BREAKING: Eagles confirm major signing of 4 veteran players before NFL trade deadline
Since Howie Roseman regained his role as general manager in 2016, he has been active at the NFL trade deadline in four, arguably five, seasons. With the Eagles currently at 4-2 and just half a game behind in the NFC East, it seems likely he’ll make another move at the upcoming trade deadline. However, Roseman’s track record with trade deadline deals hasn’t been stellar:
– **2023**: The Eagles were buyers, trading S Terrell Edmonds and fifth- and sixth-round picks for S Kevin Byard.
– **2022**: The Eagles traded a fourth-round pick for DE Robert Quinn.
– **2021**: They were somewhat sellers, trading TE Zach Ertz to the Cardinals after falling to 2-4. They also moved QB Joe Flacco to the Jets, clearing the way for Gardner Minshew to become the No. 2, and acquired CB Kary Vincent Jr. for a late-round pick.
– **2020**: No trades were made, which was reasonable for a 3-4-1 team.
– **2019**: The Eagles were tentative buyers, trading a fourth-round pick for EDGE Genard Avery, with hopes of a future impact (which never materialized).
– **2018**: They traded a third-round pick for WR Golden Tate.
– **2017**: They traded a fourth-round pick for RB Jay Ajayi, the lone success.
– **2016**: No trades.
Most of these deals, except for Ajayi, resulted in wasted draft capital. Looking ahead, which positions might Roseman target this year? Let’s rank them.
1) Edge rusher
A few weeks ago, edge rusher seemed like the Eagles’ most obvious need heading into the trade deadline. However, in the past two games, Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff, and Nolan Smith have shown more productive performances than in their first four outings. Combined with Brandon Graham’s consistent play and the potential for Jalyx Hunt to become a more regular contributor, the Eagles appear to have solid depth at the edge.
They don’t require another rotational player for the defensive line, similar to the Robert Quinn acquisition two years ago after Derek Barnett’s season-ending injury.
What they lack, though, is a true game-changer, like Haason Reddick was in 2022. If a high-impact player like Myles Garrett or Maxx Crosby were to become available (though it’s unlikely the Browns or Raiders would trade them), the Eagles could justify paying a premium price for that kind of talent.
2) Wide receiver
Despite A.J. Brown missing three games and DeVonta Smith missing one, all of the Eagles’ wide receivers have 114 combined receiving yards, with none exceeding 35.
Collectively, the group is averaging just 5.4 yards per catch and 3.3 yards per target, with Covey leading the way at 4.9 yards per target. That’s, well… not ideal. A big part of the underperformance from receivers outside of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith can be attributed to the game plan, which rarely features the WR3, and possibly Jalen Hurts’ apparent lack of trust in anyone beyond his top targets.
From an outsider’s view, the Eagles could use another wide receiver. However, it’s unlikely that Roseman will trade for one after already giving up a third-round pick for Dotson a couple of months ago. He’ll likely want to see Dotson succeed first.
3) Linebacker
This offseason, the Eagles signed two low-cost linebackers, Devin White and Zack Baun. They missed out on White, but Baun has worked out well. On the opposite side, Nakobe Dean has had some good moments, notably as a blitzer, but he has also missed some tackles. Oren Burks and Jeremiah Trotter are the backups, and they’ve combined for 22 defensive snaps this season, almost all of which came in garbage time.
Perhaps the Eagles should add some depth at linebacker after releasing White?
4) Tight end
Dallas Goedert misses a handful of games every season, and he’s currently on the shelf with a hamstring injury. Grant Calcaterra had a nice game against the Browns as a receiver, but he’s not much of a blocker. Jack Stoll is a decent blocker, but the Eagles may as well just put a sixth offensive lineman on the field instead because Stoll is wholly unthreatening as a receiver. And then there’s Albert Okwuegbunam, who could be returning soon from IR.
The Eagles have run their share of two-TE sets of late. They could use a well-rounded backup tight end who isn’t as one-dimensional as the current backups.