Philadelphia Eagles: 5 potential midseason trade candidates

Malik Jackson is no longer necessary.

For reasons that I still don’t necessarily understand, the Philadelphia Eagles number one goal in free agency was adding another defensive tackle. They splashed $39 million on Javon Hargrave, and that move has really yet to reap any sort of benefits (that’s a discussion for another day).

Just one offseason prior, the Eagles signed a separate pricy DT, bringing in former Jacksonville Jaguar Malik Jackson on a lucrative three-year deal. He spent essentially all of the 2019 season on the injured reserve, but has entered 2020 as the team’s most productive DT thus far. Similar to that of Brandon Graham, now would be the time to capitalize on his trade value when it is at its highest.

Jackson has 7 quarterback hits, 7 tackles, and 0.5 sacks through the first three weeks of the season, proving to be a pretty solid pass rushing DT alongside Fletcher Cox. He’s been disruptive in all three games, most noticeably making his presence felt against rookie QB Joe Burrow.

Jackson is only 30 years old but he carries a $12.6 million cap number in 2021, and it would make little sense to keep him around on such a lofty price tag. Unless the team is looking to ship out Cox this offseason, one would assume they’d want their newly acquired DT in Hargrave to get the majority of starting snaps moving forward, as opposed to Jackson.