October 20, 2023
The Philadelphia Eagles are good, but they could also use some help. Expect Howie Roseman to try to make them even better at the trade deadline.
A couple weeks ago, we rounded up all of Roseman's trade deadline deals since he reassumed his general manager position in 2016, and we ranked the Eagles' biggest needs at the October 31 trade deadline, if you're interested in that. Also if you missed our first batch of trade deadline targets, here you go.
The Eagles are banged up all throughout their secondary, and Thompson is a good, versatile defensive back who can play centerfield, in the box, slot corner, and even some outside corner on occasion. His snap counts at those spots over his five-year career, via PFF:
| Year | Box | FS | Slot | CB |
| 2023 | 73 | 19 | 199 | 17 |
| 2022 | 320 | 599 | 132 | 33 |
| 2021 | 333 | 459 | 149 | 44 |
| 2020 | 58 | 124 | 35 | 12 |
| 2019 | 180 | 368 | 37 | 17 |
In 2021, Thompson had 121 tackles, 3 INTs, and 7 pass breakups. In 2022, he had 110 tackles, 1 INT, and 8 pass breakups. He is a player who is always around the football and who gets his hand on a lot of passes for a safety.
In 2023 Thompson transitioned from a safety to more of a full-time slot corner. He could start there for the Eagles with Bradley Roby giving the Eagles depth both at slot corner and outside corner. Or if you need Thompson to start at safety, he can certainly do that as well.
Thompson missed the Cardinals' Week 6 game with a hamstring injury, and he has not yet practiced this week, but his injury is not serious enough to have landed him on IR. That was Thompson's first missed game since 2020. Thompson's contract wouldn't be super easy to deal because he signed a three-year, $36 million contract extension in 2022, though that was under the Cardinals' previous regime. The Cardinals would have to take a decent-sized cap hit to deal him, so they'd probably be looking for at least a Day 2 pick for it to be worth their while.
The Colts are 3-3 and in the hunt in the AFC South. They wouldn't be sellers, would they? Ehhhh, Shane Steichen announced on Wednesday that Anthony Richardson will have season-ending surgery on his shoulder. That means that Gardner Minshew will lead the Colts the rest of the way at quarterback, so the bet here is that they realize that they are not Super Bowl contenders and should be making decisions in their best long-term interests.
Moore is one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, and even made the NFL's top 100 list a season ago.
😈😈😈 #NFLTop100 pic.twitter.com/ssdKhKabrX
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) August 15, 2022
(On a side note, it remains beyond laughable that Lane Johnson did not make the top 100 list a year ago and guys like Kenny Moore did, but I digress.)
Anyway, this is a pretty obvious fit. Moore is a savvy veteran player who his teammates seem to love and can fit into any locker room culture. He is also in the final year of his deal, thus making him very easy to trade.
Nixon was an undrafted player out of South Carolina who played for the Raiders from 2019-2021 who signed with the Packers during the 2022 offseason. In October, the Packers began using Nixon as their primary kick returner, and he was awesome, averaging 28.8 yards per return on kickoffs, earning kick return All-Pro honors.
If you'll recall, he had kick returns of 38, 52, and 53 yards against the Eagles last season.
During the 2023 offseason, the Packers signed Nixon to a 1-year deal worth $4 million, and he has been their starting slot corner this season, though he's been up and down in that role. Still, he could provide more depth in the secondary and give the Eagles more juice in the return game.
The Packers are 2-3 and don't look at all like contenders, though they may have to lose some more games before they start selling.
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