The trade deadline looms, ‘Bazooka Joe’ to debut, and everything else to know ahead of Eagles-Giants

Landon Dickerson took advantage of a poorly asked question Wednesday afternoon inside the Eagles locker room.

I asked him: Where’s your head at right now, a couple days before the trade deadline?

“On top of my shoulders,” Dickerson replied with a smile.

So I asked a different way: Do you worry at all that you might get traded?

“I don’t know, and it’s really not up to me,” Dickerson said. “I’ve said it a lot of times: I love this team, I love this city, this is my home right now. Really, all I care about is playing the Giants.”

Dallas Goedert had a similar response, though salary cap implications might make it more unlikely he is dealt: “I’m here right now trying to go through practice, go through meetings, and trying to prepare for this game,” he said.

The Eagles are 2-6 and enter their Sunday home game vs. the Giants as underdogs. After that, the bye week begins, but the trade deadline is Tuesday, and the roster could look a bit different when the Eagles return to practice for Week 11.

Riq Woolen, Moro Ojomo, Dickerson, Goedert, and others could be on the market.

At the same time, a win on Sunday — and a spark on offense from new quarterback Joe Milton — would have the Eagles one game back in the win column in the NFC East.

Would that inform Howie Roseman’s approach at the deadline? Should it?

— @Jeff_Neiburg

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The Eagles and Giants kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday from Lincoln Financial Field. The game is on FOX and will be called by Joe Davis and Greg Olsen with Pam Oliver on the sidelines.

As usual, Merrill Reese and Mike Quick have the hometown radio call on 94 WIP.

Looking to watch the game somewhere in the city with fellow Eagles fans? Here’s our latest list of places to watch.

The Eagles again will be without their top two wide receivers, DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), who missed practice all week and haven’t played since a Week 6 loss to Carolina.

Saquon Barkley (hamstring/back), though, returned to practice Thursday in a limited capacity, practiced in full on Friday, and is in line to play.

Eagles

Out

Questionable

Giants

Questionable

Doubtful

On Oct. 16, the day the Eagles signed Joe Milton from Dallas’ practice squad, Zack Baun returned to his locker after practice and looked over at his teammate, Smael Mondon.

“Hey Smael, did you see we signed Joe Milton?” Baun asked Mondon. “He’s going to tear your fingers off during the catch circuit.”

The man known as “Bazooka Joe” for his big arm came to the Eagles with a reputation. I circled back to Baun this week in the locker room to ask if his fingers are intact. (They are.) But also to ask about Milton’s arm. Baun mentioned how effortlessly he’s noticed Milton throw the ball deep down the field.

Rookie tight end Eli Stowers said Milton “can spin it. That’s for sure. You feel it when he throws it to you, and it hits your hands pretty quick.”

The quarterback change is the obvious big storyline this week, besides the looming deadline. Nick Sirianni on Friday explained why the Eagles made the move to Milton.

What’s going on with the Eagles and what should you be looking for on Sunday? Olivia Reiner and Ryan Novozinsky discussed on this week’s pregame show.

Stick with us after Sunday night’s game. Ryan will be reacting live after the final whistle.

The Giants haven’t won at the Linc since 2013, but that skid could come to an end as the Eagles are slated to be home underdogs against New York for the first time since 2009. The Giants are favored by three points and the over/under is less than 40. Is this the year their South Philly losing streak ends?

Check out more odds and props for Sunday’s game.

Jeff McLane: Giants 23, Eagles 20

Jeff Neiburg: Giants 27, Eagles 20

Olivia Reiner: Giants 27, Eagles 20

Ryan Novozinsky: Giants 31, Eagles 14

Check out the reasoning behind our writers’ picks and McLane’s keys to the game. As for the rest of the country, here’s a look at the national media predictions for Sunday.

1998: That’s the last time the Eagles were minus-65 or worse through eight games.

Only the winless Los Angeles Chargers have a worse point differential than the Eagles do right now.

The numbers are bleak.

Here’s what our columnists are saying this week, including Mike Sielski, who wrote about Howie Roseman getting away from his philosophy, and Marcus Hayes, who accused Sirianni of scapegoating McKee.

Sielski: “They put their plan ahead of their people, and here they are, back near the bottom for the first time in years, with no choice but to re-learn just how hard being great and staying great can be.” Read more.

Hayes: “But there’s pressure to fire Sean Mannion. There’s pressure on Chris Kuper, as folks clamor for ousted offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. And most importantly, there is pressure on Sirianni. You know what takes the spotlight off coaching failure? Shifting the blame to a scapegoat quarterback with no pedigree and no ally.” Read more.

David Murphy: “If Milton sets the world on fire, great. House money. If he doesn’t, the Eagles will at least buy another handful of weeks before they can again switch things up and inject a sense of the new.” Read more.

The Eagles wanted to keep Milton starting a secret in an effort to have the Giants on their heels if they learned late in the week that the Eagles were going to a more mobile quarterback.

What have they been doing now that they know?

“We’ll try to anticipate, just like guys had to do with J.J. [McCarthy],” Giants coach John Harbaugh said. “What exactly are they going to run with him? What would be the plays? But it’s still going to be their offense, still going to be their structure, still going to be the Eagles’ team. So, from that sense, we’re just preparing for the game.”

Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson on Milton: “He can run. He’s elusive in the pocket, and he can throw the ball 100 yards. So we have to be aware of that. He’s going to bring a different dynamic to the offense, and we’re really aware of it.”

Thanks for reading. Like the Eagles, this version of the newsletter will be on a bye week next weekend. We’ll see you in two weeks.