Riq Woolen's Eagles Future Remains Up in the Air as Trade Rumors Swirl in Week 8

The cornerback, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason, is at the top of many lists to be traded before the end of the season.

Eagles CB Riq Woolen has addressed the ongoing trade rumors about him as the team nears sell-off mode before the NFL trade deadline. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

PHILADELPHIA, P.A. – Riq Woolen won a Super Bowl ring with the Seahawks last year. He thought that when he signed with the Eagles a few weeks later, he might be able to go back-to-back, the way LeGarrette Blount and Chris Long did in 2016 and 2017, when those two won it all with the Patriots, came to the Eagles, and won it all again.

It looks like it isn’t going to happen that way for the cornerback. He may not even finish the season with the team he signed a one-year contract to represent, because his name is near the top of a list of tradeable players as the season slips away.

“You hear (the trade rumors), but nobody knows the truth,” Woolen said. “You guys on social media and whatever news outlet, y'all can say a million things, but y'all really wouldn't know until you get a talk with the GM and you get a talk with your coach.

“So, other than that, I mean, you can see me going to any team, or you can hear anything about me going to team, but to me, that doesn't matter, just because I'm here every day working with these guys.”

Riq Woolen

Woolen had one of his worst games as an Eagle in Monday night’s loss to the Cowboys. He declined to answer questions in the locker room afterward but was available on Wednesday as the Eagles prepare to visit the Commanders on Sunday Night Football.

“Whenever you do hear little things about trades and stuff like that, you know, you can either let it get to you and worry about where I can go, because it's people that have been on losing teams and teams that are losing, and they're probably wondering, ‘Oh, how can I go be on this team or do this and that?’"

Riq Woolen, Eagles CB

No matter what the future holds for him, Riq Woolen needs to find a way to bounce back after a forgettable performance vs. the Cowboys. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“I gotta be where I'm at, and to get where I wanna go, I have to go through the things, and that's me being with my team, me being a great player, me getting better every game, and being someone they can rely on while I'm here,” Woolen added.

Woolen’s had at least one interception in each of his first four years in the league, including a Seahawks franchise record of six as a rookie. Yet, in 99% of the defensive snaps so far, Woolen doesn’t have a single INT this year.

There are still 10 games to play, but again; will he play all of those in Philly?

“I was in Seattle last year, and my name came up in trade reports,” Woolen said. “I still had to come here and work every day because my brothers need me. They don't need my mind to be anywhere else. So that's my job here. Me being in Philly, I worked my butt off with these guys all off season, and so I'm gonna ride with these guys throughout the season, no matter if we're undefeated or we don't win a game.

“I've worked my butt off with them. They worked hard as hell too … I'm right here in Philly, and it's a place I wanna be.”

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