NFL Trade Rumors: Green Bay Packers Had Interest In Adding Player Before Deals With Redskins, Ravens

No team was more active than the Green Bay Packers in the hours leading up to the 2018 NFL trade deadline. The team dealt both safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and running back Ty Montgomery for draft picks. Green Bay didn’t acquire any players, though they were looking to do so.

The Packers were interested in Dante Fowler, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. The Los Angeles Rams ultimately were the team that acquired the defensive end from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2019 third-round pick and a 2020 fifth-round pick.

The New York Jets also had discussions about trading for Fowler. The former No.3 overall pick has largely been a disappointment with two sacks and eight tackles in 2018.

Adding a pass rusher could have improved a defense that ranks 12th in yards allowed per game, though the Packers have been able to get to opposing quarterbacks. Their 23 sacks are tied for sixth in the NFL. Green Bay is giving up a 95.6 passer rating, which puts them 22nd in the league.

With a 3-3-1 record, Green Bay is in the middle of the NFL’s most competitive division. They are a half-game behind the Chicago Bears for first place in the NFC North and only a half-game ahead of the last-place Detroit Lions. The Packers have beaten the Bears and lost to the Lions. Green Bay tied the second-place Minnesota Vikings in Week 2.

After losing to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8, the Packers are in an important stretch that could decide whether or not they reach the playoffs. They’ll visit the New England Patriots as 5.5-point underdogs, per OddsShark, in Week 9. Following a home game against the Miami Dolphins, the Packers will play the Seattle Seahawks and Vikings on the road.

Clinton-Dix was expected to leave Green Bay in the offseason as a free agent, so the team instead traded him to the Washington Redskins for 2019 fourth-round pick. The safety is having a good season with three interceptions, one sack and a forced fumble. Cornerback Tramon Williams could fill the role that’s been vacated by Clinton-Dix.

Green Bay barely got anything in return for Montgomery, sending him to Baltimore for a 2020 seventh-rounder. The Packers likely would have released the running back if they weren't able to trade him. He fumbled a kickoff late in the fourth quarter against the Rams Sunday that cost Green Bay the game after he was instructed to take a knee in the end zone.

The Packers missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years last season when an injury limited Aaron Rodgers to seven games.