NFL Transaction Roundup: Major Trades, Franchise Tags & a Surprise Retirement

NFL news and transactions have picked up this week as a new league year approaches. Let's go over some of the more notable moves from the past few days.

We will discuss real-world and fantasy football implications of the deals.

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Rams Trade for Chiefs' Cornerback

The latest big move was the Rams and Chiefs completing a swap.

Los Angeles got cornerback Trent McDuffie in the deal. Kansas City got the No. 29 pick in this year's draft, plus fifth- and sixth-round picks - a 2027 third-round pick was also included.

This is a big-time trade, and will impact both defenses. The 25-year-old McDuffie is an All-Pro and has 56 starts over four NFL seasons so far. 

He has three interceptions and 34 passes defensed in his career. McDuffie has eight forced fumbles, 5.5 sacks and 246 combined tackles. McDuffie has 12 tackles for losses and 15 quarterback hits.

McDuffie was great in Kansas City and now will hope to help lead the Los Angeles defense as the team looks to get closer to a Super Bowl. The Rams decided to take a swing on the All-Pro instead of hoping the No. 29 pick in this year's draft could play to that level.

This is the kind of big swing fans have grown accustomed to with the Rams. It seems like a lot to give up to land a cornerback, but these types of deals have worked in the past, so I'm going to say they are the winners of this trade for the time being.

Kansas City will need to hit on its picks in order to come out ahead in this deal. The first- and third-round picks are where impact players can be found, and maybe the Chiefs could also strike gold with those later picks. The Chiefs are needing to cut salary in order to retain players, and this is one of the tough choices they decided to make.

The Chiefs' defense is obviously worse off without McDuffie around, while the Rams' defense got better. It's not massive in terms of fantasy football impact as the player involved is an IDP, but McDuffie is a pretty good IDP, and this move shouldn't alter too much for him.

This could make the Rams DST a bit more formidable in the seasons to come, while the Chiefs DST might regress a bit in 2026. Again, I like the trade more for the Rams, but the Chiefs could come out ahead if they hit on their picks.

Jones, Hall and Pickens Get Tagged

Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones, New York Jets running back Breece Hall and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens got tagged this week.

Pickens' tag number is $27.2 million. Hall's mark is at $14.293 million. Jones' tag is a transitional one, worth $37.933 million.

All three are good/great fantasy assets, and are coming off pretty solid seasons.

Jones is the most intriguing name in that bunch coming off an Achilles tear. In 13 games, he had the Colts at 8-5. Jones threw for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 68% of his passes.

The Colts believe in Jones, and this kind of deal helps them assess Jones another year. If he excels in his return, he could be given a long-term deal. He will be a bit riskier fantasy pick/asset in 2026 coming off the injury, but there's no reason to believe he couldn't come back at the same level of fantasy player he was in 2025.

Hall is just 24 years old and has four NFL seasons under his belt now. He has 1,350 or more total yards in three straight seasons, and has scored 22 touchdowns over that span.

The Jets' offense needs a lot of help, but for now, Hall is the focal point of things. Getting a better quarterback and more pass catchers around Hall would likely help the running back accomplish even more, so we'll see what the Jets do in the offseason to accomplish just that.

Pickens starred with Dallas in his only season with them in 2025. He had 1,429 yards and nine scores on 93 receptions and 137 targets.

Pickens helped fill in for the few games CeeDee Lamb missed, and when both wideouts were out there, Pickens still had good numbers. I'm excited to see what Pickens does in his second season with the team.

Pickens should be the top fantasy pick of the tagged trio in 2026. Hall will be after that and then Jones could be a mid-to-late round pick. All will be fantasy options in 2026.

As for the real-world impact of things, each team is happy to retain their players for at least one more season. Look for the teams to lock each player into long-term deals at some point, or otherwise trade them.

Bears' Center Retires

Chicago offensive lineman Drew Dalman decided to retire from football.

Retirements usually aren't that notable, unless we are talking about a historic payer. Dalman is noteworthy for another reason though, as he retired at just 27 years old.

He played five years in the NFL, playing in 75 games overall. Dalman made 17 starts for the Bears in his only season with them, being named to the Pro Bowl at the end of it.

Losing that kind of player is a massive blow to any team, especially when the team wasn't expecting to need to worry about that position for the foreseeable future.

The Bears now have a need at center, or might have to reshuffle their offensive line plans going into 2026. That could hold the team back from filling other needs, and it might halt the Bears' progress after a good season in 2026.

Dalman isn't a fantasy football asset, but his absence could mean worse offensive numbers, which could affect the passing and running games. It's something to keep in mind, especially if Chicago takes a step back in 2026.