4 veterans Eagles should trade by NFL deadline so these rookies can play

PHILADELPHIA − The circumstances on this Eagles season have changed.

It’s no longer about making the playoffs. Even as the Eagles pass the halfway point of their season when they face the New York Giants on Nov. 8, the 2026 season is about to serve a new purpose.

It’s a simple purpose: Find out which young players are worth becoming building blocks for the future and which ones aren’t. The only way to do that is by playing them. And one of the ways to play them is by trading players in front of them by the NFL deadline on Nov. 10.

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For example, when the Eagles drafted safety Cole Wisniewski in the seventh round last spring, Eagles GM Howie Roseman brought up Reed Blankenship’s name as a comparison. Blankenship was an undrafted free agent in 2022 who made the 53-man roster coming out of training camp.

He languished on the bench until replacing an injured CJ Gardner-Johnson over the final five games of the regular season. Blankenship was a full-time starter for the Eagles from 2023-25 before leaving as a free agent for the Houston Texans.

“There’s some reminder of a guy we won the Super Bowl with,” Roseman said about Wisniewski after the draft. “Those are tough shoes to fill. But when you watch him, you saw some of the things you liked with Reed.”

Wisniewski had a longer road to get to this point. He missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury and was waived, then signed to the practice squad, where he has been ever since. Wisniewski did get one practice-squad elevation. But he played only four special teams snaps.

Yet as the Eagles have gone through safeties next to starter Drew Mukuba, Wisniewski’s chance could be drawing near.

“Obviously, being able to go to the games and be on the sidelines is a lot of fun,” Wisniewski said. “But as a competitor, as a football player, you really want to play. And so, being able to get out there and play and have contact was awesome.”

For Wisniewski to get that chance to play safety, however, someone either has to get injured, traded or released. And it’s the same at other positions where rookies have gotten an opportunity.

First-round pick Makai Lemon has become the Eagles’ top receiver the past two games because both DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) are injured. Lemon has 13 catches for 124 yards in those two games. Smith and Wicks are likely to miss a third straight game because neither has returned to practice this week.

Third-round pick Markel Bell has started five straight games at right tackle when Lane Johnson abruptly retired on Oct. 6. Drew Kendall, a fifth-round pick last season, became the full-time starter at center when Cam Jurgens was traded to Baltimore on Oct. 7.

Here, then, are four veterans who could get traded to free up playing time for rookies/young players:

Dallas Goedert, TE, replaced by Eli Stowers

Stowers, the Eagles’ second-round pick, spent the first six games on injured reserve. But he has gotten into the past two games, albeit on a limited basis. Against the Commanders on Nov. 1, Stowers made his first career reception, which went for 7 yards. He ended the game with a garbage-time 34-yarder.

“It’s always good to get the first one out the way,” Stowers said. “To be able to feel that in the game, I think it was a good first step for me.”

The Eagles drafted Stowers to be Goedert’s heir apparent. The only way to find out if that will be the case would be to give him that opportunity. Trading Goedert, who’s on the last year of his contract, would accomplish that.

Marcus Epps, S, replaced by Cole Wisniewski

It’s not that the Eagles can get much for Epps after Epps lost his starting job, first to Michael Carter, then to Kenny Moore after Carter hurt his abdomen. But moving Epps, either via trade or release, would at least open up a spot on special teams for Wisniewski.

And if Carter isn’t going to return for a bit, Wisniewski can also serve as the third safety. Epps, Carter and Moore are no longer part of the Eagles’ future. It’s time to starting finding out if Wisniewski can be.

Nolan Smith, OLB, replaced by Keyshawn James-Newby

Like Wisniewski, James-Newby was a seventh-round pick who ended up on the practice squad after getting waived at the end of training camp. Since the start of the season, James-Newby has received two practice-squad elevations.

The first came on Oct. 18 against Carolina, when James-Newby played 48 snaps because of injuries to Smith (concussion), Greenard (ankle) and Hunt (knee). In fact, James-Newby and Arnold Ebiketie played the entire second half as Greenard re-injured his ankle that game.

James-Newby played four snaps the following week against the Cowboys and had one tackle, or one more than Greenard, who played 29 snaps that day. James-Newby might be undersized for his position at 6-foot-1, 249 pounds, but he has shown an ability to get pressure on the quarterback, a commodity the Eagles need.

No, the Eagles can’t trade Greenard, who the Eagles signed to a four-year deal worth as much as $100 million. But they can trade Smith, their first-round pick in 2023 (No. 30 overall) and get a decent return because the Eagles picked up Smith’s fifth-year option for 2027. That will be worth $14 million, a bargain for a young edge rusher.

Jihaad Campbell, LB, replaced by Smael Mondon

Mondon isn’t a rookie, but he has the experience, or lack thereof, of a rookie. Mondon, taken in the fifth round of the same 2025 draft as Campbell, has played a total of 14 snaps at linebacker. Campbell, the Eagles’ first-round pick, was already losing playing time to Jeremiah Trotter even before being sidelined by hamstring and quad injuries.

If the Eagles can get a decent return for Campbell, why not see if Mondon, already a key special teams player, can compete with Trotter for playing time? If not, the Eagles can find Campbell’s replacement with the draft pick they get back for trading him.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the “Eye On The Eagles” newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles‘ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: 4 veterans Eagles should trade by NFL deadline so these rookies can play

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