With the NFL trade season officially over, as the clock has finally ticked past 4 pm EST to end all the fun, it's hard not to look at the Philadelphia Eagles haul and feel a little bit disappointed by the results.
Why? Well, because the Eagles really didn't do anything on November 5th, minus releasing Albert Okwuegbunam.
All in all, disappointing but not a real momentum killer. Maybe Howie Roseman didn't want to trade a sixth-rounder for Preston Smith – but why not?
Or maybe another team swooped in and took their guy at the last minute. Or maybe still the team still has something else up their sleeve, like signing a player who gets released after the deadline, like now-former Buffalo Bills safety Mike Edwards.
But after watching trade season go the way of Halloween, it's hard not to look around the NFC East, the NFC period, or the NFL as a whole and not feel somewhat disappointed by how things shook out.
And oh yeah, Roseman traded a third-round pick and swapped seventh-rounders to acquire Jahan Dotson back in August, which just so happens to go down as the worst trade in the NFL this season based on not only production but also value.
The Eagles got fleeced for Jahan Dotson regardless of production
In Week 9, Dotson had his best game as a member of the Eagles, bringing down a beautiful ball from Jalen Hurts that would have been the catch of the game if it wasn't for DeVonta Smith's late-game touchdown.
Considering that was the only ball thrown Dotson's way in the game, it's safe to say his efforts deserve some praise, but it's also noteworthy because, with the catch, the pride of PSU more than doubled his yard total for the season, going from 35 yards through eight games to 71 through nine.
Is that the kind of production the Eagles expected when they acquired Dotson? Heavens, no, but do you know what? That's not even the worst part of this situation.
No, the Eagles look really bad because Dotson isn't doing much and Roseman traded away more for his services than the Chiefs gave up for DeAndre Hopkins, the Ravens gave up for Diontae Johnson, the Steelers gave up for Mike Williams, and even the Cowboys gave up for Jonathan Mingo, who is an equally uncertain addition.
Yikes.
Now, on paper, it makes sense that the Eagles had to give up more to bring in Dotson than (almost) every other team would. No organization wants to make their division rivals better, and if he hit, fans could hold that move over the GM for years.
But by sending a third and change to Washington, Philly gave the Commanders ammunition to trade for a Pro Bowl cornerback, which is bad, bad news for the Eagles, especially since they haven't yet played Dan Quinn's team in 2024.
The Eagles gave the Commanders ammo for Marshon Lattimore
After being one of the hottest destinations in 2024, with agents reportedly pushing for their clients to play with Jayden Daniels, Washington landed one of the best players moved at the 2024 NFL trade deadline, shipping a third-, a fourth-, and a sixth-round pick to New Orleans for Marshon Lattimore and a fifth-round pick.
And where did the Commanders get that third-round pick? Well, they actually traded their own third-rounder, at least according to Bleacher Report, but they were able to feel comfortable making the move because they had an extra third-rounder from your friendly neighborhood Philadelphia Eagles.
Now granted, maybe the Commanders would have made this move anyway. Maybe they saw their own depth, admitted that Emmanuel Forbes will never be a starting NFL outside cornerback, and opted to add a premier player to combat wide receivers like Malik Nabers, CeeDee Lamb, AJ Brown, and DeVonta Smith.
But goodness, it's hard to look at the Dotson deal, look at the Lattimore deal, and not make the obvious connection that the Eagles effectively allowed the Commanders to swap out Dotson for Lattimore as the two teams are duking it out for the top spot in the NFC East.
The Eagles didn't address their pass rush either way via trade
And last but not least, not only did the Eagles not acquire a pass rusher like Arden Key, Calais Campbell, or Chase Young, but they opted against trading Bryce Huff too, who was named a surprising player to watch by Tom Pelissero earlier in the week.
Consistently struggling to get much going over the past two months – and curiously being held out of action in Week 9 for all but a handful of snaps with a mystery hand injury – Huff just doesn't look like a fit in Philadelphia's new 3-4 defensive scheme under Vic Fangio.
He likes to rush from a 4-3 alignment via a four-point stance, and Fangio has made it clear that isn't how he deploys his edge rushers, leaving the two sides at a regrettable impasse long term.
While it would have been bittersweet to see Huff's run with the Eagles come to an end after only eight games, as he was just signed for a massive $51 million contract, if Roseman opted to ship him elsewhere, few fans would have held it against the long-time GM, especially if he brought back a more natural 3-4 outside linebacker like Key in a corresponding move.
Who knows? Maybe this will all work out well in the end. Maybe the Eagles view their success in 2024 as a cherry on top of what was supposed to be a transitional season from the old to the new.
Or maybe they really do believe in Dotson and Huff as long-term players and trust that they will figure it out over the next few games or even years as they both could be under contract until 2026 if the former's option is picked up?
Either way, it's clear the Eagles feel good about where they are and opted to keep their core intact instead of trading away potentially popular players or messing up their chemistry, which can happen with any move. While every fan may not agree with that strategy, the only way to really know if it's the correct one is to see how things shake out down the stretch.
Follow Us
Subscribe
