Grading The Eagles’ 2025 In-Season Trade Acquisitions

The NFL trade deadline has officially passed, and for another year, the Eagles have made it known that they are all in on winning a Super Bowl for the second consecutive season. With that being said, Howie Roseman and the Eagles front office were very active in the trade space not only before the season, but throughout the past month or so of the year.

Roseman has always been someone who doesn’t sit on his hands when he feels like the Eagles need help; he always throws himself out there, making moves that can help improve the roster. Whether it’s making small moves for positions you don’t think the team needs, or spending big assets on a position the team desperately needs players for.

And while every move isn’t the greatest, he is always active, which makes people believe he is a genius general manager who can do anything. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, and he may whiff on ten trades, but the eleventh one may be a move that puts Philadelphia in an excellent spot not only for the season, but for the future.

For another year, he’s done just that. Heading into the 2025 season, the Eagles possessed a surplus of draft picks for the 2026 NFL draft. That’s a great thing to have, but unfortunately for the Eagles, at the same time, it isn’t. See, the Eagles as a team are built up of so many players that are locked into long-term deals, whether it’s contract extensions from veterans or players still on rookie contracts.

That means that the Eagles can only bring in so many draft picks each year, and along with the 20 or some undrafted guys and free agents, they bring in the numbers continue to get smaller and smaller. So what does Howie Roseman do? Well, since they have this excess of picks, they can heavily make deals throughout the season that better their team, whether it’s trading low-round picks for a return man or trading picks for future years.

The front office has been doing an excellent job over the past decade, finding players that work for the team, whether it’s great trades or acquiring free agents and draft choices. The Eagles are set up to make huge moves this season to help the team. During the actual season, they made four trades that could turn out to be season-defining moves for this team and help them make a run for another Lombardi trophy.

Eagles Acquire Running Back Tank Bigsby From Jaguars For 2026 5th-Round And 6th-Round Picks: C

This trade is still a little early to tell how it’s going to go. Running back Tank Bigsby was traded to Philadelphia back in September for two day three selections, and at the time, it seemed silly to be trading for a running back that was mainly going to be used to help improve their return game.

However, Bigsby seems to be growing a role in the Eagles’ offense and may be turning into Saquon Barkley‘s full-time backup. In the Eagles’ final game before the bye week, Bigsby was given nine carries and turned those carries into 104 rushing yards, with one of them being a 29-yard run that helped put the Eagles out of a second-and-long scenario. Barkley is still this team’s stud, but depth is always needed, and Bigsby seems like he could be that guy.

As the team stands at this moment, the Eagles are going to be a few players over the 53-man limit, and one of them that could be released is running back AJ Dillon. Bigsby seems to be taking snaps away from Dillion, and there’s no need to have both on the team. With Bigsby being younger and having invested more into him, it seems like that’s the direction it’s going in.

Eagles Acquire Cornerback Michael Carter II, 2027 7th-Round Pick From Jets For Wide Receiver John Metchie III, 2027 6th-Round Pick: B-

The Eagles have been desperate for another cornerback all season long, as young studs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are only able to do so much for this secondary. Kelee Ringo and Adoree’ Jackson have just not been the answer for the Eagles for their outside corner spot, and now with Michael Carter II coming in, Philadelphia has options.

Carter was acquired alongside a 2027 7th-round pick from the Jets in exchange for wide receiver John Metchie III, someone the Eagles traded for before the season started, and a 2027 6th-round pick. Metchie hadn’t really done much since arriving in Philly, and trading down from the sixth to the seventh round in 2027 for a possible starting corner isn’t a bad move.

The downside to this trade is where Carter plays. His whole career in the NFL up to this point has been spent playing the nickel corner spot, a role currently done on the Eagles by Cooper DeJean. This could mean that DeJean may move to the outside, and Carter could play the nickel, or Carter could begin playing outside corner.

My best guess is that the Eagles will begin messing around with different sets going forward, with the leader being DeJean getting outside reps, and Carter playing nickel. That could change, but for now, that seems like the best guess, and to be honest, anybody out there that isn’t named Ringo or Jackson is a win.

Eagles Acquire Cornerback Jaire Alexander, 2027 7th-Round Pick From Ravens For 2026 6th-Round Pick: C+

While DeJean may still see time outside, this move seems less of a chance to happen. Philadelphia went out and got another cornerback, a player they were trying to sign back in late July, in Jaire Alexander. The Eagles sent a 2026 6th to the Ravens and received a 2027 7th and Alexander in return.

Alexander is a former two-time Pro Bowler and Second-team All-Pro, but injuries have caused him to take a step back from the once top corner that he was four years ago. On top of that, Alexander appeared in just two games with the Ravens, being a healthy scratch for multiple weeks, as it seemed the two sides just weren’t working.

So who’s to say that won’t be the same in Philadelphia? We don’t, but for the Eagles to move back just one run in a draft and even move that pick to the following year, I think it’s worth it to see what you can get from Alexander, who is still only 28 years old. If he can bring a veteran leader and be almost the Darius Slay of this year’s team, I’d say that’s a win for the Eagles.

Eagles Acquire Edge Rusher Jaelan Phillips From Dolphins For 2026 3rd-Round Pick- A

While cornerback has been a huge need for the Eagles, some could argue that the biggest need for them has been in the pas rushing department. The Eagles lost Milton Williams and Josh Sweat to free agency, and they went cheap when looking for their replacements, signing one-year deals with veterans and asking younger players to take bigger steps.

It hasn’t been the worst thing in the world; the Eagles just haven’t gotten the pressure up front that they feel they should be getting. Injuries have plagued a lot of that success as young stud Nolan Smith has missed a majority of the year with a tricep injury, and Ogbo Okoronkwo is out for the year as well.

They needed help so badly, they managed to have Brandon Graham come out of retirement to join the team for another Super Bowl run. Heading into Tuesday’s deadline, the Eagles were destined to acquire an edge rusher that could help improve the pass rush, and they managed to do just that without breaking the bank.

The Eagles went out and traded for Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, trading just a third round for him. While Phillips is a free agent after this season, the Eagles can still get a compensatory pick in return for him if he walks in March, and they’re already getting another third-rounder back this year for losing Milton Williams to free agency last year.

Phillips reunites with former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who worked together in Miami back in 2023. That season, Phillips was on pace to post career highs in sacks and tackles in a season before an Achilles tear ended his year. If Phillips stays healthy, this will be a huge asset for the Eagles this season, and if he plays well enough, he could be someone the Eagles consider resigning and helping this team win even more games for years to come.

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