Getty Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end OJ Howard is currently the subject of trade rumors. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The Philadelphia Eagles are 5-0 with no real weaknesses on their roster. They are stacked at the skill positions, loaded along the offensive line (despite several injuries), and blessed with a surprisingly deep secondary. This is a team equipped for a lengthy postseason run.
That doesn’t mean they won’t be window shopping in the coming weeks. General manager Howie Roseman never likes to sit on his hands and as the NFL trade deadline looms — after Week 8, on Tuesday, November 1 — he’ll likely be working the phones. His move for Jay Ajayi in 2017 went a long way in helping to secure a Super Bowl championship. Yes, this is Roseman’s favorite time of year. And he’s already cobbled together probably the most talented roster in football.
“Howie did a great job of understanding of bringing in the right type of guys, and they’re all also ultra-competitive,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “They’re all high football IQ. They’re all physical, physical football players, and they all know how to make plays in big moments.”
Top 5 Eagles Trade Deadline Candidates
Love the effort in pursuit here by Lorenzo Carter. Chases down Kareem Hunt and takes a shot at the ball. #Falcons
Lorenzo Carter, DE, Atlanta: The Eagles picked up another sack in Week 5 (Haason Reddick, who else?) to bring their season total to 17 sacks, tied for fourth-best in the NFL. They have a relentless pass rush, fueled by Reddick (4.5), Brandon Graham (3), Fletcher Cox (3), and Josh Sweat (2.5). But the Eagles did lose Derek Barnett for the year. If they wanted to add one more weapon Carter makes a lot of sense.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pounder is a blur off the edge (4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash) who has accumulated 16 sacks (14.5 of them came while competing in the NFC East for the New York Giants) during a very productive five-year NFL career. Better yet, Carter is a free agent (on a cheap deal) after the 2022 season. He’s likely leaving Atlanta and the Falcons may have already started to clean house.
#Eagles Nick Sirianni and Kareem Hunt chopping it up before practice
Kareem Hunt, RB, Cleveland: The 27-year-old requested during training camp but nothing came of it. All indications are the Browns want to keep him in tandem with Nick Chubb. However, Hunt is in the final year of a two-year deal and doesn’t appear to fit into their long-term plans.
Why wouldn’t they deal him to a contender before losing him for nothing? Cleveland has dropped two straight games and their schedule is about to get impossibly hard. The Eagles did show some interest — well, it was merely a coincidental photo opp — when the two teams scrimmaged over the summer.
Riley Reiff, OT, Chicago: The 11-year veteran is wasting away on the Bears bench, buried behind younger players on the depth chart. Reiff — a first-rounder in 2012 — is showing signs of wear and tear and he’ll turn 34 years old on December 1.
But he would be ideally suited as an insurance policy if Landon Dickerson or Jordan Mailata misses any significant time. The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder started 12 games at right tackle last year for the Super Bowl runner-up Cincinnati Bengals. He’s a versatile piece who has played every position on the offensive line except for center.
The Bears’ deal for rock solid OT Riley Reiff worth up to $12.5M is structured in a way to count just $3M against the cap.
OG Michael Schofield is a veteran salary benefit deal, meaning the Bears have added two potential OL starters this week for less than $4M in cap space.
O.J. Howard, TE, Houston: Tight end is another position the Eagles don’t necessarily need but Howard could be a luxury item. The one-time Super Bowl champion has seemingly fallen out of favor in Houston after a strong start to the year. He failed to record a catch in Week 5 and saw only one target against Jacksonville.
The Texans took a flier on Brevin Jordan (ankle injury) in the 2021 draft and there is still hope he could develop into the starter. It seems silly for a rebuilding team to keep Howard hostage. The Eagles could use his pass-catching chops behind Dallas Goedert. He’d be a huge upgrade over Jack Stoll.
Realized I messed up OJ Howard’s Week 4 usage on tonight’s show. Many apologies.
Here is correct OJH data. Note Brevin Jordan was out Wk 4 & is out again.
* 43-of-57 snaps
* 37 inline, 3 slot, 3 wide
* 26 routes on 39 Mills dropbacks
* 5 targets for a 14% share
* 2-27-0 result
Clelin Ferrell, DE, Las Vegas: Ferrell’s name keeps getting linked to the Eagles in various trade rumors. The No. 4 overall pick out of Clemson has been a major bust since a promising rookie year in 2019. It’s not all his fault, though.
A new defensive scheme was supposed to help unlock Ferrell’s potential, including a bold decision to give him snaps at defensive tackle. The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder fits the Eagles’ mold of a tweener, a perfect situational pass rusher for Jonathan Gannon. He’s another player set to hit free agency after the 2022 campaign.
Raiders’ 3rd down pass rush package against Denver was effective, bringing in 3rd DE Clelin Ferrell to rush from an inside position
His superior explosion to a typical interior rusher helps gather enough attention to set up two sacks in these clips