Trade Deadline

Posted: November 1st, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Trade Deadline

The NFL’s trade deadline is today at 4pm. Will the Eagles make a move? If they do, is it for a running back, safety, returner or some other spot?

Howie Roseman is the leading wheeler-dealer in the NFL. He loves to make deals. He is always looking to improve the roster and Jeffrey Lurie has given him the freedom to use resources when he wants to. A lot of teams are shopping players so Howie has to get something done. Right?

He already traded for Robert Quinn last week. It isn’t likely to see a team pull off two deals near the deadline. Making one trade is rare enough.

But the Eagles are 7-0 and ahead of schedule. This was supposed to be a year where they showed they could compete with good teams. Jalen Hurts huge jump and the high level of play from all the key players has this team thinking Super Bowl now, not just in the future.

Howie will be working the phones today to see if there is another move to be made. As always, the key is to find the right player at the right price. Before we get to some potential targets, let’s talk about what the Eagles might be trying to do.

It is fair to wonder if the Eagles are good enough at RB to win it all. Miles Sanders is a solid starter. Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott are good role players. We don’t know enough about Trey Sermon yet. If anything happened to Sanders, the Eagles would be relying on role players to carry the ground game. That’s not ideal. The Rams won the SB last year with Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson and Sony Michel. All three had shown the ability to be a workhorse if needed. Neither Gainwell nor Scott has ever run for 375 yards in a season. Neither has had more than 15 carries in a game. Sticking with them is a risk.

The Eagles have a terrific pair of starting safeties in Marcus Epps and CJ Gardner-Johnson. Behind them you have K’Von Wallace and Reed Blankenship. Wallace has been a disappointment and Blankenship is an unproven rookie. The Eagles could move Josiah Scott or even Avonte Maddox to safety if needed, but there is an argument for adding a veteran who could start if needed.

Returner is a weak spot. The Eagles have given Britain Covey a chance to show what he can do. Covey just isn’t fast enough to make plays in the NFL. You can win with him as your RS, but you won’t win because he’s your RS. He’s just not a weapon.

With Jordan Davis injury, there is some thought about going for a DT. I doubt this happens. Davis will be back in a month or so. The Eagles can get by until then.

Let’s talk about some of the players that are reportedly on the market.

Kareem Hunt

Hunt is a backup in CLE, but he’s been a Pro Bowler and impact RB in the past. He is a physical runner with good athleticism. He is a good receiver. Hunt averages 4.5 yards per carry for his career. He’s scored 48 TDs as a runner/receiver. He would be a major upgrade in the backfield.

If he’s so great, why’s he available? Hunt will be a free agent when the season is over. He has been frustrated with the Browns, asking for a new contract and not getting one. He has expressed his frustration. This is not an ideal situation for him or the team. The Browns also have a deep, talented backfield. Hunt is expendable.

The Eagles have had great chemistry this year. They would only deal for Hunt if they think he’d fit in and embrace the team-first mentality. There is always risk in bringing in an outsider. At the same time, guys like Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham know how hard it is to face Hunt. He ran for 81 yards and 2 TDs against them back in 2017. He would give the Eagles a physical, N-S runner.

The Eagles offense excelled at times in the past when Jordan Howard gave them that kind of physicality. Hunt is an even better player. If the Eagles don’t like him it would be due to character concerns or too high of a price. In terms of skill set, he’s what they need.

Nyheim Hines

Plenty of people saw Hines name get mentioned as available and connected the dots. Hines played for Nick Sirianni in Indy. He would make sense as an Eagle. I don’t think Hines would be an ideal fit. He is a good receiver and rotational runner. He’s a better version of Kenny Gainwell. The one area where Hines would make sense is that he’s a good RS. He would be an upgrade over Covey.

Cam Akers

Something weird is going on between Akers and the Rams. We don’t know any of the details. We do know a change is needed.

https://twitter.com/thereal_cam3/status/1587293793585225729

Akers is young. He’s talented. If the Eagles know what’s going on with him, he could be of interest, but the price would be low.

David Montgomery

I don’t know if he’s on the market. I think the Bears would be nuts to trade him. If Montgomery is available, the Eagles should absolutely look into him. He is a tough, productive RB. He’s young. Montgomery has played behind a bad OL in Chicago. He would love coming to the Eagles offense and running behind this OL.

Jeff Wilson

Adam Schefter threw out his name this morning. The Niners could be looking to move him after trading for Christian McCaffery. Wilson would be interesting. He’s not that heavy, but averages 5.1 ypc this year and is a decisive runner with good burst. He can be a workhorse RB or part of a rotation. The cost shouldn’t be that high.

Wilson could be a good fit with the Eagles. He can hit the hole and give you big plays.

Alvin Kamara

He had a huge game on Sunday and it feels like trade talk in regard to him has died down.

Safety

We just aren’t hearing many names listed as available so rather than write about complete guesses, I’ll just mention some names who could make sense. Jabril Peppers is a backup with the Pats. They’re now 4-4 so they might want to keep him. Rodney McLeod started and had 9 tackles for the Colts on Sunday. You wonder if they’d be open to dealing him. DeShon Elliott is the best safety on the 1-6 Lions. I’m not sure they’d be willing to deal him with the coverage issues they have.

There are some other DBs who could be available. We just aren’t hearing many names. The focus is on RBs, WRs and pass rushers.

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Some might wonder if the Eagles will deal Andre Dillard. I doubt that happens. If there is an injury, he could become important to the Eagles. Unless a team offers a good pick for him, hold onto Dillard. He’s not a guy you just get rid of to add a 7th rounder.

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It will be interesting to see what the Cowboys do. They haven’t been active around the deadline for a while, but Jerry Jones is talking differently this year.

Broaddus is a former NFL scout (responsible for the great Eagles draft in 1998) who now does analysis for the Cowboys. He seems to think they are nuts if they don’t make a move.

Stay tuned.

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