5 Eagles Players Who Could Use Monday Night as a Showcase Ahead of Trade Deadline

Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie still talked like the owner of a contender when asked whether this was a rebuilding year, with hopes to win the division first and build from there.

“Our expectations are very high,” Lurie said in a television interview ahead of the Oct. 11 game in London.

Expectations have changed drastically since that game and after the Eagles dropped to 2-4. Lurie has shown he will sell when the return justifies it. The Eagles sent Cam Jurgens to Baltimore for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder, and Lurie said the move came down to value, even for one of his favorite players.

That brings us to Monday Night against the Dallas Cowboys. When these teams meet, it’s always a matter of pride regardless of the teams’ record, and this will be no different. The added wrinkle is that this will be a chance for the Eagles players to audition for potential new teams. This nationally televised game at Lincoln Financial Field will be just as much a showcase for the players who could be gone by the Nov. 10 trade deadline.

Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Cooper DeJean, DeVonta Smith, Jordan Mailata and Saquon Barkley appear to be off limits, so these five are the chips Roseman can move, ranked from least to most valuable.

5. Hollywood Brown, WR

Brown is 29 and on a one-year deal, and Monday may be his best chance to audition for more playing time on another team this season. DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks did not practice Thursday or Friday, while Brown was a full participant both days, so he should see quite a bit of action in this game.

He has only played in one game this season and doesn’t have a reception, even though he caught 49 passes for 587 yards and five touchdowns with Kansas City last season, and he topped 1,000 yards with Baltimore in 2021, when he had 91 catches. This season, he has been limited by injuries and being buried on the depth chart. With the top two wideouts not practicing and Brown participating in practices this week, he will get opportunities.

A contender that needs a serious threat could part with a late-round pick for a veteran rental.

4. A.J. Epenesa, EDGE

Epenesa is 28 and signed in June on a one-year deal after a contract with the Browns failed to materialize. He’s only played 38 defensive snaps this season, recording 2 tackle assists, but that should change Monday.

Nolan Smith is out for this game with the concussion he suffered in last week’s loss to the Carolina Panthers; Jonathan Greenard missed Friday’s practice with an ankle injury, and Jalyx Hunt was limited with knee and ankle injuries. This game will be the best opportunity for Espensa to showcase his wares against Dallas tackles Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele.

Espensa has 24 career sacks and had at least 6.0 in each season from 2022 to 2024, so he has produced when given consistent snaps. A Day 3 pick would be a win for a player on an expiring deal.

3. Moro Ojomo, DT

Ojomo is 25 and will be hitting the free agent market in March. The Eagles already paid Davis and Carter, so a third big contract will not fit. The Eagles took him in the seventh round in 2023, 249th overall, and he turned that into a career-high six sacks last season, second on the team, in 740 defensive snaps.

Teams do not usually move a young, productive defensive lineman, but the Eagles’ prior commitments already have their hands tied. If Eagles general manager Howie Roseman can get a fourth-round pick plus a third-day pick, that would give the Eagles a return for a player that will likely not be on the roster for next season, no matter what.

Ojomo was limited in practice this week with an abdominal injury, but he looks ready to play in the game.

2. Riq Woolen, CB

Woolen signed a one-year deal with the Eagles worth up to $15 million after winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks last season, and he has been solid as the No. 2 cornerback. Quarterbacks who throw in his direction have a 72.5 passer rating in coverage since 2022. He has 12 interceptions and 53 passes defensed in four seasons, and he tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions as a rookie in 2022. He has played in every game, and though he hasn’t recorded an interception yet, he has made several pass breakups in key moments, and a contender thin at corner will be happy to part with a third-round pick.

Quinyon Mitchell and DeJean are due extensions, and those deals will undoubtedly leave no room for Woolen past this season. With the depth at cornerback in the draft, that pick would give the Eagles a chance to bring in a player who can replace his production without the payroll hit.

1. Zack Baun, LB

I realize this one hurts, but Baun is playing at or near his peak, and with the Eagles in reload mode, his timeline doesn’t match where the team is right now.

He’s led the Eagles in tackles in each of the past two seasons and had 36 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and three pass breakups in four games through the Oct. 11 game in London. He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after a 12-tackle opener against the Washington Commanders.

Baun is an All-Pro who turns 30 on Dec. 30, and with Jihaad Campbell and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. waiting behind him, this is an opportunity to cash in at the peak of his value. His $51 million extension, signed in March 2025, is about $17 million a year, so whichever team makes the trade inherits a reasonable contract. He practiced fully this week through a shoulder issue. Roseman should not move him for less than a first-round pick.

In addition to these five players, Roseman should sell the expiring contracts for Day 2 picks and focus on long-term answers on the offensive line. Those two positions were once strengths of this team and have become its Achilles’ heel.

The Eagles already hold 16 picks over the next two drafts before compensatory selections, including two first-round and two second-round picks in 2028. Their projected 2027 cap space sat near $43 million before the Jurgens trade cost them about $6 million of it.

That financial flexibility allows the Eagles to extend Mitchell, DeJean, and Hunt before their prices climb, and add in free agency to fill the gaps that happen from the rest of the season. A first for Baun would give Roseman another premium pick to work with, and with this season slipping away, it is a prime opportunity to reload.

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