Philly Front Office

ONE WEEK UNTIL THE TRADE DEADLINE!!!

Once the clock strikes 4 on November 4th, NFL rosters are set for the most part. Any thoughts you had on major improvements or acquiring more draft picks must now wait until next season. Thanks to a well-timed bye week, the Eagles can sit and ruminate on their needs. Let’s get to it…

Resources, Reinforcements, and Needs

Going into the deadline, the Eagles have about $11m in space to add salary. This ranks about middle of the pack, ironically almost the same amount as the Packers. The Cowboys seemingly have a ton of space, but are already over next year. Since any unused dollars get rolled over, don’t expect them to splurge. The Chiefs and Bills are at the bottom of the list, so don’t expect any seismic changes from them either. That $11m is good enough to get almost any impact player on the block. Even a guy like Trey Hendrickson who has a $16m base salary, well he would prorate down to about $7.5m for the rest of the season.

How do we get someone like him? Draft picks. The Eagles have their top four picks in the 2026 draft plus two extra 3rds, an extra 4th, a two extra 5ths (conditional), and an extra 6th. In 2027, the team has all of their own picks except the 7th, but does have an extra 6th. Expect the Eagles to dig into that stash of five 3rds and 4ths.

Much has been made of Brandon Graham coming back and providing some help with the pass rush (and overall team attitude), but he isn’t the only one set to come back after the bye week. While no official word has come out, Nolan Smith is hoping to return against the Packers. One guy who almost has to make it back by then is CB Jakorian Bennett who has his 21-day practice window open last week. Other guys on the injury report including AJ Brown and Cam Jurgens also expect to play coming out of the bye week.

Let’s talk wants, no, let’s talk needs. I have the need for speed…speed on the pass rush. Even with BG and Smith, I think we still need another guy on the edge and a vet DT to come in for depth and that extra juice we have come to expect from the Eagles Super Bowl level pass defense. We also, all caps, NEED another corner. Yes, I know Bennett is coming back but he is unproven and if somebody goes down, we are right back where we were. Other spots where I wouldn’t mind seeing a move or two is offensive guard, backup tight end, and safety.

EDGE

• Difference Makers
  • Myles Garrett – Browns: The best defensive player in football is coming off a big extension that some how makes him even more tradeable. Rumor has it he would cost three 1sts, but he’s one of the few players that might be worth it.
  • Trey Hendrickson – Bengals: I’ve been reluctant to include Hendrickson on my list because the Bengals have been hanging around just enough to feasibly still be in the race once Burrow comes back. Still, they should trade him before he walks for nothing. His $7.5m incoming salary would limit other moves and he would likely cost a 2nd round pick, so I wouldn’t hold your breath, but the man is a sack machine.
  • Danielle Hunter – Texans: Hunter is very simply one of the best pass rushers in the league. He gets to the QB at will and would make life much easier on the rest of this line. He comes with a pro-rated $11m salary this year, so he would fit easily, but has $22m coming to him next season. The Texans would have to bowled over though since he would come with a $28m dead cap hit next year if they trade him. They would want a first considering the Eagles will not likely have a good pick.
• Solid Additions
  • Jermaine Johnson – Jets: Johnson is in his last cheap year before his 5th year option and is finally healthy. Despite only playing in 5 games, he has 12 QB pressures and would add another relentless motor to this line. A 3rd round pick might get this done.
  • Bradley Chubb – Dolphins: Chubb would be a splashy name but his actual on field ability is not the elite production that you would be thinking. He is still good though and has a minimum contract this season. His larger coming salaries are not guaranteed, and the Dolphins need a full-scale purge. This would all depend on whether Fangio liked him with the Dolphins and Broncos.
  • Montez Sweat – Bears: I don’t really think the Bears are going to sell, but if the Bears were thinking of moving on from Sweat’s big contract to get younger, now would not be a bad time to field offers. The problem here is his $20m salary. The Eagles would probably need the Bears to restructure that and take on some dead money to make any deal which would obviously make him more expensive. Sweat only has 3 sacks, but 2 forced fumbles and 20 pressures on the season. He’d fit in nicely. This seems like a 2nd round pick to me, which wouldn’t be the worst bit of business for Chicago or the Eagles.
  • Chase Young – Saints: Am I the only one who just feels like Young is an enemy of Philadelphia? Anyway, he has only played 3 games this year, but they were the last 3 weeks, and he has looked very good. with 2 sacks, 5 QB hits, and a forced fumble. Young comes with a minimum contract this year, but a solidly guaranteed deal for next year, so he is not a rental. I expect heavy competition for his services considering the pedigree of a #2 overall pick (even if it was with another team), so someone who might have gone for a 3rd based on expectation might go higher.
• Depth
  • Tyree Wilson – Raiders: I think I am partial to Wilson because his pick meant the Eagles would get Jalen Carter. He is still a very large and athletic man who can play, even if it is not at the level the Raiders expected for a top 10 pick. He would come on the cheap.
  • Jaelan Phillips – Dolphins: Phillips has had extreme injury trouble throughout his career but flashed enough to get his 5th year option picked up by the Dolphins. Getting rid of him now would probably be selling low, but that also means he would make a solid investment for the Eagles. I was higher on him before, but I just don’t see Miami moving him.

Corner

• Difference Makers
  • None – I wish there was someone to put here, but there aren’t even any free agents to be out there for me to reach on
• Solid Additions
  • Eric Stokes – Raiders: Stokes was not brought back to the Packers after his rookie contract was up and signed on with the Raiders on a 1 year deal. According to PFF, he is crushing it this year by only allowing 10 catches and a 72 QB rating against. These aren’t on low volume either as he is basically playing 100% of the snaps in Vegas. The best part though? Georgia guy!
  • Alontae Taylor – Saints: Taylor has speed and size and is playing the best football of his career. Someone had him going for a 3rd round pick and that just seems crazy to me. Maybe a 3/4 swap, but not a 3rd straight up. He just does not have the history or upside of performance to warrant that kind of deal. He does come WannaBeGM approved though.
  • Isaiah Rodgers – Vikings: I know the Eagles cooked him 2 weeks ago, but he simply should not have been allowed to leave last year. The Vikings gave him a 2/$11m contract. This was even savvier than the 3/$18m I predicted for him. I know they believed in Ringo, but this was a mistake that needs to be fixed. He’d be worth a 4th straight up in my book.
  • Riq Woolen – Seahawks: I’m in love with his spider chart because he has size and speed that are unparalleled, but the effort has not been there since his breakout rookie season. I wouldn’t be upset we got him, but I don’t think he’s moving the needle the way we want him too either.
  • Roger McCreary – Titans: I had my eye on McCready dating back to the preseason, but he went to the Rams yesterday for a swap of Day 3 draft picks. I’m hoping this means Howie has his eye on someone else because this was a good price.
• Depth
  • Dax Hill – Bengals: Hill has the versatility to play both CB and safety, which I really like for our defense considering how thin we are at both positions. He is in the 4th year of his rookie deal and had his 5th year option exercised. If Howie thinks Bennett is his starter, I like Hill as the primary insurance policy at 2 positions.
  • Rasul Douglas – Dolphins: The former Eagle signed a minimum deal with the Dolphins, so he is primed to go. Funny thing happened down in Miami though, he’s been pretty good. The Dolphins have been terrible, but Douglas is currently ranked as the 5th best CB in the league with high volume this season. So, who is he? Is he the guy who needed to sign a minimum deal and has bounced around the league or is he the guy who finally helps the Eagles secondary after being drafted by Philly 9 years ago?
  • Jalyn Armour-Davis – Titans: The Titans picked up JAD from the Ravens off waivers and now he’s an every down CB. The deal is that he is smart and athletic, but it has never transferred on to the field. I think I would be happier to pick him up in the offseason than trading value for him.

Other

• Difference Makers
  • Grant Delpit – S – Browns: Delpit is the lost defender on the Browns because they are so bad, but he is quietly having another great season. He is currently in year 2 of a 3 year extension with Cleveland that has a $10m option bonus next year. If the Eagles make a run at him, it is probably because they know Mukuba is a weak link right now and they are not confident about resigning Reed Blankenship. I am thinking a 3rd and 5th round pick if the Browns want to move him.
  • Minkah Fitzpatrick – S – Dolphins: Similar to Delpit, Fitzpatrick would be an immediate upgrade over Mukuba, but comes with an even higher price tag in 2026. If the Dolphins are smart, they move everyone…which means Minkah is going nowhere.
• Solid Additions
  • Calais Campbell – DT – Cardinals: Campbell has been a steady high-level presence in the league his whole 17-year career. His versatility as an inside and outside pass rusher would be great to integrate into the Eagles pass rush for around 10-15 plays per game. That keeps him fresh, it keeps the other guys fresh, and he can chase the ring that has evaded him so far.
  • Sheldon Rankins – DT – Texans: Rankins has bounced around the league the last few years but seems to have hit his stride with Houston. PFF has him rated as the 11th best DT in the league while making close to the minimum on solid volume. I know Houston has a great defense, but they are 3 games out of the division which is their best bet at making the playoffs. A loss to Denver this weekend might be the deathblow.
• Depth
  • Javon Hargrave – DT – Vikings: Hargrave is not having a good year and might be persona non grata with the Eagles, but I can’t shake this feeling that we need 1 more DT. He is making the minimum in terms of base salary this year and has $4m guaranteed next year, so he would probably come pretty cheap, just a late round pick, for a formerly very good player who went to war with a few of these guys back in 2023.
  • Jack Stoll – TE – Saints: It’s time for the prodigal blocking tight end to return. The Eagles are now using 6 linemen to help out with the running game because our tight ends can’t block. How about a 6th for 7th round swap (only because we do not have any more 7ths)?

Prediction

I have two credos when it comes to Howie Roseman. First, he pays great talent, not good talent. More relevant though is number two: never let a fixable/preventable weakness sink the ship. That’s why he went out and overpaid for Jahan Dotson last year, because he couldn’t have Quez Watkins lose us another Super Bowl. Knowing this, I think the Eagles make 4 moves:

Jermaine Johnson of the Jets for a 3rd round pick. Johnson doesn’t have great counting stats right now, but that’s only because he has been limited to 5 games. What we do see is a kid who gets to the QB fairly regularly and can also fit into this team in the future. If he wants too much, then he becomes a comp pick to recoup his value after next season. 3rd round pick

Eric Stokes of the Raiders or Rasul Douglas of the Dolphins for two 5th round picks. If Bennett fails or someone else gets hurt in the secondary, we are screwed. Stokes provides a solid upside for a low price both in terms of picks and cash. Plus, we’d be adding him to that Georgia mix with Nakobe Dean motivating him.

Calais Campbell of the Cardinals for a 4/5 round pick swap. He’s that veteran professional that this group needs who also has the juice to still get to the QB when needed.

Jack Stoll of the Saints for a 6th/7th round pick swap. We need a blocking tight end and we know him. It’s that simple.