Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles aren’t afraid to trade anyone. Because of this there have been a lot of rumors floating around about who the Eagles might trade for. As long as Kelly is at the helm, it will always be just speculation because no one knows what he’s really going to do.
The biggest speculation with the Eagles has been if they will trade up in the draft for former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. It’s been reported that they are willing to trade whatever it takes to land him. However, this could mean trading all the way up to the second overall pick with the Titans and the Eagles just don’t have enough firepower to make that trade.
The Eagles traded for Sam Bradford right before the free agency period started. This left a lot of people scratching their heads because no one thought Bradford was going to be their answer at quarterback moving forward. A lot of the speculation is that the Eagles will use Bradford to move up into the draft to possibly take Mariota. The natural trade partner for the Eagles would be the Cleveland Browns because they offered the Rams a first round pick already for Bradford.
Part of those trade rumors with the Browns that would make it an even bigger trade is the speculation that the trade would include Johnny Manziel. This would be an enormous trade due to the names involved. However, Manziel wouldn’t be the long-term answer at quarterback for the Eagles, it would be a means to an end for them to land Mariota.
A trade rumor that doesn’t involve the Eagles in the draft is that they’re shopping backup quarterback Matt Barkley. There’s a very small chance they get anything of value for him, but if they’re able to trade him it would make room for free agent quarterback Tim Tebow. The Eagles worked out Tebow not too long ago and obviously aren’t sold as Barkley, even as a backup.
One last trade rumor isn’t much of a rumor, but involves offensive guard Evan Mathis. This isn’t much of a rumor because besides the news that Mathis was on the trading block, there haven’t been any known suitors. Another reason it isn’t much of a rumor is because he’s not the only Eagle on the trading block; every single player on the roster is on the trading block as long as Kelly is making all personnel decisions.
As we progress even further through this offseason, I’m sure the Eagles will make more than a few moves. They will likely leave everyone speechless; some for their apparent stupidity and others for their apparent genius. Kelly and the Eagles are absolutely making this offseason much more interesting and making the trade more popular in the NFL.