Eagles Mailbag: Does the Micah Parsons Trade Actually Hurt Philadelphia?
The Philadelphia Eagles have trimmed down their roster to 53 player ahead of Week 1. Yet Eagles GM Howie Roseman’s work is far from over, as he continues to make moves along the edges of the active roster and practice squad.
Could Roseman have a big move in the works? We’ll see. The Dallas Cowboys pulled off a stunner by trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. But will that trade actually hurt the Eagles? I’ll discuss all of that and more in my latest Eagles mailbag.
The Packers were a better team than the Cowboys before the trade for Parsons. I was much higher on Green Bay than most people were last season as well. Yet I’m not sure that adding Parsons makes the Packers a better team than the Eagles quite yet.
Could they now be viewed in a similar tier as the Eagles and Detroit Lions? Sure, I guess. But if the Eagles are healthy, I’d still say that they’re the better team and would likely win a head-to-head matchup.
The Packers still have serious questions at both CB and IDL, especially after trading away Kenny Clark. Meanwhile, the Cowboys were a middling team with Parsons, so I’m not sure how much trading him away changes things in the NFC East for the Eagles.
When a NFL team claims a player on waivers, they are taking on their existing contract. The idea of acquiring a young player on a cost-effective contract is often enticing to teams around the league, especially the Eagles.
In the case of Willie Lampkin, he was designated as waived/injured by the Los Angeles Rams. If he were to go through waivers unclaimed, I believe that he would have reverted to the injured reserve in Los Angeles.
Therefore, the Eagles identified Lampkin as an intriguing player worth developing, despite his injury. Philadelphia also submitted a claim for Jalyn Armour-Davis, who was a popular name on waivers in the final year of his rookie deal.
I’ve learned to never doubt Roseman in recent years, yet I’d lean towards no. The Eagles seem focused on improving the depth on the roster ahead of Week 1, which is why we have seen so many reported practice squad signings.
Roseman is obsessed with giving late day two or early day three picks a second chance in Philadelphia. That’s why you’re seeing the Eagles reportedly signing Audric Estime, Javon Baker and Ambry Thomas.
The Eagles like to bet on the culture in their building getting the most of players that may have underwhelmed elsewhere. I’ll continue to keep my eye on CB as a position where the Eagles could make a splash, but maybe that’ll happen closer to the trade deadline.
I’m not sure if these would be categorized as bold predictions by Eagles fans, but here they are:
Jalen Hurts will throw for 4,000+ passing yards for the first time in his NFL career
Jahan Dotson will record a career-high in receiving yards (previous high: 523)
Nolan Smith Jr. will record 10+ sacks
If you were curious about my bold predictions for the season across the NFL, here they are:
Commanders will miss the playoffs
Falcons will win the NFC South
Steelers will have a losing record for the first time under HC Mike Tomlin
I’ve discussed this multiple times on The Philly Special Show’s YouTube channel and Eagles fans weren’t happy about my record prediction. Last year, I believe the Eagles got relatively lucky injury wise and that must be accounted for in 2025.
Philadelphia will also face a much tougher schedule and has several new starters on defense. Given those factors, I believe that the Eagles will have a final record of 11-6.
Prior to the Eagles signing Britain Covey to the practice squad, my guess was that Jahan Dotson would return punts. It was clear that Eagles DC Vic Fangio wasn’t thrilled about Cooper DeJean returning punts last year.
In 2025, DeJean’s role on defense will likely expand, which only makes him even more valuable to the defense. Following Covey’s return, my guess is that he’ll be elevated for the first three games to serve as the punt returner.
If Covey is still healthy by Week 4, then they’ll have to figure out a way to get him signed to the 53-man roster. If Covey gets injured or struggles for some reason, then we could see Dotson get an opportunity to return punts.
My guess is that we’ll see Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell play very similar roles to what Baun did last season. Both players have the versatility and size to play in different alignments along the defensive front.
During the preseason, Fangio wasn’t already using Campbell as an overhang defender on the edge, similar to what we saw Baun does. Now the Eagles just have the ability to do that with both of their starting linebackers.
I’m not sure if we’ll see Fangio blitz more than he did last season. But we could see more of those simulated pressures where Baun or Campbell will actually be the fourth rusher, while Nolan Smith or Jalyx Hunt drop into coverage.
I’ll dive into projected stats as we get closer to kickoff but I wouldn’t be too concerned about a sluggish start for the Eagles. It seems like the starters have the right mindset in anticipation of Week 1 against the Cowboys.
Nick Sirianni and his coaching staff are well aware of what happened last season during the team’s 2-2 start. I’d actually expect the Eagles to start off hot against the Cowboys, especially against a defense that is now without their best player.
It’s hard to pinpoint where Cooper DeJean will play for the Eagles in base defense. When the team is in their nickel defense, DeJean will obviously be Philadelphia’s slot CB. Yet his versatility opens up several possibilities in base defense.
DeJean worked at both outside CB and safety during practice when the Eagles were in their base defense. Fangio seems confident in DeJean’s ability to play anywhere in the secondary. My guess is that DeJean will play outside CB if the Eagles utilize their base defense in Week 1 against the Cowboys.
Eagles rookie safety Drew Mukuba has continued to miss practice with a hamstring injury. Therefore, it seems like Sydney Brown is the front runner to start at safety next to Reed Blankenship in Week 1.
While Brown didn’t necessarily win the job during training camp and preseason action, he did enough to make it close. Meanwhile, Mukuba has struggled to stay healthy despite showing flashes when he was on the field.
Regardless of who is listed as the starter, I believe that both Mukuba and Brown will have important roles on Philadelphia’s defense. Both players can be impactful for the Eagles when Fangio utilizes his dime defense.