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There is not much more the Philadelphia Eagles need to do with the roster to make it the best in the National Football League. Weeks ahead of the 2023 season, the Eagles may already boast the league’s top roster, which is hard to argue given the success they had last season and the reinforcements they brought in.
As several players battle it out for the final roster spots with cut day quickly approaching, the Eagles may make a move to bring in a player from another team via trade. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Philadelphia worked a trade on the cusp of the regular season. In fact just last season it traded for safety CJ Gardner-Johnson on Aug. 30, less than two weeks before Philly’s season opener.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is always looking for ways to improve the team and if there’s one spot Philly needs improvement, it’s the linebacker position. The team just lost Myles Jack to retirement and no one in the veteran bunch they brought in to start alongside Nakobe Dean has stuck out.
The Eagles have already tried to fill the gap via free agency and the results have not been good. If there's any team that is not shy of taking a chance and making a splash move, it's Philadelphia. This move would definitely fit that bill.
Eagles trade for Buccaneers LB Devin White
Devin White's relationship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked murky earlier this summer when the former All-Pro linebacker requested a trade. White is entering the final season of his rookie contract and wanted to be paid accordingly before the 2023 season, as any star player would. Though that situation seems to have cooled down for now, with White being a full participant in Buccaneers camp, certain situations can tend to pop back up as the season progresses.
White recently said that his trade request was selfish, squashing any sort of rift that he may have with the organization that drafted him fifth overall in 2019. Both sides seem to want to come to an agreement on a contract extension, but with the regular season looming nothing has come to fruition yet.
On the field, White is back to being the vocal defensive leader the Buccaneers expect him to be. He hasn’t missed a game in each of the last two seasons and has started all 62 games he's played with Tampa Bay during his four-year career. That health and the production he's given deem him worthy of a hefty extension. White had his third consecutive season with over 120 tackles and recorded 5.5 sacks with 16 QB hits in 2022.
Why the move makes sense
The Eagles lost both their starting linebackers from a season ago and haven’t done a great job at replacing them. Nakobe Dean is going to be one of their starters this season and is expected to fill a big role, but it's no guarantee he pans out. If he doesn’t, that would create more problems for the Eagles and could force them to really consider trading for a linebacker midseason.
That may make more sense for when a Devin White to Philadelphia trade happens, but why should the Eagles wait? Roseman has always been the aggressive type and if he looks at his roster in a week and thinks he is only a few players away from perfecting it, a player like White could be someone he makes an inquiry about.
White's status with the Buccaneers as it stands seems to be a want to stay there long-term. Tampa Bay doesn’t expect to be very good this season though, and the long-term doesn’t necessarily look too bright either. Would White want to spend the prime years of his career with a non-contending team fighting to win eight games every year?
Even if White does end up being traded this season, he could re-sign with the Buccaneers in the offseason when he hits free agency. Tampa Bay should feel pretty good about their odds to retain him either way, but if they do decide to move him they should be transparent with him.
Of course, wherever Devin White plays in 2024 is up to White himself. If traded, he could fall in love with his new digs and want to sign an extension there. The Eagles are constantly moving around money and restructuring contracts, so a move for White could turn into a long-term commitment if the two sides are on the same page.
If the partnership doesn’t work out, then White walks in free agency and wouldn’t the Eagles be fine with it if he helped them win another Lombardi Trophy? It may be a long shot, but if the Eagles want to ensure they have a reliable linebacker group this season, they should look into acquiring Devin White.
