Getty Vikings RB Alexander Mattison is heading into the final season of his four-year rookie deal in Minnesota.
Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has made a habit of making solid moves ahead of the roster cut deadline. Roseman was able to flip a conditional sixth-round pick for Gardner Minshew last year.
It’s more than likely he’ll be working the phones hard over the next 60 hours. Why not? The Eagles have decent assets to pawn off, mainly in the form of backup left tackle Andre Dillard and bubble receiver Jalen Reagor. It would be easy to gauge the market and then pull back if the return on investment is too low.
The 33rd Team recently cobbled together a list of pre-cutdown trades they’d like to see and referenced the Eagles twice. The first one saw them acquiring Alexander Mattison from the Minnesota Vikings, although no proposal was listed. Former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman wrote:
One potential option might be Alexander Mattison if Minnesota is willing to move him. The Eagles need a big, physical back to team up with Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott. Miles Sanders is currently dealing with a hamstring injury and has had durability problems the past two years. Mattison is in the final year of his contract, and Minnesota has two young backs in Kene Nwangwu and Ty Chandler to add depth behind Dalvin Cook.
Biggest factors to the Eagles’ 53-man roster at this point is whether H. Roseman pulls off any trades in next 60 hours, and injury timelines that could determine if Eagles cut vested veterans with intent to re-sign once players are eligible for IR on Wednesday.
It’s true. The 24-year-old is stuck behind Cook and could avoid hitting the negotiating table if they traded him. Mattison (5-foot-11, 215 pounds) is in the final year of his four-year, $3.47 million rookie deal. He has gained 1,822 combined rushing/receiving yards with 8 total touchdowns over his first three seasons while making six starts.
Meanwhile, former Eagles personnel executive T.J. McCreight teased the Eagles swapping Reagor for Cleveland Browns receiver Anthony Schwartz who has suffered a dismal preseason marred by drops. “This is one of those deals where a change of scenery could benefit both players and teams,” McCreight wrote.
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Dillard, Reagor Not Worried About Futures
Some thought the Eagles might be trying to showcase Reagor in Saturday night’s preseason finale when he came out to start the game. It didn’t appear so. Reagor only saw 11 snaps and was never targeted before exiting early. Dillard registered 24 snaps which looks like a high number on paper. In reality, the Eagles had no one else to put out there.
If the Eagles can get a 3rd round pick for Andre Dillard they should take it but I don’t think they would move him unless it was for a 2nd.
They should move Jalen Reagor for a swap of 7th round picks.
But that hasn’t stopped Dillard’s name from coming up in trade rumors. The 26-year-old has stayed off social media while learning how to block out any noise that could somehow penetrate his bubble. That’s something he learned from Mike Leach, his college coach at Washington State.
“I learned it in college from Mike Leach,” Dillard said. “If they aren’t in our meeting rooms, if they aren’t in our practices, then their opinions don’t mean anything.”
Reagor has been abiding by a similar philosophy dating back to last season.
“I don’t worry about nothing,” Reagor said. “Because whether I do something good or bad, it’s up and down, it doesn’t matter. Because ultimately on Sunday I wear the jersey.”
#Eagles WR Jalen Reagor: “This is a humbling experience, you go from first-round pick to battling. We’ve got a hell of a room. Some people have a job, some people don’t.
“I want to be here for the rest of my career. But it’s a business. I’m going to handle my end”
Vikings Lose Backup WR, Cowboys Down Starting LT
The reason the Reagor trade was gaining traction on Sunday was due to some unfortunate injury news. Minnesota Vikings receiver Bisi Johnson – a seventh-round pick in 2019 – tore his ACL for the second straight season. He’s out for the year, a disappointing development that weakens an already banged up receiving corps in Minnesota. Would they be more inclined to trade for Reagor now? Maybe.
The Dallas Cowboys lost left tackle Tyron Smith to an “avulsion fracture of the knee,” per CBS Sports. He’s likely to be out until at least December. The Eagles probably wouldn’t trade within the division, especially not to a hated NFC East rival. Then again, Dillard would make a lot of sense. There’s a chance the Cowboys could get desperate and overpay.