UPDATE [4:34 p.m.] — We now know what Howie Roseman and the Eagles paid to acquire Genard Avery from the Browns. According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the Eagles have been very high on Avery since before he was drafted and were willing to give up a fourth-round pick in 2021 to Cleveland in order to make the trade happen.
UPDATE [3:04 p.m.] — The Eagles have made their first move ahead of Tuesday's NFL trade deadline, acquiring defensive end Genard Avery from the Browns in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick.
Avery was a fifth-round pick out of Memphis in 2018 and has 4.5 sacks in his career with Cleveland. And at least one former NFL exec who has close ties to both teams, Joe Banner, thinks it's a good move for the Birds.
In a corresponding move, the Eagles waived DT Bruce Hector, a day after he started in the Birds win over the Bills, to free up a spot for Avery on the 53-man roster. You can read more about Avery and what he brings to the table, here.
UPDATE [12:56 p.m.] — Well, you can take DT Leonard Williams off the board as a guy the Eagles might try to trade for ahead of the deadline. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Jets have traded Williams — and he won't even have to change stadiums — as he's been dealt to the Giants for a pair of picks.
Williams is one of the names that came up over the weekend and has been rumored as a potential fit for the Eagles. If Howie Roseman wants to beef up his defensive line in the next day-plus, he's going to have to look elsewhere.
FROM EARLIER
With the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, it's likely going to be a busy couple of days in Philly.
The Eagles (4-4) are basically in the perfect situation to go nuts at the deadline. They're a team that was built to win now and has so far this season not lived up to expectations, but the overall feel is that could change with the right additions at the deadline. They have a general manager in Howie Roseman that loves to make splashy deals — even if he wasn't able to land Jalen Ramsey, he reportedly at least tried — and has done so at each of the last two trade deadlines. And, finally, they have the assets — over $20 million in cap space and 10 draft picks in 2020 — to make something happen between now and the deadline.
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So what could be in the works for Roseman and the Eagles? Well, that all depends who you ask, but they will have plenty of options as they look to bolster their roster and make a run at the playoffs.
On Sunday, we looked at a trio of defensive players who are reportedly on the block — cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Darius Slay, and defensive tackle Leonard Williams, who got hurt in Week 8 — as a few options should the Eagles looked to bulk up their banged-up defense. But with one game left before the bye, and the potentially of getting back some key players on that side of the ball following the bye, perhaps the Birds opt to bulk up on offense instead.
So far this season, their offense has lacked the explosiveness many expected it to create with so many weapons for Carson Wentz. And it seems like one injury to DeSean Jackson, who remains sidelined, was able to make this whole thing fall apart. Last week, Jimmy Kempski took a look at how the Eagles receivers pose little danger to opposing cornerbacks this season, and that's certainly played a role in slowing down this offense. Could the Eagles look to add a wideout instead of — or perhaps in addition to — a defensive player?
A trio of names popped up in trade rumors in recent days, and some have been linked to the Eagles. First, we'll go with the biggest name and the one least likely to be dealt ahead of the deadline: Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins.
While that report was enough to send NFL Twitter into a brief frenzy just before kickoff on Sunday, it's almost impossible to see the Texans parting with Hopkins, who isn't just the best receiver on his team, but may be the best in the NFL. Sure, if DeShaun Watson was hurt and the Texans were several games under .500, maybe there'd be something to this. But the Texans are a half game behind the Colts for the AFC South lead and DeShaun Watson is having a heck of a year. Teams can call all they want, but it doesn't seem like anyone's going to be able to pry Hopkins away from Houston.
Then there are the two names that seem a lot more likely to be moved ahead of the deadline — and one of them has already been linked to the Birds in Jets WR Robby Anderson. According to CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora, Anderson is "almost certain to be traded" prior to the deadline and interest remains high on both he and Bengals wideout A.J. Green, who has yet to play this season but is expected to be fully healthy any week now.
Receiver remains a position of heavy focus ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, with Jets speedster Robby Anderson almost certain to be traded, league sources said.
With Emmanuel Sanders and Mohamed Sanu already dealt, interest remains high in Anderson, Bengals Pro Bowler A.J. Green and others, with the Saints, Eagles and Jaguars pushing to add a playmaker, sources said. Anderson is young and cheap, and the prospect of him getting a big contract from New York's new management team are slim, which has increased the pace of trade talks this week.
Green has received the most attention, and rightfully so despite being injured this season, but the Bengals have been stubborn about even listening to offers and the industry does not believe he will be moved this week. That makes Anderson even more appealing, and while his off-field issues are a turn-off to many teams, the reality is he would be a two-month rental, and the expectation is he would embrace a chance to play for a contender and put his best foot forward with free agency looming. [cbssports.com]
Of course, the Bengals have been hesitant to jump into the trade market, despite their 0-8 record.
Either way, there are certainly going to be more rumors popping up between the time you're reading this and the NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, and we've got you covered with all the latest news and rumors in our live tracker below.
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