The Philadelphia Eagles, entering their bye week and deadline, are 6-2 on the year. Philly has won back-to-back games against the Vikings and Giants. They are at the top of their division and have a very good chance of winning it back-to-back seasons. If they do win the division, they will become the first NFC East team to win their division in back-to-back seasons since the Eagles themselves in 2004 when they won four straight division titles from 2001-2004.
Entering the trade deadline, there were a lot of questions that the Eagles needed to address. A.J. Brown was the number one priority that they needed to address. He has been disgruntled all season long. He made some tweets and was upset with his lack of touches. Recently, he has picked his play up, but was out with an injury in the last game against the Giants. Despite his roller coaster season, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said that the team will not be looking to trade away A.J. Brown.
Specifically, he said: “I would really like to keep this about the guys we acquired, but I think that when you’re trying to be a great team, it’s hard to trade great players and A.J. Brown’s a great player. He wears the ‘C’ for a reason. He’s an important part of this team, of this organization. He cares about winning, he cares about his teammates, and I think that when you’re a team like ours that is looking forward to an opportunity to compete for a championship, you just don’t get rid of guys like that. We feel very lucky to have him on our team and excited about the second half of the season with him.”
Over the course of the week, Roseman went right to work.
The Eagles started with a trade to the Jets, acquiring (DB) Michael Carter II in exchange for (WR) John Metchie III and a 2027 sixth-round pick. Philly made another trade with the Ravens, acquiring (CB) Jaire Alexander and a 2027 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick. Alexander was a former all-pro cornerback with the Packers and was released. The Ravens eventually picked him up, but they struggled on defense and decided to move on. The final deadline acquisition was Jaelan Philips from the Miami Dolphins, acquired in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had connections with Philips when he was the defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins in the 2023 season.
Howie Roseman addressed this trade and the history between those two saying, “With all these guys, the process starts with college, and we spent a lot of time with him coming out of college knowing the person. It’s really easy to scout the player. He’s got freak ability, he can rush, he can set the edge, he can play in space. He’s got a nonstop motor. I think one of the most fun things to do is put on his tape and watch his effort. When you have the athleticism and the physical ability he has with the effort he has, and then just going and seeing that he was Walter Payton Man of the Year in Miami and the things that he does in the community. He comes from an unbelievable family, and then Vic was with him.”
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni addressed the media and had nothing but positive things to say after their deadline acquisitions. Sirianni said, “Looking forward to being able to coach those guys. Every one of them has familiarity with a different guy on our coaching staff, which is always really good. That doesn’t always happen that way, but in this case it did. Talented guys that have played a bunch of good football in the NFL, each bringing a different thing and bringing depth to our positions. I was really, really excited about our roster how it was, and it’s been awesome to be able to add to it. Thankful for [Executive Vice President/General Manager] Howie [Roseman] to add to it, and we’re really excited to get these guys going and get them involved. We’ll see where they are at the end of the week and what that means for this game this weekend.” These moves bolstered their defense, which was a bit of a question mark, but now it’s not an issue.
The Eagles’ schedule will not be easy, as they face five teams with a .500 record or better: the Packers, Lions, Bears, Chargers, and Bills. The Eagles will next play the Packers this Monday for Monday Night Football at home in what should be an excellent test for this new and improved defense.
