By Jimmy Kempski

Copyright phillyvoice

Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles tried to trade for Micah Parsons. They reportedly offered a couple of first-round picks, a third-round pick, a fifth-round pick, “and more,” per reports. The Cowboys more or less confirmed that the Eagles made the offer, but also added that under no circumstances would they have traded Parsons to their divisional rival. Instead, they traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for, in my opinion, a worse offer.

Kudos to the Eagles for trying. They subsequently signed Za’Darius Smith off the street, and Smith had an immediate impact in his first game as an Eagle, making four tackles (one for loss), a half sack, and a QB hit while only playing 20 snaps.

I don’t believe they’ll stop there, and will continue to look to add a special player by the trade deadline on November 4th.

They can pay players after all

In free agency, the Eagles lost iDL Milton Williams, EDGE Josh Sweat, RG Mekhi Becton, and CB Isaiah Rodgers to other teams around the league willing to pay more than the Eagles. The Eagles also released CB Darius Slay, and traded S C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

The team’s messaging in the wake of free agency was that they could not afford to keep those players on their payroll at high costs, and then also afford to give big contract extensions down the road to some of their great young players, like Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Cam Jurgens (since extended), and others.

Well, apparently they can afford additional players, because they tried to acquire Parsons, who required a hefty pay raise in addition to the draft pick capital needed to pry him from Dallas. It’s not that they couldn’t pay Williams or Sweat or Becton, etc. It’s that the team didn’t deem them special players. They will make exceptions for special players.

They still have hefty draft capital

Even after several recent trades for role players, the Eagles are still projected to have 10 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, with five picks in the first three rounds, and seven picks in the first four rounds. If there’s a player who becomes available who they like, they can make a strong offer, just as they did for Parsons.

Other star players have assimilated well into the Eagles’ otherwise home-grown roster

Only five of the Eagles’ offensive or defensive starters weren’t drafted by the team (or in the case of Reed Blankenship, signed as an undrafted rookie free agent). They have a home-grown core that they have built through five straight years of productive drafts. It’s not as if their roster has been Frankenstein’d together with a mishmash of spare parts.

The five “outside” starters are RB Saquon Barkley, WR A.J. Brown, WR Jahan Dotson, LB Zack Baun, and CB Adoree’ Jackson.

Barkley and Brown were splashy acquisitions, and both have panned out in extraordinary fashion. Baun was a little more of a lottery ticket who also hit big. All three of those players were All-Pros in 2024. In other words, Roseman has seen outside players come into the Eagles’ organization and have major success on the field while also being positive influences culturally in the locker room. They can probably feel confident that any outside player won’t be destructive to an already established winning environment.

After the Parsons trade to Green Bay, the Eagles are kind of in an arms race now

After acquiring Parsons from Dallas — and with the caveat that we’re taking about a short, two-game sample size — the Packers have looked very impressive so far this season, so much so that they are now the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl at most sportsbooks. Take FanDuel, for example:

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Packers: +320Eagles: +360Rams: +850Lions: +85049ers: +950Buccaneers: +1100

The Packers are built similarly to the Eagles, in that they drafted 16 of their starters, and have gotten big contributions from the few starters they have brought in from the outside, like Parsons, RB Josh Jacobs, and S Xavier McKinney.

Prior to the Parsons trade, the Eagles were the clear top dog in the NFC. Now, it’s more competitive at the top, and teams like the Rams and 49ers have proven that they too are willing to make splash moves when they think they’re close.

The Rams have made in-season deals for guys like Jalen Ramsey and Von Miller, when they were still in their primes. Those guys helped them win a Super Bowl. The 49ers traded for Christian McCaffrey. And certainly, the Lions feel like a team willing to push their chips in to acquire top talent.

Howie is already on a trading rampage

The Eagles have already made five trades for outside players since August. Those players are CB Jakorian Bennett, WR John Metchie, QB Sam Howell, OT Fred Johnson, and RB Tank Bigsby. The only one of those players with any chance of starting at some point (barring injury) is Bennett.

Those deals were small potatoes. But again, Roseman tried to go big by trading for Parsons! He feels a little like the guy at the casino playing slots who has a bunch of small payouts on triple cherries, but keeps coming close on triple jackpots and can’t leave.

So, who then?

I dunno 🤷‍♂️. Corner? Another D-lineman? Really, any special player — a few positions excluded — who can make an impact and help the team win another Super Bowl should be considered in play.

As we’ve seen in past seasons, impact players do become available, and the Eagles are clearly hungry to unveil another banner.

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