The Eagles were active ahead of the NFL trade deadline, and among moves made earlier in the season, the team brought in three new players this past week. General Manager Howie Roseman spoke to reporters after the deadline, and explained some of their roster moves and their philosophy of not being afraid to fail.
“Excited about the three additions that we made on the trade market. Felt like the value of all three guys, knowing the players, having people here who have been and lived with these guys, really helped us get a sense of who these guys are, not just only as players, but as people too which is always important when you’re bringing in guys in the middle of the season.
It’s our job to make sure that we’re making sure that no stone is left unturned when we’re trying to acquire talent, that’s our job, and it doesn’t stop just because the trade deadline stopped here. We’ll continue to monitor every area to improve, and at the same time, understand that we have an opportunity here as a football team in the second half of the season, and then in the offseason with the amount of picks that we have.”
Here’s what else the GM had to say:
On Jaelan Phillips trade
“The process starts with college — we spent a lot of time with [Jaelan Phillips] coming out of college, knowing the person. It’s really easy to scout the player. Really, he’s got freak ability, he can rush, he can set the edge, he can play in space, he’s got a non-stop motor.
I think one of the most fun things to do is to put on his tape and watch his effort. And when you have the athleticism and the physical ability he has, with the effort he has, and then just going and seeing he was Walter Payton Man of the Year in Miami, the things that he does in the community. He comes from an unbelievable family, and then, obviously, Vic [Fangio] was with him.
A lot of times when you’re talking to your coaches, and you have a vision of how the player is going to fit, you have to have those conversations. But that discussion was really easy with Coach Fangio.“
As for the depth they have now on the edge, with Nolan Smith’s practice window opening up, Brandon Graham back to work, and then adding Phillips, Howie said that the Eagles’ best teams have been strong up front. The GM noted that they can never have enough pass rushers, and never have enough cover corners, and they’re hard to find. Overall, he’s excited about that room and the rotational options they’ll have, and adding Phillips gives them another piece to continue to be dominant.
Howie later talked about Phillips injury history and how they felt comfortable taking the risk that comes with giving away a third round pick. After watching film the past few years, and even some of his college tape, they came away with the feeling that they would regret not taking the risk because the potential upside is so high. The GM reiterated that he doesn’t want to ever have regrets about being too risk averse.
On A.J. Brown trade rumors
Howie wanted to keep the focus on the guys they just added to the roster, but briefly addressed whether they entertained trade offers for their top WR.
“When you’re trying to be a great team, it’s hard to trade great players. A.J. Brown’s a great player. He wears a ‘C’ for a reason. He’s an important part of this team, of this organization, he cares about winning, he cares about his teammates. I think that when you’re a team like ours, that is looking forward to an opportunity to compete for a championship, you just don’t get rid of the guys like that. So, feel very lucky to have him on our team, and excited for the second half of the season with him.”
On the CB room and new additions
“I think the first half of the season showed us how important corner depth is. We had a bunch of games here, where we didn’t have our full compliment of guys, and it’s a position that you need to have a bunch of guys here for the amount of game we’re trying to play in.”
He went on to talk about why he took advantage of the opportunities to bring in Michael Carter II and Jaire Alexanders.
Howie explained that Carter is another guy they knew really well coming out of college, and similar to Vic Fangio and Jaelan Phillips, former Jets’ GM Joe Douglas knows Carter really well and has a lot of experience with the person — he also pointed out the same is true with DB coach Christian Parker and Jaire Alexander.
”What we’re trying to do is, we’re trying to match up with all kinds of shapes and sizes at the wide receiver position in the secondary. When you have guys that can do that, it just gives you so much flexibility when you’re going to play different teams and the different types of receivers they have, the different types of tight ends, even backs coming out of the back field.
When you talk about Michael Carter, the guy has played an elite level inside, so that gives you flexibility there. Incredibly sharp guy. Joe Kasper coached him at Duke. He can play safety, which is really important. I think that we’ve always had that piece of a guy that could play nickel and also come into the game and play safety — last year we had that with Avonte [Maddox].“
Howie then went on to talk about Jaire Alexander, and recalled lauding the move made by the Ravens to sign him in the offseason. He noted that it obviously didn’t work the way either party had hoped, which is why he was available to the Eagles, but he appreciated the honest conversations with Baltimore about the situation.
“Sometimes in this league, you acquire information, you watch everything, and you feel like, hey, the risk is worth the reward here. I think when you talk about, still a young guy, knowing where his health is at now — feeling healthy, feeling good — we gelt like the risk was worth the reward with him.”
Other notables
- Howie was asked about whether they talked to Jaelan Phillips about a contract extension ahead of his upcoming free agency, but the GM noted they have several players set to be free agents after the season. He doesn’t think that it’s helpful to a team trying to compete for a championship, to pick favorites or sign anyone in-season.
- He didn’t put too much stock in the allocation of assets between edge rushers and inside linebackers, and explained that a lot of that is based on rookie contracts, but there wasn’t any kind of philosophical shift in how they approach roster building.
- The GM laughed at the notion that Vic Fangio has “miniscule” input into roster building — something the DC said the week prior — and noted that the two talk a lot, about a lot of things, and he certainly has more input than discussed.
- Howie talked a little about how Brandon Graham re-joining the team came about, going back to August when the GM called him up and asked how he was feeling because they were in the market for an edge rusher. BG didn’t feel like it was the right time, but started working out a bit harder just in case, and when Howie called him a couple months later when Za’Darius Smith retired, his reply changed.
- While he couldn’t talk about any interest he may have had in trading for Micah Parsons before the season, or Myles Garrett at the deadline, he did say that when there’s an opportunity to be aggressive for certain players, they aren’t going to sit on their hands. Howie was clear that he would not live with regret, so if they feel passionate about something and think the value is right, they won’t hesitate to make a big move.
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