By Patrick Del Gaone, Sports Talk Philly staff writer
Over the past two weeks, Vice President of Football Operations Howie Roseman has been busy acquiring assets to improve the Eagles both now and in the future, but CBS Sports insider Jason La Canfora believes Philadelphia’s transactions are far from finished.
The Eagles aren't done wheeling and dealing. Not by a long shot. Having spent a load to keep their own players and very short on draft picks after the trade for Wentz, aggressive general manager Howie Roseman will continue trying to upgrade via trade.
That move for Dorial Green-Beckham is just a portal into Roseman's thinking there — looking for recent draft picks from other teams who haven't panned out who could fill a position of need in Philly and are young and cheap labor.
The Eagles were looking for linebackers for a while before settling on signing free agent Stephen Tulloch. They've also been sniffing around on corners, and other general managers get the sense that Roseman is always working the trade angle and trying to see who could become available.
I'd put the over/under at two on trades this team makes before the Eagles take the practice field a few days before the start of the regular season. They will be very active during the roster cutdown period, trust me.
Trading players is most uncommon in the NFL among the four major professional sports in America, but that doesn’t seem to dissuade Roseman.
Having been unhinged from his predecessor, Chip Kelly, the assertive 41-year-old is quickly becoming an outlier in a league where front office conservatism has become the norm. According to La Conforta, Roseman will continue to counterbalance the loss of draft picks in his multifaceted deals which landed prized quarterback Carson Wentz by "buying low" on young players that teams are ready to give up on.
Clearly Roseman is displeased with the amount of talented players the Eagles sent packing under Kelly, and believes the skilled positions in particular need to be upgraded in order for Philadelphia to return to the NFC’s elite.
If nothing else, it’s encouraging that Roseman is relentless in his pursuit of acquiring younger players by way of player-only exchanges, particularly in a todays NFL. Just five of the 72 NFL trades last season didn’t include a draft pick in some capacity. Often times the most aggressive general managers will have their impulsivity used against them by their adversaries, knowing how hell-bent they are on finalizing a deal. But Roseman has yet to give in to the inevitable attempted fleecing’s.
Take for example the recent trade with the Titans for wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. The second-year receiver has been compared to Randy Moss by multiple football experts in recent years, including Mike Mayock. He’s just 23-years-old, stands 6'5", 240 pounds and has legitimate 4.4 speed.
In return, the Eagles gave up 26-year-old career backup Dennis Kelly, who was serviceable at best when filling in for injured starters last season. The transaction is essentially risk-free, acquiring a matchup nightmare with tremendous upside for a depth player who quite frankly isn’t difficult to replace.
With the focus shifted to inquiring about cornerback help, and proven veteran Antonio Cromartie having signed with the Colts on Wednesday, Roseman will remain aggressive when teams are forced to part ways with youthful and affordable players as roster cuts continue.
While the jury is still out on whether or not Roseman’s recent trades are a success, it seems that the Eagles are keen on building toward a brighter future beyond 2016. In the meantime, it would appear that this year's roster will continue being modified during this critical fortnight.