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The Philadelphia Eagles were yards away from adding Derrick Henry to the roster. That is the explanation being given for the viral trade rumor that never came to fruition. Someone fumbled the ball.
Henry, a two-time NFL rushing champion, appeared to be “headed” to the Eagles prior to the NFL draft. Akbar Gbajabiamila cited a “very, very credible source” as he tapped his Twitter fingers on April 22 and virtually sent Henry to the Eagles. Then, the trade never happened. Henry stayed in Tennessee. Philadelphia made a move for D’Andre Swift.
Two months later, the American Ninja Warrior star appeared on The Rich Eisen Show to explain exactly how everything went down. Gbajabiamila was open and honest, offering that his reporting was accurate. He believes he “blew up the scene.”
“I had a very, very credible source and I do believe that I actually messed up this trade because it wasn’t supposed to come out,” Gbajabiamila told Eisen. “And I didn’t realize that, A, anybody would be paying attention, and B, I didn’t think that I wasn’t supposed to say it. So, I just said, ‘Hey, let me go ahead, you know what, I wasn’t trying to compete with Ian Rapoport and all the other guys.
“Let me tell you something, Howie Roseman could have made it happen. We saw what he did with Jalen Hurts. He made that work. You saw what he did with A.J. Brown. He made that work. This could have happened but I think because I got ahead of it and it just blew up. I blew up the scene.”
D’Andre Swift ‘Blessed with an Opportunity’
The Eagles secured D’Andre Swift for pennies on the dollar in a draft-day trade, giving up what amounted to a fourth-round pick in 2025. The 24-year-old has a clear path to be the Eagles’ starting tailback assuming he holds off a stiff challenge from Rashaad Penny.
“Man, we have a really deep room there,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “You’re excited about the competition that we’re going to have there. Backs get a little bit more chance to shine when the pads come on.”
Swift, a Philly native, will be the favorite to win the job at training camp. He wasn’t expecting a trade to the team he grew up rooting for but he’s happy to be home.
“A lot of emotions,” Swift told Ashlyn Sullivan. “I mean there’s still a lot of emotions right now but just blessed with an opportunity to come back and be a part of something good.”
Derrick Henry Seems Happy in Tennessee
Despite a storm of offseason trade rumors around Derrick Henry, the three-time Pro Bowler is keeping his head down and going to work. He has re-committed himself to playing for the Titans, including a concerted effort to build a relationship with new general manager Ran Carthon.
“Talking to him, meeting him in person. I’ve put a face with the name,” Henry told ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “Just doing all of those things. When we get to football, we’re not worried about that other stuff.”
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