Was Selling at the Trade Deadline the Right Move for the Packers?
Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and the Packers refusing to make any moves at the NFL trade deadline. For years, fans and players, even former head coach Mike McCarthy, complained about not making any moves while the team was making its Super Bowl push. The Packers finally made some moves in free agency, which is very rare, and the team is sitting pretty at 6-3 with the bye coming up. However, contenders are making moves in their push to win it all. Similar to last year, the Packers did sell at the deadline, but the circumstances are drastically different.
At the end of Week Nine of last year, the Packers sat at 3-5 with little hope of making the playoffs. With first-year starter Jordan Love and a young roster struggling to find its footing, the team fell into a hole after starting hot. The team then moved on from fan favorite and game-changer Rasul Douglas, an excellent cornerback. Again, the Packers sold a fan favorite, except this time in edge rusher Preston Smith. With questions coming up about his age and a large payout next season, it seemed like the right choice, even though it was hard to move on. It is time for the Packers to give Lukas Van Ness more snaps, and the team should see if they have any talent hiding in the shadows, which was held back by Preston Smith being there. It is frustrating to see the team sit on their hands during the trade deadline again because there were so many good, cheap options to acquire, and many teams were having “fire sales” as they tried to rebuild a broken team. The Packers are not unstable like the Panthers and Saints, and it made absolutely zero sense not to pounce and try to get a star or some solid depth from teams desperate for any return.
The Lions, Chiefs, Commanders, and many other Super Bowl-caliber teams and contenders made great moves at the deadline. The Chiefs acquired DeAndre Hopkins, the Lions acquired former Packers Za’Darius Smith, and the Commanders traded for Marshon Lattimore. The Packers need to move on from the draft bust. Eric Stokes and Keisean Nixon are walking liability out on the field at cornerback. Common sense would have been trading for Marshon Lattimore, Greg Newsome, or any other solid cornerback, or even depth would have been better than nothing. The Packers are afraid of making an unhelpful trade deadline acquisition or having to pay him in the future, but with Jordan Love and the team around him, it is clear this team can win it all. It does not hurt to trade for a veteran or underrated player at the deadline, and if it doesn't work out, then cut him. Acting like the Packers are fine on the defensive side of the ball is something that could hurt the Packers later in the season or playoffs. There is nothing wrong with going for long-term success, but one trade or acquisition could help the Packers create a dynasty or win more than one Super Bowl under Love’s lead.
