Eagles Mailbag: Does Howie Roseman Have Any Other Big Trades in the Works?
The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to trade star wide receiver A.J. Brown next month. While some may still be in denial, nearly every move that Philadelphia has made this offseason hints towards the inevitable end to Brown’s tenure with the Eagles. Therefore, it’s time to wonder what else could be coming next in the City of Brotherly Love.
Many are worried about Philadelphia’s current situation at safety with some speculating that the team could add a starting caliber safety in a trade. Does Eagles general manager Howie Roseman have any other big deals in the works? I’ll answer that question and much more in my latest Eagles mailbag.
The Eagles have already made several trades this offseason, including deals for Jonathan Greenard and Dontayvion Wicks. Yet after trading Brown, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Roseman make another deal or two. My focus remains on the safety situation and how the Eagles could go about addressing that area.
Andrew Mukuba has one starting spot locked up and Marcus Epps is currently the other projected starter. While Epps provides a relatively stable floor as a starter, there is still certainly room to improve at that spot. Here are five projected trades for help at safety:
Eagles trade Kelee Ringo and a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Saints for Justin Reid
Eagles trade Smael Mondon Jr. and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Steelers for DeShon Elliott
Eagles trade Kelee Ringo and a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Browns for Grant Delpit
Eagles trade Arnold Ebiketie and a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Cardinals for Budda Baker
Eagles trade Johnny Wilson and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Falcons for Jessie Bates III
Prior to the reported adjustment that the Eagles made to Zack Baun’s contract, 2028 was a void year. Now Philadelphia has turned that into a “real year,” which essentially opens up a new way for the Eagles to save money. It doesn’t necessarily change when Baun will likely depart Philadelphia, as he still isn’t expected to be on the team beyond 2027.
Yet instead of his contract expiring in 2028 and the Eagles absorbing a dead cap hit due to the void years, now they are allowed to designate Baun as a post-June 1 release to spread out the dead cap hit. It’s just another loophole that Philadelphia has discovered to manipulate the salary cap and save the team money around the margins.
The only downside to this maneuver is that the Eagles will not be able to receive a compensatory pick if Baun signs elsewhere in 2028. If they designate him as a post-June 1 release, he will no longer counts towards the compensatory pick formula.
While the Eagles are expected to spread the football around more in 2026, I believe that DeVonta Smith will still lead the team in all of the major statistical receiving categories by a wide margin. This isn’t necessarily rocket science but my guess is that Smith will record career-highs in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns next season.
If I had to predict Smith’s regular season-long stat-line for next season, I’d go with 96 receptions for 1,275 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. That’s an average of 5.6 receptions per game, 75 receiving yards per game and .58 receiving touchdowns per game.
In regard to Makai Lemon, it’s always tricky to predict the stat-line for a rookie wide receiver. While Lemon should have a significant role in Philadelphia’s offense, he’ll be competing with Dallas Goedert, Dontayvion Wicks, Eli Stowers and Hollywood Brown for receptions. I’ll go with 67 receptions for 763 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns for Lemon in 2026.
No, simply because it won’t happen. It’s clear that Brown will be playing elsewhere in 2026. He didn’t attend voluntary workouts or rookie minicamp, which he has at times in the past. Brown also didn’t participate in DeVonta Smith’s charity softball game or the Eagles Autism Challenge. The writing is clearly on the wall and at this point in the offseason, I can’t help anyone that is still struggling to read it.
The Eagles certainly hope that both Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens are healed. It was clear that the entire offensive line struggled last season and I’ve maintained that it was the biggest contributing factor to Philadelphia‘s offensive failures. Dickerson, Jurgens and others mentioned how the previous season’s Super Bowl run negatively impacted their health.
But following an early playoff exit, the Eagles offensive line won’t have any excuses in 2026. Both Dickerson and Jurgens have experimented with advanced stem cell therapy in Colombia this offseason. We’ll see if either player is able to stay healthier next season following their unique recovery methods.
In regard to Mekhi Becton, it seems like there were several factors that contributed to his underwhelming performance with the Los Angeles Chargers. Becton appeared to struggle in Los Angeles’ scheme, battled injuries and didn’t seem to have the best relationship with the coaching staff either. It’s just another example of the impressive work that former Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland was able to accomplish in Philadelphia.
There is still plenty of time for Roseman and the Eagles to address any perceived weaknesses ahead of the regular season. But I’ll rank my confidence level in all three phases of the game for the Eagles on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being the least confident and 10 being the most confident).
Offense: 8 - I’m excited to see what Sean Mannion can do with Philadelphia’s new-look offense, yet I’m still concerned about the health of the offensive line.
Defense: 9 - The biggest concerns seem to be the growth of Andrew Mukuba and Jihaad Campbell, along with Marcus Epps as the second safety. But I’m higher than most on all three of those players.
Special Teams: 6 - Unfortunately, Jake Elliott isn’t going anywhere this offseason and I’m not sure who will handle the return duties for the Eagles in 2026.
It seems unfair to give the Eagles a letter grade considering that the expected Brown trade is the next big shoe to drop. Yet assuming that Philadelphia will receive a future day two pick (at the very least) for Brown, I’d give the Eagles a solid B+ for this offseason.
Roseman was put in a relatively tough spot given Brown’s unhappiness and a lack of real cap space to make any massive splashes. Yet it feels like Philadelphia has done a good job of filling any perceived holes, while adding some intriguing talent with upside at key positions.
The only move that I believe the Eagles could still be kicking themselves for is letting Reed Blankenship walk in free agency. Blankenship signed a relatively cheap deal and it reminds me of Philadelphia letting Isaiah Rodgers walk in 2025. Even though the Eagles can still make another addition at safety, it likely would’ve been easier to just re-sign Blankenship.