The Eagles largely were quiet at the NFL trade deadline, but experts think that wasn’t a bad thing
The Birds' report card is in after the trade deadline, and despite just one big move, they're on the honor roll at ESPN, The Athletic, and others.
Remember when some Eagles fans hoped the trade deadline would be a fix-all for the problems the team was facing this season? It appears that wasn’t what general manager Howie Roseman had in mind.
But many outlets seem to think Roseman’s approach will pay dividends for the franchise in the future, and graded the Eagles accordingly.
In their one successful move ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Eagles sent defensive tackle Jordan Davis to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick.
The Eagles also tried to trade edge Arnold Ebiketie to the Bengals for a sixth-round pick in 2027. The trade, however, fell through, seemingly after Nick Korte from Over the Cap pointed out that the trade would cost Cincinnati its third-round compensatory pick.
Ebiketie signed with the Eagles as a compensatory free agent in the offseason and would give the Bengals three compensatory free agents gained compared to its three lost in the offseason. Because a team must lose more qualifying free agents than it signs, the Bengals would have forfeited the draft pick.
Even without the Ebiketie trade, many outlets consider Roseman and the Eagles one of the winners of this trade deadline. Here’s how they were assessed:
ESPN
Davis trade: A
The Eagles’ only move between Sunday and Tuesday’s deadline fared well with ESPN’s Seth Walder. Things didn’t look as favorable for the Jaguars, whom Walder gave an F in his assessment.
While Walder wrote that the trade “ought to induce marvel at Howie Roseman and the Eagles” for pulling this off, he accused the Jaguars of overcompensating for Davis on their end.
“With Philadelphia’s season effectively over, it’s easy for the Eagles to unload their players,” Walder wrote. “But at this kind of price, I’m inclined to think the Eagles would have dealt Davis no matter their contention status or depth chart. Philadelphia should be thrilled at this return.”
» READ MORE: ‘Howie just robbed all of Duval,’ Eagles fans show love, and more reactions to the Jordan Davis trade
Deadline winner: Howie Roseman
ESPN’s Ben Solak named six winners and four losers for this season’s deadline. Roseman was among the victorious.
The return for Davis, which Solak called “astonishing work,” is the most recent in a line of transactions Roseman has become notorious for winning. Solak said Roseman continues to have the “longest view in the room,” and that foresight comes back around to help in situations like this.
“Because Roseman signs early extensions (Davis still had a fifth-year option to play on) and uses future bonuses as built-in restructures, the Eagles were able to suddenly shift gears and trade Davis on the extension instead of keeping him on the books,” Solak wrote. “Had they not gotten that extension done, Davis would have been on a contract year right now and the Eagles never would have gotten as much trade capital back from the Jaguars.”
CBS Sports
Davis Trade: A
Roseman and the Eagles received another A, but the difference comes in how Garrett Podell saw the Jacksonville’s side of things. In giving the Jags a B-minus, he agreed with Walder on Jacksonville correctly going all-in at the deadline. But even though their timing was right, Podell didn’t think the price was.
For Roseman and the Eagles, though, they couldn’t have asked for more.
“Roseman was able to trade away the lesser player of the two [between Davis and Jalen Carter], and he recouped first-round and second-round draft capital in the deal,” Podell wrote. “He couldn’t have asked for anything more, and he’ll be able to rebuild the Eagles in no time with 10 picks in the first two rounds of the draft across the next three years.”
Deadline winner: Eagles
CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani is considering the Birds a winner, after factoring in the Davis trade, the Cam Jurgens deal after Week 4 this season, and the A.J. Brown trade in June.
“When you count up all the capital the Eagles acquired for those three players, Philly received two first-round picks, two second-round picks and two fifth-round picks,” Dajani wrote. “That’s comparable to the Ricky Williams trade between Washington and New Orleans back in 1999.”
» READ MORE: What we learned about the Eagles at the 2026 NFL trade deadline
The Athletic
Davis Trade: A+
The Athletic saw two sides of the grading scale for the Eagles and the Jaguars. The Birds got top marks, while Jacksonville was barely a step above failing with a D-minus.
Like other outlets, Daniel Popper’s biggest problem with the Jaguars’ decision is how they overpaid. For the Eagles, Popper’s grade was based on Roseman’s foresight.
He wrote that this move allows the eagles to extend defensive tackle Moro Ojomo as he nears the end of his rookie contract, and it also works well with Jalen Carter’s new contract, which came before the start of the season. All the Eagles will be left with from Davis will be $15.4 million in 2027.
“Roseman is doing the right thing, turning a losing season into future opportunity,” Popper wrote.
Yahoo! Sports
Davis Trade: A-
The Eagles’ lowest grade came from Eric Edholm and Yahoo! Sports. The Jaguars also received a passing grade, a B-plus, their highest mark.
Even with his “ordinary” season, Edholm said the Jaguars “wouldn’t have paid so much” if they didn’t think Davis could take it to the next level.
As for the Eagles, Edholm said the trade is indicative of the Birds admitting defeat on the season. In doing that, though, they’re continuing to build for the future.
“It’s a tough short-term pill to swallow for the franchise and a fan base used to competing every season, but the long-term payoff could be immense,” Edholm wrote. “The Eagles’ to-do list this offseason grows, but the potential of how they can reshape the roster is equally as exciting.”
Overall Grade: B+
As for all of the pre-deadline moves, including the Jurgens trade on Oct. 7, Edholm and Frank Schwab gave the Birds a B-plus. They noted that the Eagles, usually one of the more aggressive teams during the deadline, were sellers this year.
“The in-season loss of Jalen Hurts has precipitated some of this movement, but the Eagles were already in sell mode with the Cam Jurgens trade the week prior to Hurts being diagnosed with blood clots,” Edholm and Schwab wrote. “Trading Davis brought back some potentially great returns.”
A crucial crossroads is here. The Eagles have reached the bye and, as timing would also have it, the NFL trade deadline, mired in their worst stretch of the Nick Sirianni era. There’s no doubt the franchise needs to course correct, but how? With who? Will players be on the move? Could coaches’ jobs be on the line? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner conduct an autopsy of the Eagles after their seventh straight loss — a 19-11 defeat to the New York Giants — and look at the big picture of an organization that has swiftly fallen far from its Super Bowl glory two years ago. Listen here.
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