New England pass rusher Deatrich Wise Jr. is just one of several edge rushers rumored in trade talks.
It’s no secret that Vic Fangio needs some pass rush.
Through their first five games, the Eagles have tallied only 11 sacks. Just seven teams have fewer. Exchanging holdout Haason Reddick for Bryce Huff (0.5 sacks, two pressures) hasn’t worked out (although I suppose Huff is outperforming Reddick seeing as how Reddick hasn’t slipped into shoulder pads yet this season), Josh Sweat has just two sacks thus far (tied with linebacker Zack Baun), and Georgia Bulldog linemen Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith and Jordan Davis have one each. Brandon Graham has been great, but is limited in how much he can produce.
The hope is this group gets it going, and against Cleveland, we did see some improvement, with a season-best five sacks. But there’s no doubt GM Howie Roseman could improve the defensive side of the ball with another pass rusher.
Luckily for him, it’s tradin’ season in the NFL. The deadline to make trades doesn’t happen for another few weeks (4pm ET, Thursday Nov. 5), but swinging trades now gets that player into the building more quickly, acclimated to the defense and more productive faster.
The Eagles are unlikely to trade for another receiver after giving up a third round pick for the struggling Jahan Dotson at the end of training camp, and while another pass-catching tight end would be beneficial in the wake of another Dallas Goedert multi-week injury, that’s not likely to happen, either.
Getting another pass rusher should be doable. Here are a few of the possibilities, from most possible to pie-in-the-sky.
Deatrich Wise Jr.
He’s not a household name and wouldn’t provide the Eagles with superstar production, but Wise has been a solid contributor throughout his NFL career. The 30-year-old has two sacks, two passes defended and 13 tackles in the Patriots’ first six games. He’s a rotational player whose previous career-high in sacks was 7.5 in 2022. In 16 games (13 starts) last season, he tallied 4.5.
The compensation would also be manageable, perhaps as little as a 5th-rounder.
Za’Darius Smith
Like Wise, it wouldn’t cost a ton to acquire Smith, again, probably a 5th-rounder. Cleveland is in full-on sell mode and should be looking to unload anything that’s not nailed down. Certainly much of the focus will be on whether they decide to trade all-world stud Myles Garrett (more on him in a moment), but the 32-year-old remains a solid rotational pass rusher.
In six games, Smith has three sacks, three QB hits, and two tackles for loss. He had 5.5 sacks last season and 10 in 2022. The three-time Pro Bowler is past his prime but still effective.
Emmanuel Ogbah
The Dolphins probably aren’t ready to sell at 2-3, but with Tua Tagovailoa out indefinitely with another concussion and no clear winning QB available to swoop in and rescue them, Miami may be open to dealing some pieces in a couple weeks. If so, the Eagles should call about Ogbah, a pass-rushing linebacker with two sacks in five games thus far. He had 5.5 last year, and while not a straight-up pass rusher along the defensive line, he has played all over the line and could transition back to edge rusher in Philadelphia. The compensation would also likely be a 5th rounder for the 31-year-old.
Von Miller
Cody Benjamin over at CBS Sports proposed this one. And I get it.
The Eagles got a conditional 2026 third for Haason Reddick prior to the season, but their prized offseason edge addition, Bryce Huff, has yet to pop. And while general manager Howie Roseman has been burned by in-season bets on aging veterans before, Miller has a history with new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, earning his last Pro Bowl nod under the coach with the Denver Broncos. Suspended through Week 8, he’d make for a last-gasp effort to inject the Eagles’ hit-or-miss pass rush with life.
I’m not wild about the idea of trading for a guy that is suspended through the middle of the season, especially if they have to give up a conditional third round pick to get him. But after piling up no sacks in 2023, he already had three in four games before the suspension.
Maxx Crosby
The Raiders are imploding and by sending Adams to the Jets this week are raising the white flag. Crosby is an all-world pass rushing specialist, a three-time Pro Bowler who has 27 sacks over the last two seasons and 5.5 already this year. He’s a monster.
He’d also cost a fortune, at the very least the Eagles’ 2025 first round pick, if not two first rounders and potentially a later round draft pick in ‘26. While I’d be all for the Eagles giving up their ‘25 first rounder for a generational pass rusher that we already know can play (rather than spending a first round pick on another Georgia Bulldog we hope can play), two first rounders and more is a bridge too far.
Howie should be on the phone, but if that’s the price, he should hang up.
Myles Garrett
If Cleveland wants to get themselves a quarterback in the NFL Draft this year, they need to accumulate another first round pick and more. Trading Garrett, the face of their franchise, would accomplish that goal. We all watched Garrett wreak havoc along the defensive line last week, and the 29-year-old will receive a big money extension this off-season either with the Browns or someone else.
Like Crosby, I’d be fine with giving up one first rounder and a 2026 Day 2 pick, but Garrett will almost certainly cost the Eagles two first rounders. For a Super Bowl primed team like the Lions, it makes more sense to give that much up. I’m not sure it’s worth it for the Eagles, who appear to have more problems. It would be unwise to give up the entire store for one player until we see whether this team is capable of playing consistently on offense first.
Haason Reddick
As has been reported elsewhere, NFL rules prohibit Reddick being traded back to Philadelphia at this time. However, Birds fans are keeping an eye on where he lands. New York likely doesn’t want to trade him to an AFC contender if they harbor hopes of reaching the playoffs, and clearly they do with the addition of Davante Adams this week. However, if he’s dealt to an NFC team, the Eagles’ compensation improves from a third round pick to a second rounder.
So keep an eye on those transaction wires!
