The Birds are 4-4.

They’ve got the Bears at home this Sunday, then it’s bye week, home to New England, and home to Seattle. Nigel Bradham, Avonte Maddox, Cre’Von LeBlanc, and maybe even DeSean Jackson and Tim Jernigan will be back, if God wills it.

So what’s Howie Roseman’s play here? Buy? Sell? Both?

If we’re making a list of the biggest needs for this team right now, I’d probably order it this way:

  1. defensive tackle
  2. receiver
  3. corner
  4. linebacker

Of course it’s hard to gauge any of this with the injury situation being murky at best, but I’m not sure Fletcher Cox and Bruce Hector is tenable moving forward, considering that the latter was pulled from the practice squad last week. Nate Gerry is playing 100% of the defensive snaps and Eagles receivers have failed to do anything explosive since DeSean left in week two.

Some candidates for selling:

Big V

Probably your most valuable + expendable trade chip right now. Big V is 26 years old with Super Bowl experience and isn’t playing much. He’s popped up in various Eagle rumors and would make sense as a movable asset.

Nelson Agholor

Expendable, sure. Valuable? Perhaps not, though maybe there’s a team out there willing to give him a try since he’s on an expiring contract and has done some nice things in the slot. Cheap move for a WR3 might make sense for a few teams.

Sidney Jones

Sort of a Markelle Fultz situation here. You could spin this move as a “change of scenery” type of thing, see if another team is willing to give Jones a try, and then plug in LeBlanc or Maddox in the slot when they come back. There’s more value moving Jones because of his age.

Nate Sudfeld

He’s third on the depth chart right now. You could certainly move him and roll with the Carson Wentz and Josh McCown pairing this season. Plus, if you get to your third string quarterback, you’re probably screwed anyway.

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Some targets for buying:

Chris Harris, CB

The Broncos need to sell at the deadline. They’ve already shipped Manny Sanders to San Francisco and if the Eagles aren’t thrilled with the secondary situation despite the return of LeBlanc and Maddox, then you make a move for the four time Pro Bowler, who would be a 30-year rental and come at a relatively affordable price tag.

Patrick Peterson, CB

He’s been linked to the Birds before. They reportedly made an offer for him, which was a first rounder and Nelson Agholor. Peterson is 29 and has another year on his contract at $12 million.

Aqib Talib, CB

Reportedly on the trade block, the 33 year old becomes a free agent after this season. LA is apparently trying to move some of their veteran players and recently acquired Jalen Ramsey, so they’re good in the secondary.

Darius Slay, CB

Available, via Adam Schefter:

Leonard Williams, DL

Rumored to be on the block, the former top-ten draft pick would really help bolster a defensive line that lost Malik Jackson, Tim Jernigan, and Hassan Ridgeway. The Cowboys apparently inquired about Williams before trading for Michael Bennett, and now the Giants are sniffing around.

Robby Anderson, WR

Former Temple receiver who can stretch the field. A DeSean Jackson replacement if D Jaxx can’t make it back from his injury.

Von Miller, OLB

He’s only 30 years old, though the contract is a little beefy. He’s set to earn $17.5 million the next two seasons, but those are option years that carry dead cap hits of ~$12 and $4 million dollars if you decide to move on.

Geno Atkins, DT

31 years old now, has similar contract structure to Miller, with potential outs that result in descending dead cap hits.

A.J. Green, WR

The Bengals say they aren’t trading him, but Green is on an expiring contract and is now 31 years old. They’d be smart to just blow it up out there, compile assets, and start the rebuild, in my opinion.

The Eagles will make a move. God wills it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez6wfJWVCeI