PHILADELPHIA −The Eagles could have spent the final hours before the NFL trade deadline Tuesday afternoon looking for some help at defensive tackle after the ankle injury to rookie Jordan Davis.
But the Eagles didn’t act. Nor did they trade for a running back to add to their depth, or a third safety. Their only trade happened last week, when they acquired veteran defensive end Robert Quinn from the Bears for a fourth-round pick.
In a way, Quinn’s arrival is enabling the Eagles to fill Davis’ spot because the added depth at defensive end will enable the Eagles to move one of the ends, possibly Brandon Graham, inside on passing downs.
“I feel good about the guys that we have in here,” defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said Tuesday afternoon, before the 4 p.m. trade deadline. “That’s one of the reasons we cross-train guys, to be able to plug and fill different spots when guys go down or get injured.
“Adding Robert gives us a little bit more flexibility with how we rotate guys, where some guys can play some different spots, and to keep those guys fresh.”
No wonder Gannon said his initial reaction after the Eagles traded for Quinn was “thanks Howie,” referring to general manager Howie Roseman.
Davis, the 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 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.”
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.
It’s possible that the Eagles wanted to make more trades Tuesday, but they were somewhat limited 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 Bears in return for Quinn. The fifth-rounder went to the Saints for safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on Aug. 30. The sixth-rounder went to Jacksonville in the May, 2021 trade for backup safety Josiah Scott.
The Eagles were probably 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 wasn’t enough to get a difference-maker.
So with Davis out, the Eagles will go with a four-man rotation at defensive tackle consisting of Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Milton Williams and Marlon Tuipulotu. There’s a risk 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.
“We got guys in the room that can pick up the slack even though it’s a big loss,” Williams said. “We’re going to do what we can as a team to fill that void.”
Two running backs were traded Tuesday, with Indianapolis sending Nyheim Hines to the Bills for a conditional 6th-round pick, and San Francisco sending Jeff Wilson to Miami for a 5th-round pick. But Cleveland’s Kareem Hunt, who likely would’ve commanded a higher draft pick, stayed put.
Sirianni said last week that he likes the Eagles’ current running back situation with Miles Sanders, who’s tied for seventh with 563 yards rushing, and backups Boston Scott, Kenny Gainwell and Trey Sermon.
The Eagles could’ve tried trading backup left tackle Andre Dillard, who’s in the final year of his contract, straight up for a player.
That could’ve included getting a defensive tackle like Carolina’s Matt Ioannidis.
Instead, the Eagles are sticking with what they have.
“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.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
