October 28, 2026
The Philadelphia Eagles are 2-5 with a five-game losing streak during which they have been cumulatively outgained by over 800 yards. As currently constructed, they are bottom five type of team, and it sure doesn't seem like they're going to get much better.
Two weeks ago, we concluded that the Eagles should punt on the 2026 season, and trade still-valuable players not in the team's long-term plans for future assets.
Thereafter, we listed seven valuable Eagles players who could attract attention from other teams around the NFL at the trade deadline. They were, in our order of likelihood to be dealt:
I might change that order around a bit since we published that article, but whatever.
Last week, we added four less valuable players who also make sense in trade deadline deals. They were:
To be clear, we are not suggesting that the Eagles are going to trade 11 players, or anything close to that. A more realistic number is, I dunno, two? If they get really crazy, three?
Anyway, it took a couple of weeks, but after two more Eagles losses there is now wide speculation that they will be sellers at the trade deadline, and some of the names I've seen thrown around have been, uhhhh, unlikely. So I thought that it was maybe worth listing Eagles players who are either untouchable or untradeable. We'll organize players into several different buckets:
Got it? Cool. For the sake of brevity, we're not going to cover every guy on the roster.
• WR DeVonta Smith: Though he has struggled staying healthy this season, Smith is a legit WR1 with a winner's mindset. He's not going anywhere.
• LT Jordan Mailata: Mailata is still a great player and the last man standing on a formerly great but disintegrating offensive line. He is also a point of pride for the organization in the draft and from a developmental perspective, not to mention a favorite player of the owner.
• CB Quinyon Mitchell: Mitchell is the best player on the defense, and it's probably not close at this point.
• DB Cooper DeJean: DeJean has had a disappointing season, but he has been asked to play multiple positions and he's banged up. He's still an extremely talented football player who should bounce back.
• EDGE Jalyx Hunt: Hunt was expected to break out this season, but that hasn't happened. Still, the organization believes in him as a core piece.
Typically, trade deadline buyers are looking for players who can help them immediately for the stretch run. But also, trade deadline sellers don't often deal young players who haven't yet reached their prime, and can help long-term. All of the following players therefore don't make much sense to be included in trade deadline deals.
(Note: I could add more here, but these are merely the guys who are either starters or have significant roles currently.
These players would have an immediately detrimental financial burden to the Eagles if traded. Also, they are all underperforming so far this season, so other teams around the league would not be likely to pay the cost the Eagles would demand in a trade, even if the Eagles were willing (or even able) to take on the aforementioned financial burden.
Jake Elliott and Braden Mann have both had great seasons so far, and rookie LS Rocco Underwood has settled in nicely after a shaky start to his first training camp. The Eagles don't want to have to find replacements for any of those guys.
• QB Jalen Hurts: Hurts of course has blood clots in his lungs, and his season is over. Depending on how things play out after this mess of a season is over, particularly in the case of a head coaching change, a trade of Hurts should be viewed as a possibility, but not until the offseason.
• RT Lane Johnson: Even though he announced that he is retired, Johnson remains on the 53-man roster. I suppose there is some scenario where he's in a better head space after some time away and might want to play for some other contender. In theory the Eagles could still trade him, but that is not something that appears to be on anyone's radar at all, and we're only two weeks from the deadline.
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