There are only a few certainties when it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles. The most prominent constant being Howie Roseman looking to make a trade. Since he became the Eagles GM in 2010, Philly has made 103 trades, second-most in the entire league during that time.
This season, the team has already shipped out two veterans in Zach Ertz and Joe Flacco. And reports have indicated that Howie isn’t finished just yet.
Taking a look at the Eagles roster and it’s clear that there are a handful of names that could be dealt by the deadline this year. But some of the more popular names on the block (i.e. Fletcher Cox) will more than likely stay put. Let’s take a look at all the names circulating around NFL trade talks and assess whether or not they should actually get traded.
Football season is underway! Get in the action by signing up for BetMGM. New users will get a risk free first bet up to $1,000. Sign up here to get started.
Fletcher Cox
Fletcher Cox has been a hot name on the trade market for the past two weeks. His vocal displeasure with his fit in Jonathan Gannon’s system coupled with his declining play, has led to a number of teams contacting the Eagles front office.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo spoke on NFL Gameday Morning on Sunday and had this to say in regards to teams looking to pry Cox away for pennies on the dollar. “The Eagles said no. If you want to get Fletcher Cox away from us, it’s going to have to be a significant offer, according to sources.” He went on to add that “it appears unlikely that Cox will be moved.”
It makes sense that the Eagles would like to hold onto the all-time Bird. For one, Roseman rarely trades cornerstone players, even if they are out of their prime. And secondly, if the Eagles were to trade Cox they’d have to pay him $51.8 million because of his restructured contract.
In all likelihood, Cox will remain an Eagle for at least this season. The only way he gets traded is if a team offers a second-round pick or better, which seems far fetched at the moment.
Andre Dillard
Andre Dillard is another name that’s popped up in trade rumors over the past week or so. CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported, “The rebuilding Eagles are drawing heavy attention around the NFL as the trade deadline nears, league sources said, with other teams making repeated inquiries for star defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and emerging offensive tackle Andre Dillard.”
With Dillard still under his rookie contract until 2023, he’s understandably a hot commodity on the trade market. He plays a premiere position along the offensive line and has looked serviceable in his playing time this season.
While Howie may be able to squeeze some value out of Dillard on the trade block, it might make more sense for the team to hold onto the backup tackle while he’s still cheap. We broke down why holding onto him makes sense here.
In short, having a backup left tackle of Dillard’s caliber is invaluable in this league. Unless the team can fetch at least a day two pick for Dillard’s services, trading him probably won’t be worth it in the long run.
Eric Wilson
Eric Wilson was acquired just this past offseason on a one-year deal and figured to be the best linebacker for the Eagles this season (that’s not saying much, I know). Fast forward to Week 8, and Wilson has already gotten the healthy scratch treatment. He’s been terrible for the Eagles this season, posting an overall PFF grade of 35.2 and a run-defense grade of 26.7.
Once Davion Taylor returned from injury, he slowly worked his way into the lineup and is now one of the starters at backer. T.J. Edwards has also seen more playing time as of late, recording a team-high 13 tackles in Week 8 against Detroit.
The Wilson experiment clearly didn’t pan out and the team should look to cut their losses. Being a healthy scratch indicates that he’s either going to be traded by the deadline, or just outright cut this week.
If the team gets any kind of draft compensation for him it would be a win.
Derek Barnett
At this point, it’s pretty obvious that Derek Barnett won’t be on the roster past this year. The team gave him one more opportunity this season by picking up his team option, but he’s been a disappointment.
With the loss of Brandon Graham, Barnett needed to step up big time for this defense to stay afloat. Simply put, he hasn’t. He recorded his first sack in 11 games this past Sunday, but that won’t save his career in midnight green.
Given the fact that Barnett is on an expiring contract, there could be a contender out there who wants the former first rounder to help spruce their defensive line depth. He’s best suited as a rotational pass rusher and you can never have too many pass rushers in today’s NFL.
If Roseman doesn’t trade him now, they’ll lose him at the end of the year for nothing. Getting a mid-round pick for a former first-round pick may not be ideal, but fetching any kind of compensation for a guy who has no future here would be a win.
Ryan Kerrigan
Another acquisition from this past offseason, Ryan Kerrigan has done little to nothing for the Eagles this season. In eight games, Kerrigan has tallied just one tackle and 11 total pressures.
His skill set doesn’t seem to fit into what Jonathan Gannon wants to do defensively and he’ll be gone at the end of the year regardless. It’s doubtful that the team will be able to get anything note worthy in a trade involving Kerrigan, but perhaps he could be more productive in a defense more suitable for his skill set.
Trading him would give young pass rusher Tarron Jackson more opportunities moving forward, and he’s shown more flashes this season than Kerrigan has by far.