The Philadelphia Eagles fell apart at the seams late last season in shocking fashion just months after getting to the brink of the Super Bowl championship. As a result, the franchise appeared to be in a bit of disarray, and there were rumors that head coach Nick Sirianni would lose his job.
But Sirianni still has his head coaching gig, while some changes have been made underneath him. Vic Fangio is his new defensive coordinator and Kellen Moore is now Philly’s offensive coordinator.
In addition, the team has a new squeeze in star running back Saquon Barkley, who has been a force over the last few years when healthy.
While the Eagles appear to once again have one of the best rosters in the NFC, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re done tweaking their roster.
In a recent Bleacher Report article, Kristopher Knox wrote that Josh Sweat, a starting defensive end for the Birds, is a candidate to be traded before the start of training camp later this month.
“Philadelphia has no reason to simply dump Sweat, but if it is looking to secure another player in a trade, he could become a valuable bargaining chip,” Knox wrote .
“Sweat is still entering the final year of his contract and isn’t a lock to stay with Philly beyond 2024. He’d undoubtedly interest teams in pass-rushing help after three straight seasons with at least 6.5 sacks.
“Last season, Sweat also had an impressive 37 quarterback pressures. He recorded 11.5 sacks in 2022 and was a Pro Bowler in 2021. At only 27 years old, Sweat would net a sizeable return in a trade.”
The Eagles may need to make some tough decisions
Philly got to the Super Bowl in the 2022 season largely on the strength of its defense, which ranked first in passing yards allowed. However, last season, that defense plunged to 30th in points allowed and 31st in passing yards and passing touchdowns given up.
Still, it has a number of studs on defense. In particular, Bryce Huff, an ascendent defensive end the Eagles acquired in free agency earlier this offseason, could effectively fill Sweat’s role and production should the latter actually get traded. In 2023, Huff posted 10 sacks and 21 quarterback hits despite not starting a single contest.
In their secondary, while starting cornerbacks James Bradberry—another player Knox named as a trade candidate—and Darius Slay are getting up there in age, they drafted two possible replacements this April in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
Philly is clearly in win-now mode, and that means making some difficult roster decisions in order to replenish its depth and remain under the salary cap.
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