NFL Trade Rumors: Eagles looking for pass rush help, Andre Dillard drawing interest

Another day closer to the November 1 NFL trade deadline, another day with some Philadelphia Eagles rumors.

But this one is more than a rumor. The Eagles have traded a fourth-round pick for former Bears edge rusher Robert Quinn.

Back to the rumors: The latest scuttlebutt comes from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler:

The Eagles are always a factor at the trade deadline. GM Howie Roseman is on the attack this time of year, looking for bargains. Teams say the Eagles are looking for pass-rush help after the loss of Derek Barnett to injury. The top pass-rusher implicated in trade deals is Burns, but the Panthers have turned down massive offers, which is their way of saying they’re keeping him. (One GM told me the minimum trade package for Burns is two first-rounders, which is wild — and good for Burns’ contract extension projections). Chicago’s Robert Quinn could be a good midrange option to consider here. But it’s noteworthy that Chicago made clear privately as of late last week that it wasn’t moving Quinn. Then, the Bears went ahead and rocked New England 33-14 to climb to 3-4. So, perhaps Chicago stays put on him. An Eagles player that still has trade interest is left tackle Andre Dillard. Teams I’ve talked to believe the Eagles would move him but need a good pick to do so, most likely a third-rounder.

Multiple things to unpack here:

• A bit funny to frame the Eagles’ interest in pass rush help as a result of the Barnett injury, which happened all the way back in Week 1. They clearly can’t be incredibly desperate if they’ve waited this long. That said, the Birds could indeed afford to add more at that position. Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat are really the only full-time defensive ends that the Eagles trust to play. Tarron Jackson seemed to play well in training camp but the team doesn’t seem to trust him; he was recently a healthy scratch.
• Fowler previously reported the Eagles are one of multiple teams “calling around” on Burns. Never say never but I don’t think it’s likely that Roseman will give up multiple firsts to add Burns.
• Fowler is the second reporter to link the Eagles to Quinn this week. Albert Breer previously indicated that Philly could be interested in him. As Fowler notes, however, the Bears might not be so eager to sell after beating the Pats. Quinn has not played well this year; he has one sack in seven games and ranks 121st out of 124 defensive ends graded by Pro Football Focus.
• My BGN Radio co-host, Jimmy Kempski, brought up a couple of interesting pass rush targets on our latest podcast: Jerry Hughes and Rasheem Green.

• When it comes to Dillard, it’s easy to make a case against trading him. The undefeated Eagles are competing for a Super Bowl and thus shouldn’t be selling any win-now pieces. Dillard provides depth at left tackle, where Jordan Mailata has already had to miss time this season. Then again, Dillard is a free agent after this year. And he could be more expendable than previously thought with Jack Driscoll displaying the ability to back up Mailata. Not to mention the Eagles can still activate Brett Toth from the PUP list for additional tackle depth. If I’m the Eagles, I don’t know that I’m eager to trade Dillard for a third-round pick that has a decent chance of being late in the round. But for a pick that could be an early third? They should be considering that. Dillard is likely going to sign with another team after this season. And while he could potentially count towards the Eagles’ compensatory pick formula, there’s no guarantee he’ll be a major factor in that regard. The Eagles already have many other free agents and teams can only receiver a maximum of four comp picks. The very best comp pick they’d realistically get for Dillard is a late fourth-round selection. A late fifth-round pick might be more likely. The ideal situation could be trading Dillard for a player instead of a pick. Maybe the Birds could add more depth at a thinner position, such as safety? Or package Dillard and a pick for a pass rusher?