Eagles pass on making an NFL deadline day trade

The 2019 NFL trade deadline has come and gone without the Philadelphia Eagles making a deadline day trade.

The Eagles did make an NFL trade deadline day EVE trade, of course, by acquiring Cleveland Browns edge rusher Genard Avery in exchange for a 2021 fourth-round pick. But it turns out that was the only trick Howie Roseman had up his sleeve.

One on hand, it seemed like selling teams had very high asking prices. Adam Schefter said the New York Jets wanted a second-round pick in exchange for Robby Anderson, for example. It’s hard to kill the Eagles for not overpaying and depleting their future resources.

And yet, I can’t fathom how the Eagles are really preparing to play the second half of the 2019 NFL season (and ideally beyond) with the following wide receivers:

Nelson Agholor: 285 snaps, 11 recs, 93 yards (8.5 average), 0 TD, 1 fumble

Alshon Jeffery: 282 snaps, 25 recs, 268 yards (10.7 average), 2 TD

Mack Hollins: 182 snaps, 1 recs, 13 yards, 0 TD

JJ Arcega-Whiteside: 29 snaps, 0 recs, 0 yards, 0 TD

That’s abysmal “production.”

The Eagles are really counting on DeSean Jackson’s return — which could come this week — making a big difference for this team. Perhaps their decision to not trade for a receiver shows they feel confident in him being effective. That’d be ideal.

But perhaps the Eagles are just being irrational by counting on their soon-to-be 33-year-old to stay healthy. It’s already been reported that Jackson “may have to deal with nagging pain” for the rest of the season. Will that pain limit his ability as a deep threat? Will it prevent him in playing from more games?

If Jackson can’t get healthy, the Eagles will be back to counting on some very uninspiring wide receivers. Not ideal for today’s NFL where you typically need to, you know, pass the ball effectively to win football games.