Every week leading up to the NFL Trade Deadline,1 I will preview certain groups of players/teams that could be available. Is this a silly thing to do considering the NFL has the least active trade deadline in sports? NO!!! Shut up. Anyway, we are going to start with some of the Eagles’ weaknesses including safety and interior offensive line2 and just picking from the probable non-playoff contenders. Keep in mind that we are looking at base salaries, not cap hits. This is because the base this season is all the matters for the new team in a trade.
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NFL Trade Deadline
Safety
The Eagles went essentially without a safety battle this offseason choosing to simply replace free agent departee Reed Blankenship with Marcus Epps. That’s fine. However, fine might not be good enough for the position opposite 2nd year man Andrew Mukuba.
- Jessie Bates – Atlanta Falcons
- The Falcons should have moved him last year but have decided to let his full 4/$64m contract play out. His unrestructured but pro-rated $13m base salary would go to an acquiring team but the Falcons could mess with that number to help a deal go through. Bates is only 29 and would be an upgrade good for 3-4 INTs and durability. He will be a free agent next season.
- Jeremy Chinn – Las Vegas Raiders
- Ever since the 2020 Draft, Chinn feels like someone who would fit with the Eagles. At 28.5 now, that still hasn’t happened despite a steady need for safeties in Philadelphia. He has been a steal for the Raiders but they should sell high on him now that he is in the final year of his contract making a $7m base.
- Justin Reid – New Orleans Saints
- The former Chief signed with the Saints before last season and has played well. His 2026 salary is guaranteed but only comes with a $1.3m base. Next year only comes in at a non-guaranteed $9.25m so he could realistically be a 2-year player at a decent price if the Eagles did not want to address the position again.
- Budda Baker – Arizona Cardinals
- Another guy who should have been moved in the past, but keeps staying with his current team. Baker is still a high-level player at nearly 31. His contract comes with a $14m base but no more guaranteed money. Baker has played the “I want out” game before but usually parlays that into a new contract. This year, it really might happen though.
- Minkah Fitzpatrick – New York Jets
- Fitzpatrick is one of the few on these lists who just signed a new deal, but he gets traded so much it is hard not to include him. Now almost 30 and with the Jets, He would still be a tone setter on the Eagles defense and would be here at least through 2027. His base is $5.5m this season but has $7m of his $13m salary for next year guaranteed. He was injured in Week 1 but should only miss 2-3 weeks.
- Jaquan Brisker – Pittsburgh Steelers
- The Eagles could have signed the former Penn State standout in the offseason but declined allowing him to take a 1/$5.5m deal from the Steelers instead. He is someone that could be pursued in case of an injury, but would not be much of an upgrade as-is.
Interior Offensive Line
With Landon Dickerson hitting IR for an indefinite period of time, the Eagles are suddenly down one start on the interior offensive line. The first two up to fill the role will be 2nd year guys Drew Kendall and Willie Lampkin. I think we all have high hopes for them, but not only are they unproven, our depth evaporates with either of them starting or with another injury.
- Damien Lewis – Carolina Panthers
- Lewis will be 30 next season and while protecting Bryce Young is a priority, a Panthers stumble could mean another rebuild coming to Charlotte. Lewis is up for a new deal and getting younger should be the priority. Because the Panthers never restructured him, he has a $12.25m base that can be split however Carolina and a suitor want to grease a deal. Everything said here could be said for linemate Robert Hunt as well who is 30 and coming back from a torn bicep, albeit with a bigger contract.
- Chris Lindstrom – Atlanta Falcons
- Lindstrom has been one of the best and highest paid guards in the league over the last generation, but he is now approaching 30 and the Falcons just paid his 26-year-old counterpart, Matthew Bergeron 4/$96m. While Matt Ryan will probably pay Lindstrom after the season, there’s a chance the Falcons completely fade away and a king’s ransom is offered. This would be a big swing for an acquiring team.
- Isaac Seumalo – Arizona Cardinals
- Normally I wouldn’t include someone who just signed a contract, but the Cardinals cannot be tight fisted with 33 year old linemen. His base salary is only $3.5m followed by a reasonable $8m next year ($3m guaranteed). I really do not understand why Arizona does what it does, but the former Eagle should be an easy move for a mid-round pick by November.
- After the deadline, this Tuesday feature will turn into the Tank Rank for the race to the bottom. ↩︎
- Not that I do not believe in Willie Lampkin and Drew Kendall ↩︎
Contracts via Spotrac
Photo: All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)
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