Another day, another trade.
This time, the Eagles are shipping expensive wide receiver Torrey Smith to Carolina for promising young cornerback Daryl Worley, a league source confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia. ESPN first reported the news.
The trade won’t be official until the league year starts on March 14.
Basically, the Eagles are getting a cheap young defensive back who has shown flashes for nothing. It seemed very likely the Eagles were going to cut Smith to save $5 million in cap space.
Instead, they get back a 23-year-old corner who was drafted in the third round in 2016. The West Virginia University product is also from Philadelphia and went to Penn Charter (see story). More importantly, he has a base salary of just $650,000 in 2018 and will make $735,000 in 2019, the final year of his contract.
This move will clear over $4 million in a cap-strapped time for the Eagles.
It could also help with the possible departure of slot cornerback Patrick Robinson in free agency. If Robinson leaves, the Eagles will still have Ronald Darby, Jalen Mills, Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas and now Worley. That’s a stable of young, talented cornerbacks, so it’s possible Howie Roseman isn’t done dealing yet.
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In two seasons in Carolina, Worley (6-1, 198 pounds) played in 31 games with 25 starts. He has three interceptions, two sacks and 19 passes defended.
Smith, 29, was a valuable member of the Super Bowl-winning team, but bringing him back on his current deal wasn’t really feasible. He had an up-and-down season with too many drops but seemed to pick up his play in the playoffs. Still, he didn’t seem to offer the Eagles the deep threat they desired, averaging just 11.9 yards per reception, the lowest average of his career.
This is now Roseman’s 15th player trade since being reinstated to his position of power. That’s the second-highest number in the NFL during that span.