Getty Bears LB Roquan Smith is back after a "hold-in."
The Philadelphia Eagles are locked in and striving for perfection through six weeks. They don’t have any obvious or glaring weaknesses on either side of the ball. It’s a good problem to have.
That doesn’t mean general manager Howie Roseman won’t be sniffing around for potential playmakers. The NFL trade deadline is approaching with quickness — 4 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1 — and rumors are flying about what the Eagles might do.
Christian McCaffrey and Robert Quinn are two of the more popular names. Here’s another one: Roquan Smith of the Chicago Bears.
Smith (590 career tackles) is playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal and trade rumors are heating up. There are reports that the All-Pro linebacker (second team in 2020 and 2021) is unhappy, particularly with the way contract extension talks have gone. He feels the Bears are “trying to take advantage of me.”
If Smith becomes available, CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo believes the Eagles should be all in. He wrote the following:
If the Bears are fielding offers, the Eagles should make a run at acquiring Roquan Smith, a tackling machine that currently has a league-high 66 stops. Along with being a solid tackler, Smith can also aid Philadelphia’s pass rush while being a consistent presence in the opponent’s backfield. Acquiring Smith would pay dividends for years to come, given that he is just 25 years old.
Carson Wentz just rocked Roquan Smith.
Haason Reddick Making Huge Impact on Eagles
Hometown hero Haason Reddick has been worth every penny of his $45 million deal. He has a team-high 4.5 sacks, which ranks 15h-best in the NFL. More importantly, Reddick impacts every phase of the game. He’s a disruptive force.
“He has a unique skillset where you see it show up. He is good in the run game, the pass game, he can affect the passer,” defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said. “We know that people have to be aware of him and we use him when we set up certain looks to help other players.
“And the value of that, like I said, sometimes it shows up on a stat sheet; sometimes it doesn’t. But when you have a player like that, he’s helping us win every game and get favorable matchups. So glad he’s here.”
Odell Beckham Jr. Possible Trade Target?
It would be a pretty big shock to see the Eagles make a move for a wide receiver. DeSean Jackson lobbied hard for a Philadelphia homecoming before signing a deal with the Baltimore Ravens. With Fast Batman (Quez Watkins), Skinny Batman (DeVonta Smith), and Swole Batman (A.J. Brown) dominating the target share, there isn’t room for another playmaker on offense. But … what about Odell Beckham Jr.?
He’s gearing up for a mid-November return and the list of rumored teams keeps growing and growing by the day. The Eagles haven’t been mentioned yet — Chiefs, Rams, Packers, Ravens, Bills — but they could enter the conversation. Remember, Roseman created roughly $6.9 million in salary-cap space (via ESPN’s Field Yates) to start the season. They have almost $9.9 million in total cap space, per Over The Cap.