Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Trades and Roster Thoughts

Posted August 14th, 2026 | No Comments »

The Eagles have one of the best rosters in the league. There are stars and playmakers on both sides of the ball. The challenge at this point is finding the right 53 players and maximizing the value of your available resources. Who makes the roster? Who makes the practice squad? Who might be trade material?

TRADE MATERIAL

QB – The Eagles are four deep at QB and would love to trade one of either Tanner McKee or Andy Dalton. I don’t think they would move McKee for anything less than a conditional fourth. That’s a guess on my part, but he’s young, talented and cheap. You don’t give those guys away. I think they would be happy with any pick for Dalton. That’s no insult to him, just a reflection of the fact they would prefer to keep three QBs and Dalton is the most expendable.

I watched part of the Packers preseason opener and their QB play was bad. The three backups finished 16 of 25 for 79 yards. That was 37-year old Tyrod Taylor, Eagles reject Kyle McCord and UDFA Kyron Jones. Dalton is older than Taylor, but is probably the better QB right now. I could see GB trying to improve their backup situation. We’ll see if some the Packers or some other team decides they need help.

Fred Johnson – The only way Fred is even in this discussion is the emergence of rookie Markel Bell.

Jimmy Bama is impressed as well.

• I really like what I have seen from Markel Bell. He moves really well for a guy who is 6’9, 346. He came across the formation from his spot at RT and had a nice block to seal the left edge on a long Barkley run. He also had two plays where he was able to climb to the second level and get a hat on a linebacker. Bell can play.

If the Eagles think Bell can be their swing tackle this season, Fred could become available. The Eagles would also need to be comfortable with the idea of John Ojukwu or Cameron Williams as the #4 OT. I prefer Ojukwu because of his versatility and experience. Williams has been disappointing this summer. The team could still go with him because of upside, but Williams will need to play well in the preseason to build some momentum.

Kelee Ringo – Great gunner, bad CB. With the emergence of Mac McWilliams and the presence of Jonathan Jones, Ringo could finally run out of time. Some team might value his STs ability enough to trade for him. This would be a late pick or a flawed player for flawed player kind of deal.

Hollywood Brown – We  know the Eagles will keep DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon and Darius Cooper. Things are less clear after that. Brown has 371 career catches and 33 TDs. He may not be the burner he once was, but he still has speed. He played well early in camp. He’s been sloppy in recent days, most notably being part of two INTs where he didn’t make a great effort to get to the ball. Elijah Moore has been at his best recently and has the added value of being a punt returner. Do the Eagles keep 5 or 6 WRs? Britain Covey, Johnny Wilson, Danny Gray and Quez Watkins are also in the mix. If the Eagles could deal Brown, they could keep Moore and Wilson, giving them more versatility. I don’t think the Eagles would be looking to get rid of Brown, but would listen if some team needed a veteran receiver. There is also the possibility of trying to put Moore and Covey on the PS and keeping Brown, and possibly Wilson. WR is a fluid position for now.  Preseason games will be critical for tis group.

LB – Zack Baun, Jihaad Campbell and Jeremiah Trotter Jr are locks. The Eagles also like Chance Campbell, Smael Mondon and UDFA Deontae Lawson, who has started to shine recently.

My guess is that the Eagles would like to trade Mondon if possible. Vic Fangio seems to really like Chance Campbell. Lawson is a rookie and former 5-star recruit. Mondon could be worth a late round pick to a team needing LB depth. I don’t think the Eagles can keep all six guys at a position where only two guys see most of the time.

AREAS OF NEED?

Everyone thought safety was the spot that needed to be upgraded. That talk has largely died away. Drew Mukuba has looked good this summer. Marcus Epps is a solid veteran. Michael Carter has played well. And we know Cooper DeJean will play safety in the base defense. Howie might like the situation now, but he’s always open to upgrading if the right player is available at the right price. I don’t anticipate a move here.

I could see the Eagles keeping this group of DBs.

Quinyon Mitchell
Riq Woolen
Cooper DeJean
Mac McWilliams
Michael Carter
Drew Mukuba
Marcus Epps
Maximus Pulley
Kapena Gushiken

That would have them keeping two UDFAs. Pulley is a pure safety with playmaking ability. Gushiken is a gifted athlete who can play nickel or safety. Andre Sam is PS material and it feels like Cole Wisniewski is IR material. He’s struggled to get on the field. Jonathan Jones could make the roster or be PS material. He’s injured now and thar hurts his chances of making the roster.

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TE now feels like the more complicated position group. Dallas Goedert is TE1 and Johnny Mundt is TE2. Rookie Eli Stowers has struggled this summer, but will clearly make the roster. Assuming the Eagles keep a fourth TE, you are likely choosing between Cam Latu and Grant Calcaterra. The argument for Latu is that he can play FB or TE, is the better blocker and is excellent on STs. Calcaterra is the more gifted receiver and athlete. I would keep Latu, since you already have Stowers who could develop into a role player for the passing game. The Eagles have had a strange loyalty to Calcaterra so you can’t write him off.

The Eagles could trade for a TE. I’m sure they will be taking a long hard look around the league to see who might become available.

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Will Shipley hasn’t exactly ;it it up this summer. You wonder if the Eagles might look to add a RB when players get cut. Barkley and Bigsby give them a great 1-2 punch. You always want good depth so a third back is needed. The coaches seem to like Shipley so they may be patient with him.

MISC

What are the Eagles going to do with the international guys? Uar Bernard is as raw as expected, but has tremendous potential. The Eagles could try to get him on IR as a stash player, but he wouldn’t be able to practice. Bernard needs all the practice he can get. I don’t see the value in putting him on IR. I think he needs to make the roster, assuming he is healthy.

Edge Josh Weru has been better than anyone anticipated. He’s still raw and needs a lot of work, but the talent is there. He has really flashed at times.

Could the Eagles keep 6 edge rushers? Would they risk losing Weru? I think a lot will depend on how he looks in the preseason games. The convenient move would be to cut AJ Epenesa and try to get him on the PS. With Jonathan Grennard still banged up, that might not be a move the Eagles want to risk. I could see the Eagles going light at DB and heavy up front. Always remember that the organization believes in focusing on the LOS. I can easily see them keeping both Bernard and Weru.

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Nolan Smith can be a polarizing player. Jimmy has some good notes on him from Thursday.

I thought Nolan Smith had a good day. He got a tackle for loss when he was able to fight through what I thought was a poor block by Goedert. On the next play, he yanked Jordan Mailata to the ground and got another run stop. You don’t often see Mailata get yanked to the ground. For me, that was the biggest “wow” play of the day.

Smith also sniffed out a throw to the flat to Saquon Barkley. That play went nowhere with Smith making the quick “tackle.”

I tend to think of Smith as more of a gamer than a practice player. I guess we’ll find for sure starting in a month or so.

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DT Ty Robinson had a disappointing start to camp, but has flashed recently. I think he makes the roster over Gabe Hall, but that could change. Hall has impressed at times and has legit ability. Robinson needs to continue trending upward.

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