With Golden Tate trade, Howie Roseman proves he still believes in 2018 Eagles

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There’s an argument to be made that the 2018 Eagles didn’t deserve a boost. 

Through the halfway point of the season, they’ve been overwhelmingly disappointing. The reigning Super Bowl champs have a 4-4 record and don’t really have much of a chance to catch Los Angeles or New Orleans atop the NFC. 

But Howie Roseman still believes in them. He proved it with his actions and then he backed it with his words. The Eagles’ vice president of football operations still thinks the Eagles are contenders. 

“There’s no doubt,” Roseman said. “We have a lot of confidence in our players, in our coaching staff. Has everything gone exactly the way we thought this year? No. I don’t think any season does, but we think we have a really good football team and we’re adding a really good player.”

It’s hard to argue this trade was a slam dunk. Even Roseman wouldn’t argue that. There are negatives (see story). The Eagles sent a third-round pick to Detroit for a guy who has just eight games left on his current contract. Even with around 11 draft picks and three in the first two rounds in 2019, a third-rounder isn’t something to just toss away. 

Unless you think this team can make a run. The Eagles obviously think it can. And that’s the message Roseman sent Tuesday (see story)

Roseman said it a few times Tuesday: They’re not trying to win trades, they’re trying to get the best players. That’s why the compensation didn’t matter as much to him. 

The Eagles think they can go on a run with this team and getting Golden Tate should help. Roseman said he thinks the Eagles have enough versatility at receiver that the overlap of skills between Tate and Nelson Agholor won’t be a problem. And he even mentioned the team expects to get some injured players back, but wouldn’t name names. 

As far as the message this trade sends? 

Roseman was strong: 

One, [Tate is] 30 years old and a tremendously productive player. At the end of the day, the price is what it is. When you look around the league and what the market is for these guys, there’s no one more productive than Golden Tate since 2012. He’s in the top 10 in receiving yards, receptions. His run after the catch numbers are phenomenal. They’re always at the top of the league. So we’re really excited to get him.

You’re always trying to get the best price. There’s no doubt about it. But we’re not trying to win the trades, we’re trying to get really good players. 

The message to our fans, to our players, to our coaches, to everyone in this organization: Our foot’s always going to be on the gas. We’re always trying to win, we’re always going to try to put our best foot forward. What we can do now is try to do that for this season and this moment. That’s what we’re going to try to do and that’s our responsibility.

This doesn’t mean every move is going to work. In fact, it almost guarantees some moves will backfire. 

But right now, the Eagles' two most influential decision-makers — Roseman and Doug Pederson — are two of the most aggressive-minded people in their respective roles in the NFL. 

The Eagles — as an organization — aren’t going to be passive under this regime. They’re going to go for it. This trade just further illustrates that.

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