After the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win against the New England Patriots, life has not been the same in Philly. Injuries to players such as Jay Ajayi and Carson Wentz led to a subpar season for the Eagles, finishing with a 9-7 record and a Divisional round appearance.
The Eagles have many holes to fill, and if they want to make another run at a Super Bowl anytime soon, they are going to have to be active in free agency as well as in trade talks. Here are three realistic trades that would improve the Eagles roster.
Emmanuel Sanders
The Denver Broncos recently exercised Emmanuel Sanders 2019 player option. Although by no means does this mean that everyone in Denver is on the same page. On February 19th, a local radio station (104.3 The FAN) tweeted out “Should the Broncos approach Sanders regarding a contract restructure”? Sanders replied “It ain’t happening…. no way Jose.”
The Eagles desperately need help in the wide receiver room. With Golden Tate heading to free agency, and Nelson Agholor also being thrown around in trade rumors, this leaves a 29 year old Alshon Jeffrey as the lone reliable target on the roster (excluding Zach Ertz).
Leonard Fournette
In 2018, the Eagles were able to squeeze out max production out of four running backs (Josh Adams, Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement, and Darren Sproles). Granted, it wasn’t by choice considering Ajayi sustained a season ending injury against the Vikings after tearing his ACL.
Although this four headed backfield produced in 2018, I’m sure the Eagles would feel a lot more comfortable having a lead back to support Wentz and the rest of the offense.
Leonard Fournette is currently still on his rookie contract, and could certainly be in a better relationship with the Jaguars than he currently is. After Fournette was suspended one game because of his on-field antics against the Bills where he was seen throwing punches, trade rumbles have only gotten louder. Howie Roseman, the Eagles general manager has made it abundantly clear that the Eagles are in win-now, and trading for a running back who is still on their rookie contract (like their star quarterback) is certainly a smart road to travel.
Darius Slay
Arguably the most glaring need on paper for the Eagles is cornerback. The Eagles finished 30th in pass defense according to ESPN.com, allowing 4,308 passing yards on the year. The NFL has morphed into a passing league, making it extremely difficult to win games if you are not able to defend the pass. This makes it that much more impressive that the Eagles made it as far as they did during the 2018 season considering how much help they needed in the secondary all year long.
Grabbing a lock down corner such as Darius Slay would solidify the No. 1 corner spot on the depth chart. This would be a huge acquisition for the Eagles, allowing them to begin remodeling the secondary starting with their cornerstone Slay. In 2017, Slay had a career year tallying 8 interceptions and 26 (!) pass deflections, following up this great season with 3 interceptions and 17 pass deflections in 2018.
Trade talks have simmered between both parties over the past year, but no deal ever came full circle. The Lions are a team with quite a few holes to fill, and many would argue that they have no business having a $50 million corner on their roster with so many other glaring holes.
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