Eagles trade with Seahawks for DE Michael Bennett

By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The NFL league year begins on March 14, but that did not stop the Eagles from making a big move to bolster their pass rush ahead of free agency and the NFL Draft. 

According to ESPN's Josina Anderson the Eagles are trading wide receiver Marcus Johnson and a fifth round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to the Seattle Seahawks for defensive end Michael Bennett and a seventh-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the trade details:

I'm told DE Michael Bennett is going to be traded to the Philadelphia #Eagles.

— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 7, 2018

Here it goes: Seahawks are trading DE Michael Bennett and a seventh-round pick to Eagles for a fifth-round pick and WR Marcus Johnson, sources tell ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 7, 2018

Bennett is a three-time Pro Bowler and has accumulated 54.0 sacks in 125 games and 90 career starts. Bennett had 8.5 sacks a season ago. His 24 quarterback hits was 10th in the NFL and more than any individual player on the Eagles roster had last season. Bennett played in two Super Bowls with the Seahawks, including winning Super Bowl XLVIII.

The trade will become official on March 14, 2018 when the league year officially begins. The trade allows the Eagles to explore their trade options with Vinny Curry who was previously reported to be a player that the Eagles were looking to move on from. It is likely that the Eagles make corresponding moves to get the team under the league's salary cap limit.