Philadelphia Eagles: Does Josh Adams have any trade value?

With very little chance of ultimately making the Philadelphia Eagles’ final 53 man roster, could Howie Roseman trade Josh Adams to an RB-hungry team?

Josh Adams finished out the 2018 season as the Philadelphia Eagles‘ top rusher.

Sure, his 511 yards one the ground weren’t something to write home about in the greater scheme of things, as it ranked 42nd overall in the NFL behind quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson, but still, those numbers are fairly encouraging for an undrafted free agent that many discounted as a product of an excellent Notre Dame offensive line.

But what a difference a year can make.

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After spending the majority of the postseason on the bench after falling out of favor in Duce Staley‘s backfield, Adams now looks like a longshot to even make the Eagles’ roster this fall – firmly stuck behind 2019 signees Miles Sanders, Jordan Howard, and (surprisingly) Darren Sproles.

Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Wendell Smallwood somehow squeaked his way onto the final 53 over Adams, an outcome that feels more and more inevitable with each passing preseason game.

But just because Adams may not find a home on the Eagles’ roster come September doesn’t mean his services wouldn’t be in demand should he become available.

Despite spending the first few weeks of his rookie season on the practice squad, it seems almost impossible to imagine Adams making his way through waivers – let alone free agency – should Howie Roseman and company release the soon-to-be 23-year-old Central Bucks South grad after the fourth preseason game.

However, Roseman isn’t a man who likes to let talent leave the building without some sort of compensation, and if a market for Adam’ upright power rushing style does start to form, it may wise to cash in the final year of his two-year, $1.05 million deal for an immediate contributor and/or a future asset.

I mean, why not, right?

While Adams’ exact market is hard to judge without an Ian Rapoport-level of insider knowledge, it’s not hard to see which teams are relatively light at the halfback position, and could be willing to part with something (or someone) of value to secure his rights before he hits waivers.

As things presently stand, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, and the Houston Texans are three of the teams who lost more talent in the offensive backfield than they added over the offseason – with Bill O’Brien‘s club having released their power back, D’onta Foreman earlier this summer while only replacing him with Duke Johnson – a one-cut receiver out the backfield with very little power between the tackles.

Would any of those teams be willing to surrender a mid-round draft pick for Adams’ services? Doubtful, but to avoid losing a high upside roleplayer like Adams to a team higher on the waived wire, an outcome that happens all to often when a name-brand player is waived early in his career, a team would certainly be willing to surrender a seventh, maybe even sixth-round pick to get a deal done.

Getting any sort of draft pick for a player who went undrafted is the kind of return that would make Sam Hinkie shed a tear.

Furthermore, the Eagles have shown a willingness to flip borderline players with very little chance of making the roster to a more welcoming club for a player who could actually fit the team’s scheme – just ask Ryan Bates, the undrafted Penn State tackle who was shipped to the Buffalo Bills for underutilized edge rusher Eli Harold.

Could Roseman swing a similar deal to acquire a higher upside free safety or middle linebacker? With his resume as a wheeler and dealer, nothing would surprise me.

Next. Braxton Miller was woefully underutilized. dark

So even though Josh Adams seems unlikely to make the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster out of training camp, that doesn’t mean Howie Roseman can’t squeeze a little extra value out of the team’s 2018 leading rusher.

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