It took until mid-October, but the first trade of the 2024 NFL regular season has reportedly occurred. On Monday, the Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to trade veteran defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2026 sixth-round pick, per NFL Media.
The Jaguars just fell to the Chicago Bears, 35-16, in London on Sunday, and are remaining overseas since they play the New England Patriots there this week. That means Robertson-Harris will have to fly from London to Seattle.
In six games this season with two official starts, Robertson-Harris has recorded seven combined tackles, two sacks and four QB hits. He was in his third season with the Jaguars, and actually signed a three-year, $30 million extension last year after recording a career-high 3.5 sacks from the interior in 2023.
Robertson-Harris went undrafted out of UTEP in 2016, and signed on with the Bears. In five seasons with Chicago (2017-20), he recorded 75 combined tackles, 7.5 sacks and 30 QB hits.
Let's grade this trade.
Seahawks: B-
The Seahawks have been short-handed on the defensive line with rookie tackle Byron Murphy II missing the past three games with a hamstring injury. Robertson-Harris is a veteran defensive tackle who played just 39% of defensive snaps for the Jags on Sunday, but still recorded his first sack of the season. He wasn't a full-time starter, and now gets the chance to contribute for a unit that needs him.
Seattle didn't have to give up much to acquire Robertson-Harris, who is also under contract for more than just this season. Check out the financials from Spotrac:
Jaguars: C+
I'm not going to claim this is the beginning of the fire sale for the Jags, but they are clearly listening to offers on players. There were six defensive linemen who outsnapped Robertson-Harris on Sunday, so it's not like he has been a pillar of Ryan Nielsen's unit. A unit which changed base defenses this year, by the way.