PHILADELPHIA − With the NFL trade deadline just hours away, it’s possible that the Eagles could be looking for some help at defensive tackle after the ankle injury to rookie Jordan Davis.
Davis, the behemoth 6-foot-6, 336-pound force in the middle, is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks, according to a report from the NFL Network. He injured his ankle late in the first half Sunday in the Eagles’ 35-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was seen in the locker room after the game wearing a walking boot.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni wouldn’t confirm the report Monday. But the Eagles play Thursday night in Houston against the Texans and Sirianni said Davis is “probably not going to be going this week.”
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“He has an ankle (injury),” Sirianni added, “but I don’t know the extent of it yet, of how long he’s going to be out.”
Even if the Eagles make a trade by the 4 p.m. deadline Tuesday, the new player probably wouldn’t be familiar enough with the playbook to play Thursday.
Still, if Davis is going to miss as much as the 4-6 weeks, that would put his return sometime in early to mid December, perhaps with about five games remaining in the regular season.
The Eagles could thus put Davis on injured reserve, meaning that he would have to miss at least four games − against the Texans on Thursday, the Commanders on Nov. 14, the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 20 and the Packers on Nov. 27 − before he’s eligible to return.
But if there’s a chance Davis could return sooner than four weeks, the Eagles won’t put him on IR, and could decide to stick with what they have rather than make a trade.
It’s also worth noting that it could be difficult for the Eagles to make a trade anyway because they don’t have any 2023 draft picks in Rounds 4, 5 or 6.
The Eagles traded their fourth-round pick last week to the Chicago Bears in return for Robert Quinn. The fifth-rounder went to the Saints for Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on Aug. 30. The sixth-rounder went to Jacksonville in the May, 2021 trade for backup safety Josiah Scott.
The Eagles could be reluctant to give up any of their picks in the first three rounds (they have two first-round picks, a second and a third) especially when Davis’ injury isn’t season ending. The Eagles do have two seventh-round picks to work with, but that probably won’t be enough to get a difference-maker.
If that’s the case, the Eagles might go with a four-man rotation at defensive tackle consisting of Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Milton Williams and Marlon Tuipulotu. There’s a risk there, too, because Cox is 31 years old, and he was playing better this year while playing fewer snaps. If he has to play more, that could wear him down late in the season and in the playoffs.
The Eagles do like Williams and Tuipulotu, the Eagles’ third- and sixth-round picks, respectively, in 2021. Each had a sack on Sunday. Hargrave had 2 sacks, one of which caused a fumble that Avonte Maddox recovered.
Besides, the Eagles could prioritize adding a running back such as Cleveland’s Kareem Hunt. But Sirianni said last week that he likes the Eagles’ current situation with Miles Sanders, who’s tied for seventh with 563 yards rushing, and backups Boston Scott, Kenny Gainwell and Trey Sermon.
The Eagles are also in a win-now mode, as they made evident by trading for Quinn. So they could try to acquire someone by trading a player straight up, perhaps backup left tackle Andre Dillard, who’s in the final year of his contract.
Dillard could possibly be used in a deal for Carolina’s Matt Ioannidis, who’s also eligible for free agency after this season. The Eagles are very familiar with Ioannidis, who spent his first six seasons in Washington before signing with the Panthers as a free agent on a one-year deal last spring.
Ioannidis had a career-high 8.5 sacks in 2019, but he hasn’t come close to that kind of production since. He has just 1 sack in 7 games with Carolina despite playing 74% of the snaps. Still, he could provide veteran depth.
If the Eagles are especially daring, they could go after Commanders star defensive tackle Daron Payne. That could mean giving up one of their two first-round picks, and maybe more. Washington would also be hard-pressed to trade Payne, who’s only 25 years old, to a division rival.
Payne is eligible for free agency after the season, and he could command a massive contract. Cox and Hargrave are in the final year of their contracts, too, so the Eagles could use their money on Payne. In 2023, that would give the Eagles a young, but dominant defensive tackle rotation with Payne, in addition to Davis, Williams and Tuipulotu on their rookie contracts.
There’s yet one more way the Eagles can replace Davis in the short term − without making a trade.
“We have guys that can play in that position,” Cox said. “We can move some guys around if we need to, and that’s why (defensive line coach Tracy Rocker) is really good at moving guys around in practice, during training camp, and even during the season. He puts guys into positions that they really haven’t played.”
In past seasons, for example, Brandon Graham has moved inside on passing downs. In defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s five-man fronts, Graham can move inside with Cox and Hargrave, with Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat/Quinn rushing from the edges.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
