NFL Trade Rumors: Latest on LeSean McCoy, Amari Cooper, Patrick Peterson, Karl Joseph

NFL trade rumors are heating up with the October 30 deadline just a little over two weeks away. Here’s a look at the latest buzz out there.

EAGLES EXPECTED TO BE ACTIVE

Prior to the Eagles vs. Giants game on Thursday night, NFL insider Jay Glazer said Philadelphia is aggressively looking to add a play-maker to their roster.

Hardly surprising but worth noting since Glazer is very plugged in. He was the one who was saying the Eagles were going to be very aggressive prior to last year’s deadline. Sure enough, Howie Roseman went out and acquired Jay Ajayi from the Dolphins.

Now, which players could be available to the Eagles?

LESEAN MCCOY

It sounds like Shady won’t be coming back to Philly. From NFL insider Ian Rapoport:

One key source believes McCoy stays in Buffalo not just for this year, but also for the 2019 season. There was no talk of compensation during the conversation between the Bills and the Eagles this week, and the call was described as more feeling out than anything.

But the belief is a trade for McCoy would be expensive, perhaps as much as the Seahawks were asking for Pro Bowler Earl Thomas before his injury. And the Eagles don’t seem ready to pay a second-round pick and more for McCoy, even though they have two of them in the 2019 draft.

It doesn’t make sense for the Eagles to pay a premium price to acquire McCoy. The 30-year-old obviously has a great track record of production but there are concerns about age, nagging injuries, and a legal situation here. According to Sportradar (via Bo Wulf), McCoy is the only NFL running back who hasn’t broken a single tackle all year (among qualified players).

Further, Mike Garafolo said the Eagles’ call to Buffalo was just “one of many [trade] inquiries” the Eagles made recently. Hardly sounds like there’s serious traction here.

AMARI COOPER

Glazer is reporting that the Raiders are shopping their 2015 first-round pick (No. 4 overall), wide receiver Amari Cooper.

Cooper, who is only 24 years old, is a player who should draw the Eagles’ interest. The two-time Pro Bowl selection has a good history of production with 225 career receptions for 3,183 yards (14.1 average) and 19 touchdowns.

Cooper carries a $7.2 million cap hit this year. His $13.9 million cap hit for 2019 (fifth-year option) doesn’t become guaranteed until the first day of the 2019 league year. In other words, it’s financially feasible for the Eagles to acquire him.

I’d guess it’d cost a Day 2 pick to acquire Cooper. But perhaps it might be less since Jon Gruden is willingly jettisoning talent from Oakland’s roster, as seen with the Khalil Mack trade.

The Eagles ideally like to run a lot of 11 personnel (three wide receivers). It’s not easy for them to do that right now with Jordan Matthews and Kamar Aiken being the top options behind Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor.

But ultimately I don’t think the Eagles go after Cooper unless he’s available at surprisingly inexpressive cost. They can still activate Mike Wallace and/or Mack Hollins off the injured reserve list at some point this year, and I think they will.

[UPDATE: As I was writing this, Cooper suffered a rib injury and had to leave the Raiders game early.]

KARL JOSEPH

Glazer is also reporting the Raiders are heavily shopping Joseph — even more so than Cooper. Oakland’s 2016 first-round pick (No. 14 overall) has fallen out of favor with the Gruden regime.

Joseph seems like a good buy-low candidate. He’s only 25 years old. And we know West Virginia players have been on the Eagles’ radar in past years (Wendell Smallwood, Rasul Douglas, Shelton Gibson).

Ideally, Joseph could come in and start next to Malcolm Jenkins so Avonte Maddox can shift down to play the slot with Sidney Jones out.

But it’s hard to say how much instant impact Joseph could make. Safety is a position where understanding the scheme and having continuity/communication with the other defensive backs is important.

Joseph would be more viable as a long-term flyer than an instant solution and the price should reflect as much.

PATRICK PETERSON

I’ve seen some Eagles fans calling for Philly to trade for Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson following this report from Jason La Canfora:

The Arizona Cardinals could be one of the NFL’s most active teams ahead of the trade deadline, with league sources indicating that All-Pro corner Patrick Peterson is among the players the team is willing to move. Arizona is off to a slow start, has already transitioned from Sam Bradford to Josh Rosen at quarterback and the front office is keeping an open mind about moves to reposition the franchise for the future.

I don’t see this one happening. You might think Jalen Mills should be benched but it’s evident that Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who continues to stand up for him, does not.

The Eagles could use some more help in the secondary with nickel corner Sidney Jones expected to miss time with a hamstring injury. But I don’t expect the team’s solution to be paying a high price to acquire Peterson.

LE’VEON BELL

The latest report is that the Steelers still haven’t heard from Bell despite his stated plans to rejoin the team after Pittsburgh’s Week 7 bye. Bell must sign his franchise tender before he’s even eligible to be traded.

As you well know, there have been a number of reports on the Eagles’ interest in Bell. It sounds like it could be similar to the McCoy situation, however, where Philly’s interest isn’t super serious because the price could be prohibitive.

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It’s important to remember that sometimes players are available when you don’t expect it. Take Ajayi last year. No one expected the Eagles to get him at the time. Maybe Roseman pulls off another stunner this year. Or maybe it’s a deal with one of the guys named above. Either way, it appears there are options out there.