The Eagles have lost three straight heading into their Week 5 matchup with the Panthers, and even if running back Christian McCaffrey isn't able to go Sunday in Carolina, there's a chance the Eagles could lose three more in a row.
A six-game losing streak within Nick Sirianni's first seven games at the helm? Yikes!
With games against the Panthers, Buccaneers, and Raiders on the docket, there's a very real chance the Eagles are 1-6 heading into a Week 8 matchup at the Lions on Halloween, just two days before the NFL trade deadline.
And if that's the case, Eagles fans might be in for a fascinating trade deadline this year.
At least, that's the thinking of ESPN's NFL uber-insider Adam Schefter, who appeared on 97.5 The Fanatic's John Kincade Show on Wednesday morning to chat all things Eagles.
The idea of the 1-6 start was brought up during Schefter's appearance, and the show asked Schefter what happens if the Eagles hit that record heading into November.
Here's what Schefter said:
"We've always talked about how they're aggressive. They're aggressive to try to win, but I would think they would be aggressive to try and turn it around, too.
"[...]
"If they were 1-6, and that would bring us up to the trade deadline, which I believe is Nov. 2 or Nov. 3, right around there - so three games before the deadline, right? [ed. note: there are 4 games before the deadline] At 1-6? I don't know if firesale, but yeah, they're sellers. At 1-6, they're sellers."
​Sellers! You heard it here first!
Being sellers isn't exactly the worst idea considering the Eagles seem to have some young pieces - DeVonta Smith, Josh Sweat, Dallas Goedert, maybe Jalen Hurts? - they should be excited about building around.
But if they're sellers... who might they be selling?
The obvious first answer is Zach Ertz, who has been in trade talks for over a year now. They almost traded him to the Patriots last season. The Packers and Ravens tried to trade for him at the 2020 deadline. I could see Green Bay circling back and trying to make a deal. Ertz turns 30 next month, but he can still play and has a club option after this year, making his contract extremely team-friendly.
Other guys with expiring contracts I could see the team trying to deal? Rodney McLeod - depends on the health - turns 32 next summer. Derek Barnett is a solid-but-unspectacular defensive end who feels entirely replaceable with the emergence of Josh Sweat, and Barnett's reluctance to stop taking dumb penalties.
Looking another year down the road... do the Eagles dare field offers for Fletcher Cox? His deal is pricey (a $26 million cap hit in 2022 makes him almost immovable) but if a team has some cap flexibility and is looking to double down along the lines... who knows?
It'll be an extremely interesting 10 days if the Eagles lose in Las Vegas to the Raiders and return home at 1-6, with a city that will likely be engulfed in "Jalen Hurts is bad" and "Nick Sirianni is also bad" hot takes as far as the eye can see.
It's getting late early at the NovaCare Complex.
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