Michael Bennett Trade: Eagles reportedly acquire Seahawks pass rusher

The new NFL league year doesn’t officially begin until next week but that hasn’t stopped the Philadelphia Eagles from making a big trade! The Eagles have acquired veteran defensive end Michael Bennett from the Seattle Seahawks, according to reports from ESPN. Here’s a look at the entire haul.

Eagles acquire: Michael Bennett, 2018 seventh-round pick

Seahawks acquire: Marcus Johnson, 2018 fifth-round pick

So ... the Eagles give up a depth receiver and move down two rounds in the 2018 NFL Draft to pick up a talented pass rusher. Not bad!

This deal almost seems too good to be true for the Eagles. Bennett turns 33 in November so he’s clearly nearing the end of his career, but it’s not like he’s washed up. Bennett notched 8.5 sacks in 16 games with Seattle last season. He’s also known for being a strong run defender.

Howie Roseman wasn’t kidding around when he said the Eagles want to build through the trenches. The Eagles have been especially focused on investing in defensive line talent. Here’s a look at the Eagles’ current defensive line picture:

DE: Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Michael Bennett, Chris Long, Steven Means, Vinny Curry

DT: Fletcher Cox, Tim Jernigan, Destiny Vaeao, Elijah Qualls, Aziz Shittu, Winston Craig

Curry is listed last in the defensive end group since it’s rumored the Eagles plan to either restructure his contract, trade him, or cut him. The addition of Bennett doesn’t seem to bode well for Philly keeping him. I also left Beau Allen out of the defensive tackle group since he’s going to be a free agent.

The Eagles’ offensive and defensive lines played a big part in their Super Bowl success in 2018. It seems prudent, then, to continue to invest in that area.

As for Johnson — the receiver the Eagles traded — he clearly fell out of favor in Philadelphia as the 2017 season progressed. He looked good during the 2017 preseason but he eventually lost his job as the fifth receiver to 2017 fifth-round pick Shelton Gibson. There’s no guarantee Johnson would’ve even made the Eagles’ 53-man roster this season.

The funny thing about the draft picks the Eagles swapped with Seattle is that they acquired that fifth rounder from the Matt Tobin trade last summer. The Eagles gave up Tobin and a 2018 seventh-round pick in exchange for Seattle’s 2018 fifth-round pick.

In other words, the Eagles gave up Johnson and Tobin for Michael freaking Bennett.

Howie Roseman does it again, folks. Limited cap space be damned.