yards, including a 180-yard performance against Washington and a 217-yard day against Philadelphia and six touchdowns, led the entire team that year.

Cooper's three and a half years with the Cowboys were the most productive of his career. Before Dallas traded him in 2022, he had accumulated 3,893 receiving yards and tallied 27 touchdowns on 292 catches – his best numbers for a single team across the four he's played for.

Although the Cowboys never made a deep playoff run while Cooper was on the team, he was a crucial part of the Dallas offense in all four of its seasons.

3. Los Angeles Rams bring in Jalen Ramsey (2019)

Jalen Ramsey established himself as a star NFL cornerback early in his career. He was the Defensive Rookie of the Year runner-up to Joey Bosa in 2016 and earned his initial first-team All-Pro recognition in his second season in 2017.

If winning cures everything, losing exposes issues. The Jacksonville Jaguars' AFC championship game run in 2017 was followed by a 5-11 season in 2018. Then, Jacksonville began the 2019 season 0-2.

During the Jaguars' Week 2 loss, Ramsey had a verbal altercation with then-head coach Doug Marrone that escalated to the point that both had to be physically restrained. The next week, the cornerback played his final game with Jacksonville.

In mid-October, the Jaguars traded Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams for two first-round picks and a 2021 fourth-rounder.

The cornerback was a Pro Bowler in his four seasons in Los Angeles and earned two more first-team All-Pro nods in 2020 and 2021. Ramsey helped the Rams win a Super Bowl in the 2021 season, accumulating 13 total tackles and four passes defended throughout the playoff run, including one pass defense in the Super Bowl.

2. San Francisco 49ers add potent offensive weapon Christian McCaffrey (2022)

When healthy, Christian McCaffrey was one of the best offensive players in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers.

In 2019, his third season in the NFL, the former Stanford Cardinal led the league with 403 touches, 2,392 scrimmage yards, and 19 total touchdowns. He earned first-team All-Pro recognition for the first time, his first Pro Bowl nod, and a third-place finish in Offensive Player of the Year voting.

Unfortunately, for the running back and the Panthers, McCaffrey couldn't stay healthy for the two years after. He played just ten games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, accumulating 212 touches, 1,159 yards from scrimmage, and eight touchdowns.

With Carolina's window of contention closing, the Panthers decided to flip the star tailback for future draft picks halfway through the 2022 season. The 49ers, looking to make a postseason push, gave up their second, third, and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a 2024 fifth-round pick.

In 11 games for San Francisco, McCaffrey led the team with 746 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. He also was the fourth-most productive pass-catcher on the 49ers that year, with 52 catches for 464 receiving yards.

The 2023 season was even better. He led the league with 1,459 rushing yards, 2,023 scrimmage yards, and 21 total touchdowns. In 2023, McCaffrey earned his third Pro Bowl nod, second first-team All-Pro honors, an Offensive Player of the Year win, and third-place finish in MVP voting.

The running back's stellar year was a big reason the 49ers made it to Super Bowl 58. He became the first player in Super Bowl history with 75 rushing and 75 receiving yards in the game.

1. Marshawn Lynch gets a fresh start with the Seattle Seahawks (2010)

Lynch had a strong first two seasons as a pro in 2007 and 2008. He put up back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with 15 total touchdowns across those two years and a Pro Bowl nod in 2008.

Before the 2009 season, Lynch was arrested on misdemeanor weapons charges that led to a three-game suspension to start the year. That season was also the year that Fred Jackson supplanted Lynch as the Buffalo Bills' starting back en route to his first 1,000-yard season.

Lynch played just four more games for the Bills in the 2010 season before the Seattle Seahawks traded a 2011 fourth-round pick and a 2012 conditional fifth-round pick for the running back. The rest is history.

Seattle's new acquisition established an early legacy in the Seahawks franchise, with a 67-yard touchdown run featuring nine broken tackles against the New Orleans Saints - dubbed the "Beast Quake" - in the 2010 playoffs.

Over the next four seasons, Lynch cemented his legacy as one of the best running backs in franchise history and an icon of the 2010s era of the NFL. He rushed for 1,200 or more yards and scored at least a dozen touchdowns each season from 2011 to 2014. His run earned him four straight Pro Bowl nods, first-team All-Pro recognition in 2012, and second-team All-Pro honors in 2014.

Lynch also helped Seattle win its first Super Bowl title in 2013.

Across five full seasons with the Seahawks, Lynch played 70 games, tallying 1,292 carries for 5,774 rushing yards and 51 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 137 passes for 1,171 yards and eight receiving touchdowns.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL trade deadline: 7 best midseason deals in NFL history