The NFL trade deadline has come and gone and the NFC East remains the strangest division in football. Each team is going in different directions with the Eagles contending, the Commanders needing to reset, the Giants on the upswing, and the Cowboys desperately needing to get serious. While the Eagles and Giants did their jobs, the Commanders and Cowboys failed miserably.
The Eagles are in first place in the NFC and needed to address their secondary and pass rush. They did that with a trio of moves, bringing in Michael Carter II from the Jets, Jaire Alexander from the Ravens, and Jaelan Phillips from the Dolphins. The team dealt from their deep cache of draft picks and are not worse for wear from any of the moves. Did they go after a blockbuster like Sauce Gardner or Myles Garrett? No. While I think the price of multiple first round picks is fair for both, for one reason or another, no deal was made. The Eagles got better at a low cost in terms of picks and cash.
- In: CB Michael Carter II, CB Jaire Alexander, EDGE Jaelan Phillips, 2027 7th round pick (Ravens), 2027 7th round pick (Jets)
- Out: WR John Metchie, 2026 6th round pick, 2027 6th round pick, 2026 3rd round pick
One of the best parts was that I knew better than to even worry about Howie trading AJ Brown. It was never going to happen and wasn’t even on my mind until Adam Schefter “reported” that he wouldn’t be moved. Thanks AS.
The Giants didn’t do anything. Should they have moved Evan Neal and Russell Wilson? Probably. But there is no indication that anyone was trying to get either of them. I would have tried to trade Kayvon Thibideaux, but they can still move him in the offseason. This was not a situation where they are botching getting anything for pending free agents like they did two years ago with Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney. There was nothing to do and they did nothing. That’s good!
The complete opposite is true of the Washington Commanders. There was a whole lot to do and they did nothing. This is a team that legitimately believed that getting mollywhopped by the Eagles in the NFC Championship meant that they were a piece or two away from a championship. That completely ignored all the good fortune they had last year and a severely aged roster. Predictably, the same good luck didn’t repeat and now the team is old, bad, and out of draft picks. They needed to fix the mistakes of the offseason by trading all of their vets to replenish their lost draft picks.
Instead, they completely panicked and did NOTHING! Deebo Samuel, Zach Ertz, Bobby Wagner, and Von Miller are all free agents next year and had some value. Not moving them, even for late Day 3 picks, was just silly. They could have received big hauls for Laremy Tunsil and Daron Payne too, but it was crickets on their rumors.
They did nothing. Nothing? Nothing! They really must not have completely digested what happened on Sunday night. With Jayden Daniels going down and likely out for the season, there was ZERO hope of contending anymore. They are 3-6 and right in the middle of an absolute gauntlet of a schedule with Seattle and KC already giving them losses and Detroit, Denver, Minny, and 2 Eagles games coming up. They are going to finish like 5-12. Their disaster season got worse today.
Then there’s the Dallas Cowboys. After the offense managed just 10 points against the Cardinals last night and with the team sitting at 3-5-1 (with a murderer’s row schedule of Philly, KC, Detroit, Minny and the LA Chargers coming up), Jerry decided to buy. Dallas parted with a 2026 2nd and a 2027 first to pick up DT Quinnen Williams from the Cowboys. I cannot stress how bad a decision this was on so many levels.
- The Cowboys are not making the playoffs. The NFC field is pretty set right now with the Eagles, Rams, Seahawks, Bucs, Packers, 49ers, and Lions. The Cowboys aren’t even next though. There is still the Bears, Panthers, and Vikings in between them and the final spot. Even worse, they lose the head to head tie breaker with Chicago and Carolina with the Vikings coming to Dallas next month.
- Someone was arguing with me that they made the Williams deal for next year. That’s even worse! The trade deadline is not the best time to make deals. Not only is it a seller’s market because it is the final time a team can improve during the season, but you are paying a premium for the current season. Who do you think is worth more, a player for 1 year or a player for 1.5 years? If they really wanted Williams, go to the Jets or whoever in the offseason when it would have cost less.
- We haven’t even gotten to the price yet! Before the season, they received 2 first round picks for Micah Parsons. They spent damn near the same amount on Williams, a first and a second. Hell, considering they are getting two Packers picks while giving up two of their own, the value could be that much closer. They basically traded a younger better player for an older worse one. Insane.
I think it was Chris Long who recently said that Jerry Jones isn’t interested in more wins, he’s interested in more clicks. I really just don’t understand what this man is doing. If he wanted to keep Parsons AND acquire Williams, that would have been a better plan. Virtually swapping them makes no sense.
In the end, the Eagles improved, the Giants didn’t mess up, the Commanders are a dear in the headlights, and the Cowboys are just as delusional as ever.
Philly Front Office 
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