Mailbag: Projecting an Eagles position of need at the 2024 trade deadline

The Philadelphia Eagles have trimmed their roster to 53 players and their first regular season game is just a week away. With that in mind, let's answer some questions about the team and beyond. This will be Part I of a two-part mailbag, and will focus on their roster moves to get to 53 players. Part II will mostly look ahead to the 2024 regular season.

Question from @nrosenstein: If Howie makes a sorta splashy in-season trade like he's done with Kevin Byard and Robert Quinn the last few years, what position do you think he would target? What's the likelihood it works out better than those moves?

I could see them feeling like they need more help on the edge.

1. Bryce Huff still has to show that he's more than just a situational rusher on obvious passing downs.
2. Josh Sweat is coming off a down year.
3. Brandon Graham is a year older.
4. The team felt like they needed to see Nolan Smith play in the final preseason game, which is alarming for a first-round pick in his second season.
5. Jalyx Hunt is a rookie.
6. Patrick Johnson has typically been just a special teamer.

There are a lot question marks within that group. If a couple of the top guys disappoint the first half of the season, that's the spot I think they'll address.

As for the likelihood of a trade deadline deal panning out, since Howie regained his general manager status in 2016, he has been a buyer at the deadline during four seasons, debatably five. His record at the trade deadline has not been good:

• 2023: The Eagles were buyers, trading S Terrell Edmonds along with fifth- and sixth-round picks for S Kevin Byard.

• 2022: The Eagles were buyers, trading a fourth-round pick for DE Robert Quinn to replace the injured Derek Barnett.

• 2021: The Eagles were kinda-sorta sellers, as they traded TE Zach Ertz to the Cardinals after a loss to the Buccaneers brought their record to 2-4. They also traded QB Joe Flacco to the Jets to make way for Gardner Minshew to become the No. 2, and they traded a late pick for CB Kary Vincent Jr.

• 2020: No deadline trades, which made sense for a 3-4-1 team at the time of the deadline.

• 2019: The Eagles were kinda-sorta buyers, trading a fourth-round pick for EDGE Genard Avery. I say "kinda-sorta buyers" because they said that they were hopeful Avery would make an impact in 2020 and beyond, and not necessarily have to step in and contribute immediately. (He never did anything, obviously.)

• 2018: The Eagles were buyers, trading a third-round pick for WR Golden Tate.

• 2017: The Eagles were buyers, trading a fourth-round pick for RB Jay Ajayi.

• 2016: No deadline trades.

They basically lit draft picks on fire for Byard, Quinn, Vincent, Avery, and Tate. Ajayi was the lone good "buyer" trade.

Question from mpfilly12: What does the snap count breakdown look like among the edge rushers?

Let's say the defense plays 60 snaps Week 1. I'll guess it'll look something like this:

• Josh Sweat: 44 snaps
• Bryce Huff: 40 snaps
• Brandon Graham: 22 snaps
• Nolan Smith: 8 snaps
• Jalyx Hunt: 6 snaps
• Patrick Johnson: 0 snaps

Question from @BigWins: Why do you think the Eagles went heavy on safety, especially considering Sydney Brown will likely be back after the first 4 games?

Five safeties made the initial roster, including a bubble player in Tristin McCollum and a cooked player in James Bradberry who the team has been dangling as trade bait (that nobody wants) for the last seven months. I still don't know that they had any real intention of rostering Bradberry into the regular season, but once he got hurt after 53-man cutdowns (what timing!) it's hard to know for sure either way.

• MORE EAGLES
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• Report: James Bradberry suffers lower leg injury, lands on IR
  
• Analyzing the Eagles' practice squad
  

I mean, what exactly what his role going to be? He's not a safety! He can't tackle! And it's not as if he was going to play on special teams. Had they cut Bradberry and they just kept four safeties, it wouldn't seem like they went heavy.

So I guess my answer to your question is to ask your question in a different way, which would be, "Why did they keep James Bradberry?" And in my opinion, while I have a lot of respect for him as a person and for the player he was at one time, he was a waste of a roster spot.

Question from @AndyHistimine: How do they handle the James Bradberry injury? Non season-ending IR? Who do they sign to replace him? Elevate Andre’ Sam or sign someone else for depth?

I don't think they have to sign anyone. As noted in the previous question, they already have four safeties and a fifth, Sydney Brown, will be returning soon enough.

As for his stint on injured reserve, Bradberry is expected to be out for up to two months.

Each team can bring eight guys back to the 53-man roster from injured reserve per season. They don't count toward the eight until they are brought back, unless they are placed on IR before 53-man cutdowns. Those guys count immediately. So the Eagles have already used two of their eight IR returns on Albert Okwuegbunam and Ainias Smith. 

We'll see how many more guys go on IR between now and whenever Bradberry is healthy again, and that can perhaps help guide their decision on what to do with him. But again, I just don't know what he gives you as a player at this stage of his career. He shouldn't be occupying a spot on the 53-man roster at any point. Just move on.

Question from @DPK1012: Why waste a spot on a practice squad spot on a fourth QB who is 29 years old? If he’s solely there in a liaison role, why not put him on the coaching staff and give an actual developmental prospect the practice squad spot?

This question is of course referring to Will Grier, who played for Kellen Moore for two different teams (Cowboys and Chargers), knows his scheme, and can help the other quarterbacks. Maybe Grier doesn't want to retire just yet but the team still wants him around? I really don't know. 🤷‍♂️

Ultimately, there are 17 practice squad spots. It's not that big a deal to use one on a guy like this, though I do think it's a fair question.

Question from @Noriko21616296: Which player were you most surprised to make the roster? And cut?

Make the roster? Sorry to beat a dead horse, but... Bradberry! Again, he's a safety who can't tackle! 

Dylan McMahon was my most surprising cut. He played guard and center in college, but he isn't big enough to play guard in the NFL, so he's not very useful as an active player on gameday if he can only play one position. Still, I thought he played well enough in camp and in the preseason games that he would easily be safe. The Eagles did seem to correctly identify that he wouldn't get claimed on waivers, though I have hard time handing out a gold star for that since they made the oddly stubborn/futile decision to keep Bradberry instead.

Question from @cetst11: If the Steen and Becton competition were close, why wouldn't they give it to the player who is cost controlled for the next 2 years?

I don't think it was close, honestly. I believe the Eagles had major concerns about Steen, and when Becton proved to be good enough, they turned to him. 

And it's not just that Steen is cost-controlled for two more years. They also used a high pick on him. If it were indeed "close," Steen would have been the far more logical player for the team to want to win that job.

Question from @kurtsypher: What are the options for the 3rd TE after they use up all three of E.J. Jenkins' callups? Would it be Jack Stoll for three and then go from there?

I assume Jack Stoll is the TE3. If the Eagles want three tight ends active on gameday, they'll likely elevate him over E.J. Jenkins, who is worth developing but who I don't think is ready yet for real game action. For now they can just live with two tight ends on the active roster with Stoll and Jenkins on the practice squad, but a more permanent solution will have to come when they're out of callups for Stoll, either promoting him to the 53 or finding another tight end. Perhaps that would be Albert Okwuegbunam coming off of IR. For reasons unclear, they still like Albert O.

Question from @tshine500: With 5 WRs rostered will they add a 6th? 2 TEs seems low as well. What position group loses that extra spot? Is Johnny Wilson an H-back type player that could fit in both spots, maybe?

At wide receiver, I think five is low, but also fine, for now. There will probably just be four active on gameday — A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson, and Britain Covey.

Johnny Wilson will likely be inactive. Whenever he is ready to play, he is a guy who can play inside and outside, but he isn't a tight end in any way. You're not going to have him blocking defensive ends.

Question from @cetst11: Will the Eagles sign Jack Driscoll?

Interestingly, the Dolphins had Driscoll playing some center in their camp this year, and a lot of their beat writers were surprised that he got cut. I imagine Driscoll thinks he's a worthy of a spot somewhere on a 53-man roster, and I'm not sure the Eagles can offer that, but certainly I would think that they'd welcome him back to the practice squad in a heartbeat.

Question from @ThisPhillyFan: How much walking are you going to do for this year's press box food reviews?

Oh yeah, I kinda forgot about the #StepsTracker. I did that the Super Bowl year, but didn't renew that idea for the 2023 season. Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts, Brian Johnson, Sean Desai, Matt Patricia, and Howie Roseman took a lot of heat for the 2023 collapse, but maybe I'm partly to blame too. Maybe I'll bring that back.