November 11, 2026
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 14: A photo of Jordan Davis #90 of the Philadelphia Eagles from the Philadelphia Eagles game against the Minnesota Vikings on September 14, 2023 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (Photo by Kate Frese/PhillyVoice)
While the Eagles may have lacked quantity at the trade deadline — they made just one move, leaving a bevy of players thought to be on the trade block on the roster as the team continues to spiral in the standings — they made up for in quality.
Howie Roseman and the front office took Jordan Davis, making $26 million a year as the Eagles' third best defensive tackle, and flipped him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 first round pick and 2029 second round pick.
As you can guess, the feedback across the NFL's media landscape was pretty complimentary. Here's a roundup of the team's grades from various news outlets:
The high marks start at PFF, where Howie Roseman's coup of getting both a first and a second round pick for Davis was a remarkable move, despite the team failing to make other expected moves before the deadline.
It’s always tough to get a read on what Howie Roseman will do, and it would have been surprising if the league’s most forward-thinking general manager didn’t sell off at least one marquee player. Retrieving a first- and second-round pick for Davis, who owns the 24th-ranked overall PFF grade at his position, was outstanding. [Pro Football Focus]
CBS football writer Zachary Pereles gave the Eagles the only A in the NFC East — Washington got a D+, the division-leading Giants a B and the Cowboys a B- — as they graded all 32 NFL teams. Here's what he had to say about the Birds:
Philadelphia wrestling away a first-round and a second-round pick from the Jaguars for Jordan Davis is marvelous work from Howie Roseman. The move not only adds to the Eagles' deep bag of draft picks, but it potentially frees up the cap space for them to keep Moro Ojomo. The Jurgens trade was also a win, as the Ravens' season has gone off course. This is a wretched season for the Eagles, but the fact that they continue to get massive returns for players whose names are bigger than their games is outstanding. The Eagles now own 10 first- or second-round picks between 2027 and 2029 and will have major roster-building, trade and financial flexibility. [CBS Sports]
The football writers at Yahoo! also gave all 32 teams letter grades for their deadline moves, and they were less high on the Eagles with just a B+. Still, it was the highest mark in the division with the Commanders landing a C- for standing pat, and the Giants and Cowboys a B- for their in-season maneuvers. As it often does, Yahoo! believes this all came down to the Eagles' now murky quarterback situation:
The in-season loss of Jalen Hurts has precipitated some of this movement, but the Eagles were already in sell mode with the Cam Jurgens trade the week prior to Hurts being diagnosed with blood clots. Trading Davis brought back some potentially great returns. It's not how we imagined it going, but the Eagles were smart to pivot, especially [given] Hurts' murky future. [Yahoo! sports]
ESPN's Ben Solak and Seth Walder graded the moves, not the teams, and the Davis trade got sparkling reviews, with the Jaguars on the other end of things receiving a big ugly F. Their lengthy analysis of the move simply begins with "there's no other way to start this: This trade is a disaster for Jacksonville."
More from ESPN:
This is one of those trades that ought to induce marvel at Howie Roseman and the Eagles. How were they able to swindle the Jaguars into this?
With Philadelphia's season effectively over, it's easy for the Eagles to unload their players. But at this kind of price, I'm inclined to think the Eagles would have dealt Davis no matter their contention status or depth chart. Philadelphia should be thrilled at this return. [ESPN]
In grading every in-season deal, NFL.com is a little kinder to the Jaguars, who went all in at the trade deadline as they seek their first Super Bowl title, giving them a C+. Here's what Kevin Patra had to say about the Eagles' side of things:
I’m not sure Howie Roseman wanted to move Davis after just paying him, but when you get a desperate trade partner offering the moon, sometimes you just take their cash and hightail it out of there. This feels akin to the reaction when the Raiders initially got two first-round picks from the Ravens for Maxx Crosby before the trade was scuttled.
Given the Eagles were losers of seven straight games, it makes sense for Roseman to cash out on this season and keep stacking chips for the future. Hey, he doesn’t even have to wait an extra year on this first-rounder! [NFL.com]
And finally, The Athletic (or the NY Times), which did not hold back laying it on thick for the Jags, who received a D- for the Davis acquisition. Their criticism, like that of many other outlets, stems from Davis' inability to play on every down. He's a run stuffer and situational defensive tackle, and Jacksonville acquired him expecting him to play a lot more. Will the huge risk pay off? The Eagles on the other hand, won the trade.
This is an impressive return for Roseman, and the Eagles are now loaded with future draft capital. They now have two first-round picks in 2027, and two first-round picks in 2028, their own and the Patriots’ pick from the A.J. Brown trade. They also own two second-round picks in 2029. That is a ton of ammunition to use in whatever fashion Roseman sees fit. They could stick and pick. They could trade any of those picks for veteran players. They could package them to move around in the draft. As our Jonathan Jones wrote in our trade deadline live blog, “What the Eagles have now is total optionality.” [The Athletic]
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