Howie Roseman has been busy in the week leading up to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. NFL trade deadline.
The Eagles have made two deals already. They acquired slot corner Michael Carter II from the New York Jets on Wednesday and then bolstered their depth at outside corner by trading with the Baltimore Ravens for Jaire Alexander on Saturday.
» READ MORE: Eagles acquire two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander from the Baltimore Ravens
The Eagles needed help in their defensive backfield, and while neither acquisition has been remarkable in 2025, the Eagles have more depth and experience than they had a week ago in their cornerback corps.
Two deals before the deadline could be enough to wipe your hands clean and move on with the roster, but Roseman’s history of being aggressive — the Eagles have made eight trades since the start of this season’s training camp — suggests the team might not be done yet.
What’s next for the Eagles prior to Tuesday’s deadline?
On the edge
The Eagles signed Brandon Graham out of retirement. They are due to get back Nolan Smith. Jalyx Hunt is coming off consecutive games where he set a new personal best for pressures in a single game. He had nine pressures on 22 pass-rush snaps in Week 8 vs. the Giants.
There’s a world where the Eagles, who are in the middle of the pack with a 34.4% pressure rate, roll with what they have. Smith, Hunt, Joshua Uche, Graham, and Patrick Johnson (Azeez Ojulari was placed on injured reserve) — plus the uptick of edge snaps for rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell — is a workable rotation, and Vic Fangio seems fine with dressing four pass rushers.
But while the best four from that group on a given day seems capable — “It has to be,” Fangio said last Tuesday — it’s also a risk to count on it producing at a level fit for a team that wants to win another Super Bowl.
The Eagles finally broke out in Week 8 vs. the Giants with eight sacks, but they had been underwhelming bringing down opposing quarterbacks for most of the seven prior contests. Perhaps Smith’s return will be a cure, but he is coming off a triceps injury that he suffered in Week 3 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn triceps in February. Hunt is coming on strong, but he’s a second-year rusher. Uche has had good and bad games. Graham is an unknown, not having played yet this season. Johnson is a depth piece. It’s unclear how long Ojulari will be out with his hamstring injury.
There’s an argument to be made that the Eagles are replete with rotational players and, if they’re going to add on the edge, should do so with a bigger swing. They could also do what they’ve done at corner, and add more depth and insurance.
The flashy name at the top of any list of potential trade candidates, of course, is Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, who might be the best defensive player in the NFL. But The Athletic made it sound pretty unlikely the Browns move him in a Saturday report.
Who’s next? Shift your attention from the shores of Lake Erie to South Beach. The Miami Dolphins, who Friday parted ways with general manager Chris Grier, are 2-7 and have a pair of edge rushers from whom they likely considering moving on to fetch other assets that could help them in an eventual roster overhaul.
The names to watch are Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb. The Athletic said the Eagles are among a group of teams that has contacted the Dolphins.
Phillips is 26 and in the final year of his contract. He has 29 pressures in nine games, one behind Hunt, who is 16th in the NFL through eight games. Phillips would likely cost the Eagles a mid-round draft pick. Then there’s Chubb, 29, who missed last season after suffering a torn ACL. He has four sacks and 25 pressures in nine games. With no remaining guaranteed money on his big contract after this season, Chubb seems like a sensible and smart trade target for a team like the Eagles looking to make a Super Bowl run.
Then there’s Jermaine Johnson II, the Jets’ edge rusher about whom The Athletic says the Eagles have inquired. Johnson was drafted by Eagles personnel director and advisor Joe Douglas. He is coming off a torn Achilles, missed time with an ankle injury this season, and has just one sack so far through five games.
» READ MORE: Eagles’ biggest priorities for the bye week: Grow the offense, get healthy, and bulk up that pass rush
Done at corner?
It’s possible the Eagles made two deadline-week deals for defensive backs and could still start their Week 10 game in Green Bay with a combination of Quinyon Mitchell and Kelee Ringo on the outside and Cooper DeJean in the slot.
Carter has declined since 2023, a season that led to the Jets signing him prior to the 2024 season to the richest deal for a slot player. Alexander, meanwhile, has been a healthy scratch on what has been a bad and banged-up Ravens defense. He was a second-team All-Pro, though, in 2022 and is 28 years old.
Change of scenery can have real value, but it’s not like the Eagles traded for two players who should be expected to make immediate impacts.
But with Jakorian Bennett due to return from injured reserve, the additions of Alexander and Carter give the Eagles eight corners on the 53-man roster. The next move at corner might be a subtraction and not an addition.
But Roseman is never going to shy away from adding talent when he can, and it wouldn’t be the shock of the century if the Eagles try to acquire another corner.
Other areas of need
Good teams have few holes, and the Eagles are a good team. The focus has been on edge rushers and corners because those are the obvious areas where the Eagles could upgrade.
But Roseman has already shown he will add talent to a position where the Eagles seem to be fine (see running back Tank Bigsby’s acquisition in September).
With that in mind, where else could the Eagles go searching? Start with tight end. Dallas Goedert has already caught a career-high seven touchdown passes, but he’s a pending free agent and the Eagles don’t have a tight end under contract for the 2026 season.
There’s an argument to be made that the offensive line could use some back-end depth. But Brett Toth and Fred Johnson have held up OK, and Matt Pryor is still an option at backup guard.
Could the Eagles move their own?
The Eagles have parted with some picks this season, and they could always use more ammo in that department both for the draft itself and for future deal making.
The Eagles are buyers, but they could sell, too, especially if they can fetch a pick for a player who isn’t likely to make an impact this season — and they have a few of those players.
Bigsby has emerged as the backup running back behind Saquon Barkley. The Eagles went so far as making AJ Dillon a healthy scratch for Week 7 in Minnesota and then dressed him but didn’t play him in Week 8. Could Dillon net the Eagles a late-round pick? He seems likely to be a 53-man roster casualty in the coming days regardless.
» READ MORE: Eagles’ trade deadline targets, bye week concerns, best locker room humans and other AMA highlights
Then there’s quarterback. Is it time for the Eagles to get what they can for Tanner McKee? More likely, they’d be willing to move Sam Howell if he could bring a pick back.
Then there are the players who could be on the outside looking in after the deadline-week additions, like Adoree’ Jackson, Ringo, Bennett, Ojulari, and Patrick Johnson.
Notice how A.J. Brown wasn’t mentioned? OK, now he was.
