On Thursday, reports surfaced that Eagles safety Will Parks was being shopped as the NFL approaches its Nov. 3 trade deadline. The news was first broke by NFL insider Albert Breer. He writes:
“Names of Eagles and Vikings players have continued to pop up, as two teams that expected to contend and have had rough starts consider their options. Eagles S Will Parks and Vikings franchise-tagged S Anthony Harris are new available names that I’ve heard over the last few days.”
Initially, this felt pretty surprising. Parks had just signed with the team this past offseason for a one-year, $1.5 million deal, with $1.37 million guaranteed. The Philly native took less money to join the Eagles in hopes that he’d see an expanded role in Jim Schwartz defense.
The hamstring Parks sustained during camp, forcing him to miss the first five games of the season, didn’t help his cause. And he hasn’t made much of an impact since returning, either. Per Pro Football Focus, Parks has a defensive grade of 49.4, making just four total tackles in 56 snaps played since his return in Week 6. He was also the guy covering Evan Engram on the Giants’ second-to-last drive last Thursday, when they had the opportunity to put the game on ice. If it weren’t for Engram’s drop, Parks would have been one of the many scapegoats from that contest.
The Eagles also just need to clear roster space moving forward. They cleared five players for their 21-day practice window this week, including safety Rudy Ford. That gives the Birds six total safeties, which seems like a little much. They could just cut Ford or Marcus Epps, but neither of those guys will garner any value on the trade block. Parks may not either, but he’s a veteran player who is capable of contributing for the right team.
Flipping Parks for a veteran at a position of need, like linebacker or running back, is feasible. Or maybe just a late round pick.
This move also makes more sense when you consider rookie K’Von Wallace, who’s set to return this week from injury as well. The fourth round pick has been highly regarded amongst the fans, so maybe the coaching staff shares that same sentiment. Moving Parks would certainly mean more playing time for the rookie.
We’re under a week away from the trade deadline, so we’ll just have to wait until next week if the Eagles are serious about moving this Philly native.