Adding depth to a team playing very well right now may be the wisest course of action.
What a difference two weeks make.
Coming off the bye, the 2-2 Eagles’ future was murky. They didn’t look particularly good in either of their two wins, and their two defeats were disheartening and ominous. The pass rush wasn’t getting home, the offense was uneven, they couldn’t score early and the defense was porous. It looked like Nick Sirianni’s tenure as head coach was in immediate jeopardy if things didn’t turn around.
But since their Week 6 win over Cleveland, the Eagles have suddenly looked like a far better version of themselves. Blowout victories against the lowly Giants and the still-competent Bengals suddenly have fans feeling more bullish on the 2024 Eagles.
The pass rush, suddenly is getting home. The addition of Cooper DeJean at slot corner has been revelatory. The offense is mixing in different schemes, Saquon Barkley is doing his thing, and Jalen Hurts is coming off one of the best performances of his career, the third straight game he did not commit a turnover.
Getting A.J. Brown back on the field after a three-game absence hasn’t hurt, either.
At 5-2, sitting a half-game behind the Commanders in the NFC East, the Eagles have the look of a Super Bowl contender again.
With the trade deadline coming up on Election Day (November 5), a number of deals have already gone down. Wide receivers have been flying off the shelves (Amari Cooper, Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins, and Diontae Johnson have changed uniforms, with linebacker Josh Uche and edge rusher Roy Robertson-Harris among the other big names to move thus far. Eagles GM Howie Roseman is among the more aggressive general managers during the trade deadline, and the NFL world is expecting him to do something over the next week.
He probably shouldn’t.
Roseman has made a number of trade deadline moves over the last few years, very few of which have had any real impact on the team. Last year he traded for Kevin Byard, who played a lot and, at the same time, played poorly. Not a great combination. In 2022 he dealt for defensive end Robert Quinn, who had absolutely nothing left in the tank despite the fanfare. In ‘17, he struck gold with Jay Ajayi, but the 2019 Golden Tate deal, despite the game-winning touchdown catch against the Bears in the wild card game, was less-than-impactful, and the Genard Avery deal was a bust.
It’s difficult for players to acclimate from one team to another in the middle of an NFL season, especially on offense. Unless that players is already familiar with the offensive coaching staff’s play calling language and tendencies, it takes too much time for a receiver to get up to speed to be effective. And usually, defensive players dealt at the deadline don’t have much left in the tank.
In short, as defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said on Tuesday, mid-season trade acquisitions rarely have an impact.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s hard to improve your team drastically this time of year,” Fangio said. “I think if you look at some of those trades over the years, they really haven’t had the effect some teams were hoping for.
“Unless it’s a trade where you’re getting a guy that you’re going to have for a few years so it’s more of a bigger trade than swapping guys, trading a sixth for a seventh, those type things.”
Were he to make a move, the Eagles could use help at two positions: wide receiver and edge rusher.
The Jahan Dotson trade for a third round pick before the season appears to be a disaster at this point, although Dotson is under contract through next year. There’s time for that to work out. But with A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith, Dallas Goeder (when he’s healthy) and Saquon Barkley all demanding the ball, Hurts has plenty of weapons to throw to. Rams’
Los Angeles slot receiver Cooper Kupp returned from Injured Reserve last week and looked like his old self, hauling in five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. According to The Athletic’s Diana Russini, Kupp will not come cheaply, either in terms of trade capital and salary.
“After a healthy Kupp looked like a reasonable version of himself Thursday night, count on this: If a team does talk to the Rams about trading for him, the price just went way up.”
Kupp is owed $15 million this season and $20 million next year, $5 million of it guaranteed. Any team that trades for Kupp needs $9 million in cap space. While Roseman has mastered manipulating the cap like no other, can the Eagles get Kupp up to speed fast enough for him to make a real impact in 2024? How much would he get the ball? Would it be worth a second round pick after having already traded away a third rounder for Dotson?
If Roseman feels like an upgrade is needed, PhillyVoice’s Jimmy Kempski offered a suggestion that would make sense.
“[Adam] Thielen had 103 catches and 1,014 yards and 4 TDs on a terrible Panthers team in 2023. In 2024, he played in the first three games, and had 8 catches for 109 yards and a TD. He has missed the last five games on IR with a hamstring injury, but should be back soon.”
“Estimated cost: Maybe a young player at a position of depth who isn’t playing at all, like Eli Ricks?”
If the estimated cost for Thielen is nothing more than a young player you don’t want anyway, or even a 7th round pick, it’s a no harm, no foul deal that any team in the Birds’ position should make. The only other type of deal that makes sense is for a young, cornerstone player that is going to get expensive for a losing team that doesn’t want to pay him, and those guys aren’t out there right now, and hardly ever.
Edge rusher seemed like a much bigger need a couple weeks ago, as I wrote for BGN, but the top four rushers seem to be getting their legs under them. Bryce Huff has played better out of the bye as a pass rush specialist, rather than an ever down lineman. Josh Sweat’s numbers don’t look great, but he’s been impacting games in a positive way over the last few weeks, Brandon Graham continues to play at a high level for his age and Nolan Smith is looking spry.
If an elite pass rusher was to be made available (Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett) and Roseman felt like he could stomach the asking price, he should do it. Barring that, Fangio doesn’t think a mid-season trade is going to help all that much. Recent Eagles history bares that out.
So this trade deadline, don’t be surprised if Roseman holds onto those trade chips. The defense is playing much better with a younger unit than they’ve had in years. While there’s no guarantee the trend line continues upward, giving away a 4th or 5th round pick for a middling defender who probably won’t help much is unnecessary. The offense could certainly use another receiver, but it’s difficult to find one who will jump right in and be productive without giving up a ton to get him.
Normally, I’m all for the big splash. Howie is too. But he shouldn’t force it.
Not this year.
