As the Eagles return from their Week 7 bye, we’ve been diving into the mailbag with Part 1 on Monday.
And now Part 2:
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The NFL trade deadline is on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. and knowing what we know about Howie Roseman, the Eagles are going to be players.
The Eagles are undefeated and have legitimate Super Bowl hopes this season so if Roseman can do something to bolster this roster, he’s going to do it. Just look back at the 2017 deadline when he added Jay Ajayi or in 2018 when he added Golden Tate. If there’s a move to be made, Roseman won’t be shy about doing it.
So before talking about individual players, let’s talk about positions that could use some help. These are the three that stand out to me: Edge rusher, defensive back and running back.
The Eagles lost Derek Barnett to an ACL tear earlier this season so it would make sense to add some extra edge rush help, whether that’s a rental player or a long-term type of move. The Eagles’ starting secondary is great but their depth is a concern. At safety, their third guy is K’Von Wallace and at cornerback their top backup is Zech McPhearson. Perhaps the Eagles can find some experience to add to their defensive back depth. And at running back, they can certainly get by with Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and Kenny Gainwell, but they could also use some extra help there if they feel like Trey Sermon isn’t ready for a role.
We got a few questions about Burns and they’re fair because the Panthers are obviously sellers. But they’ve made it clear they’re not keen on trading Burns and reportedly turned down two first-round picks for him already. The Panthers view Burns as a cornerstone of the franchise and they’re probably right about that. Still pretty surprised two first-rounders didn’t get it done.
As for the Eagles, adding a player like Burns would make as much sense as adding a rental. It obviously wouldn’t be a rental move if you’re talking about trading away a first-round pick and then some. If you trade for Burns or a young player in his prime like that, you’d basically need to have the extension done too, sort of like when the Eagles traded for A.J. Brown during the draft. But based on that ESPN report, it seems like Burns isn’t going to be on the move and two first-round picks is mighty steep.
NFL
So if not Burns, what are some other possibilities at edge?
Robert Quinn is a fun name to think about. He’s 32 now and has just 1 sack in 6 games, but he’s just a season removed from an 18.5-sack campaign and the Bears stink. Quinn makes a lot of money so the contract could complicate matters but he’d help a ton. Another big swing would be for Bradley Chubb out in Denver, where the Broncos are 2-5. The former first-round pick is in the final year of his contract and the Broncos’ nightmare season might make them sellers.
Or how about 34-year-old Jerry Hughes, who has 4 sacks in 6 games but plays on a bad Texans team. He’s nearing the end of his career and could give something to a real contender. Or how about former first-rounder Clelin Ferrell? He hasn’t developed into a star and is in the final year of his rookie contract with the Raiders. He would at least give the Eagles another rotational piece.
At running back, the Browns have a couple intriguing names. Kareem Hunt is the marquee guy. With Nick Chubb ahead of him and a 2-5 record, perhaps Hunt will become available. And even third-stringer D’Ernest Johnson can play but hasn’t been given any opportunities this season. But I also like the idea of going after David Montgomery from the Bears. He’s in the final year of his contract and would be a nice addition.
At safety, there are a few former starters who might be available like DeShon Elliott in Detroit, Ronnie Harrison in Cleveland or even Jabrill Peppers in New England.
If the Eagles were to trade an offensive lineman, Dillard still makes the most sense. The Eagles are obviously a better team in 2022 with Dillard still here, so it would have to be a significant offer to move him. As far as the other offensive linemen, not sure anything else would be worth it. They’re not trading Cam Jurgens or Jack Driscoll. Can’t imagine there would be much of a market for the very unproven Josh Sills. So we’re really talking about Sua Opeta? If the Eagles think Driscoll is their best backup guard option and if Sills and/or Jurgens have risen on the depth chart, then perhaps Opeta is tradable. But not sure the return would be worth it.
Right now? It’s probably the guy who just hit a home run to put the Phillies in the World Series. But Jason Kelce is probably close after chugging his beer and embracing the Philly Phanatic down at Citizens Bank Park. Kelce is an all-timer here in Philly but he already has his parade. If Bryce Harper leads his own parade down Broad Street, we can re-open the all-time rankings.
I spent a lot of time thinking about this. More time than I should have. How about a Kyle Schwarber-for-A.J. Brown trade. We know Brown was a heck of a baseball player and was drafted in the 2016 draft by the Padres in the 19th round. He would have been drafted earlier but he was committed to football. He has at times in his football career flirted with the idea of going back to baseball.
And Schwarber was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 MLB draft, but he was a good football player at Middletown High School in Ohio. Schwarber, in addition to standing out on the baseball diamond, was a second-team all-state linebacker in Ohio and garnered plenty of Division 1 interest.
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