NFL Trade Alert: Jets acquire DT Harrison Phillips from Vikings, Chiefs sending WR Skyy Moore to the 49ers

The countdown is nearly over — the 2025 NFL regular season kicks off in just over two weeks. With only one round of preseason action left, teams across the league are busy trimming and fine-tuning their rosters ahead of Week 1. And Wednesday proved anything but quiet on that front. 

In a rare late-August flurry, no fewer than four trades went down over the course of the afternoon and evening, shaking up depth charts around the league.

The Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, and Cleveland Browns were among the franchises making moves, ensuring that one of the final days of the preseason had more drama than usual. For fans, it was a reminder that even before the first snap of the regular season, the NFL never sleeps.

Here's the full breakdown:

1. Chiefs traded WR Skyy Moore and a 7th round draft pick to the 49ers for a 6th round pick.
2. Broncos traded WR Devaughn Vele and a 7th round draft pick to the Saints for a 4th round draft pick.
3. Vikings traded DT Harrison Phillips and a 7th round draft pick to the Jets for two 6th round draft picks.
4. The Browns traded DT Jowon Briggs and a 7th round draft pick to the Jets for a 6th round draft pick.

The Jets doubled up on reinforcements along the defensive front Wednesday, landing veteran tackle Harrison Phillips shortly after swinging a deal with the Browns for Jowon Briggs.

Phillips, who broke into the league with the Bills, spent his first four years in Buffalo before inking a three-year, $19.5 million contract with Minnesota in 2022. The Vikings later extended him on a two-year, $15 million deal in 2024, keeping him under contract through 2026. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Minnesota will absorb half of Phillips’ $7.4 million salary for this season as part of the agreement.

Now 29, Phillips has been a reliable presence in the trenches, starting 51 games over the last three seasons. During that stretch, he’s racked up 207 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 17 QB hits, and seven passes defended.

In a separate move, the wide receiver market saw a shake-up as Skyy Moore traded one Super Bowl contender for another. The Kansas City Chiefs shipped their former second-rounder to the San Francisco 49ers. The swap also included a late-round pick exchange, with the clubs flipping sixth- and seventh-round selections in the 2027 draft.

NFL roster cutdown day is fast approaching, with all 32 franchises required to trim their squads to 53 players by Tuesday, August 26. Rather than outright releasing players, some front offices are opting to flip fringe talent for draft capital, exactly what we saw in Wednesday's flurry of four trades.

None of those deals shook the league to its core, but there’s a sense that a blockbuster could still be looming before Week 1 kicks off. Two of the league’s premier pass-rushers, Micah Parsons of the Cowboys and Trey Hendrickson of the Bengals, have both made it clear they want out while pushing for new long-term deals that their teams have yet to deliver.

According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Cincinnati has been quietly gauging the market for Hendrickson for some time, while ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier this week that the situation in Dallas between Parsons and the Cowboys is trending toward an inevitable split, potentially opening the door for a seismic trade.