Do Eagles Still Need to Make an August Trade?
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With the days winding down until training camp begins on July 26, the Eagles’ roster looks good to go.
The late additions of cornerback James Bradberry on May 18 and Jaquiski Tartt on June 20 leave them without any noticeable holes.
It was widely assumed that GM Howie Roseman would have to make an August trade to spackle one of those secondary positions.
It was also widely assumed that OT Andre Dillard and WR Jalen Reagor – two former first-round draft picks - would be the bait to get something done.
Isaac Seuamlo, the last player still with the team from the 2016 draft class that included Carson Wentz, has been thrown into the offseason trade talk, too.
Unless there is a cataclysmic injury to one of the key pieces on the team, there doesn’t appear a need to make any move at all.
That doesn’t mean Roseman won’t make one.
It may not be something that would move the meter much, though.
In tinkering with my soon-to-debut 53-man roster projection, there seems to be a glut of offensive linemen.
Dillard is part of that stockpile and maybe he could be moved for a conditional draft pick in 2023, a draft where the Eagles already own two first-round picks, but adding a second second-rounder or a third-rounder would be nice if they could get that for Dillard.
The Eagles can afford to move Dillard because they have Le’Raven Clark.
The same logic holds the other way around, though. The Eagles can afford to move Clark because they have Dillard.
Clark wouldn’t bring much, but it would be better than simply releasing him, which is looking like a real possibility.
Dealing Reagor makes sense, too. Give the kid – and yes, at 23, he is still a kid – a fresh start.
Roseman, though, won’t just give him away. Nor will he simply release him.
Right now, though, Reagor is creating a logjam at a receiver position where it will be interesting to see how players such as Devon Allen, Britain Covey, and Deon Cain look in camp. Reagor’s presence could also force the Eagles to part ways with popular veteran Greg Ward.
Trading Seumalo, however, makes some sense from a contractual standpoint.
From a contract point of view, trading Seumalo would give the Eagles $5.65 million in salary cap relief, allowing them to extend some players who are currently on one-year deals, perhaps players such as Bradberry, Tartt, or Miles Sanders if they prove worthy of new deals after a month or so of games.
Seumalo has two voidable years on his contract, so this could be his final season in Philadelphia, in which case, he would still count $3.8M against the salary cap in 2023.
Trading Seumalo, however, would further weaken one of the team’s strengths. It would be another blow to the offensive line's depth.
Remember, the Eagles released Nate Herbig after the draft, reportedly satisfying Herbig’s request to be set free when Cam Jurgens arrived in the second round.
The expectation is that one of the top battles in training camp will take place at right guard, where Seumalo and Jack Driscoll will compete to start. In my opinion, that battle is overblown.
Seumalo will start, provided he is 100 percent able to return from February surgery to remove hardware installed during a fall surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury.
Driscoll will be a super-sub.
Given the health history of both, it’s probably wise to keep both on the roster, anyway.
Sua Opeta, though, could be a low-level trade option because it looks like the path to a roster spot could be difficult for the guard. Like Clark, Opeta wouldn’t return much, but he might fetch a late third-day pick.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
