Who could put Eagles, Giants, Cowboys over the top? NFC East trade targets

By Ralph Vacchiano
FOX Sports NFC East Writer

If the preseason predictions had been right, the NFC East would've been ripe for a fire sale at the trade deadline. 

Instead, it's a division of contenders. Three of the teams would make the playoffs if the regular season ended today, and the fourth is only a half-game out.

So one week before the NFL's trading deadline (Nov. 1), no NFC East team is currently playing for next season. That means there will be no division-wide sell-off by next Tuesday. The only question is: Will any of the teams be buyers instead?

Here's a look at the "Deal or No Deal" situation in the NFC East:

Philadelphia Eagles (6-0)

Buying or selling?: If there is a significant player available on the trade market, you can bet GM Howie Roseman is going to call about him. He's among the most aggressive GMs in the NFL and has a history of making deadline deals. 

He might even be more interested now, in a year when the Eagles are Super Bowl favorites and one player — the right player — could put them over the top.

And if you didn't believe it before, consider that he reportedly called about RB Christian McCaffrey before the Panthers dealt him to San Francisco last week.

Roseman is also dealing from a position of strength. The Eagles don't have to add anything to be the best team in the NFC. They are strong at every position, balanced and deep. But if they did want to add a premier player, they have two first-round picks (their own and the Saints' pick) next year they could dangle in trade.

So expect Philly to be in every trade conversation in the coming days.

Trade chips: The Eagles' extra 2023 first-rounder is probably their most enticing chip. Their pick will probably be low, but the Saints' pick they own could be very valuable (currently fourth overall).

They also obviously have a lot of attractive players, but they're not likely to want to deal any of them when they're gunning for a championship. If they do, though, they have a plethora of good left tackles. Jack Driscoll performed well when Jordan Mailata went down with a shoulder injury, and now former first-rounder Andre Dillard is back after missing the start of the season after surgery on a broken arm.

Their line has been pretty banged up, so it's hard to imagine they'd trade any pieces. But the depth is there if they need something to sweeten a deal.

Ideal targets: Roseman nosing around McCaffrey made it clear that the Eagles are not above adding offensive weapons, even at running back where they're already pretty deep. Cleveland's Kareem Hunt is supposedly available since it doesn't look like he's getting a contract extension from the Browns. He's a two-way back who would fit right into the Philly offense. RB Cam Akers is likely to be dealt by the Rams, too, and he shouldn't cost much at all.

Since the Eagles have only two receivers with more than six catches this season, they could dip into that market. Denver's Jerry Jeudy, a former Alabama teammate of Philly's DeVonta Smith, is the most intriguing name. Houston's Brandin Cooks and Carolina's D.J. Moore could both be available, though they're each owed about $11-12 million the rest of this year.

And adding a pass rusher would definitely help Philly's inconsistent defense. The price is probably too high to get edge rusher Brian Burns out of Carolina (reportedly two first-round picks). The Eagles would have better luck trying to get DE Robert Quinn out of Chicago.

New York Giants (6-1)

Buying or selling?: The Giants find themselves in a very unexpected situation, because they sure did figure to be sellers at this point. They are in the beginning stages of what was expected to be a long rebuilding project. They have a lot of excess baggage they need to dump.

And they still might. But with a playoff berth unexpectedly on the immediate horizon, they won't dump any useable pieces. There will be no blockbuster deal for, say, someone like DT Dexter Lawrence, who will be owed $12.4 million next season. Even someone like WR Kadarius Toney, whom they probably would've traded for the right offer during the offseason, is probably a non-starter at this point.

It might be more likely that they'll be buyers, but they still have to shop in the bargain bin because of their salary cap issues. After all the work GM Joe Schoen did to get out of cap hell, he's not going to mortgage his future now, and he surely needs every dime of the $3.4 million in cap space he has for the rest of this year.

Trade chips: Toney, a former first-rounder, might be the biggest chip New York has. He's only 23 years old and an obvious talent. But his injuries (two hamstring injuries this season alone) have greatly diminished his value. No one would take that risk for more than a late-round pick, and there's no value in that for the Giants. They'd probably gladly take a conditional late-round pick for WR Kenny Golladay, but his injuries, lack of production and inflated contract probably make that unlikely.

There's really nothing else of value on their roster that they'd be willing to trade in a season in which they likely need just three more wins to make the playoffs. They can expect calls on WR Darius Slayton, according to league sources, but he's their best receiver right now.

Ideal targets: Clearly, the Giants need help at receiver, but they're not going to spend the picks or money to get someone such as Jeudy, Cooks or Moore. The Jets are unlikely to make a deal with them, but it would make more sense to at least ask their neighbors about their unhappy duo of Denzel Mims or Elijah Moore. The Jets were once asking for a fourth-round pick for Mims, according to a source, and would want more than that for Moore. A cheaper option could be New England WR Kendrick Bourne.

The Giants also now could use linemen, with RT Evan Neal likely out a month and LG Ben Bredeson "week to week" with knee injuries. And they need tight end help with rookie Daniel Bellinger possibly out the whole year with a fractured eye socket. 

But Schoen is committed to rebuilding this team through the draft, so he's not going to trade a premium pick for temporary help. He'll be interested in castoffs for mid- to late-round picks. And in that case, they're probably better off just scouring the waiver wire or rolling with what they have.

Dallas Cowboys (5-2)

Buying or selling?: Jerry Jones said he doesn't expect the Cowboys to make any trades, and he's the boss. That doesn't mean he's telling the truth.

That was emphasized Tuesday morning, when they reportedly traded a 2023 sixth-round pick to Las Vegas for defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and a seventh-round pick.

This is the Cowboys' reality: Jones is 80 and looking for Dallas' first Super Bowl championship in 27 years. So he obviously isn't going to be a seller at the deadline. He is much more likely to be a buyer. And if he is, it would probably be a big buy. He is looking at a team he knows is close to being a championship contender but probably isn't there yet.

So if Jones sees a player who will put them over the top, don't be shocked if he goes for it — no matter what he said.

Trade chips: The Cowboys have a lot of interesting depth on a defense that has been excellent without having to dig too deep into its reserves. Some of that could be mildly attractive on the market. 

DE Tarell Basham is coming off injured reserve just in time for the deadline, but there doesn't appear to be any room for him in the edge-rushing rotation. He started six games last season and had 3.5 sacks. He could be a good rotational edge rusher for someone for a third-day pick.

The same could be said of their two young, rotational DTs, Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore, former second- and third-round picks. Neither is a huge chip, though, and might be more valuable as insurance for the Cowboys in case their starters get hurt.

Ideal targets: The most obvious hole in their lineup was the one left when they let WR Amari Cooper go to the Browns. They really could use another receiver who could take some pressure off CeeDee Lamb. They're hopeful the return of Michael Gallup will do that, but he has only eight catches in four games since returning from his torn ACL.

So, no matter what Jones said, put he Cowboys in the mix for any of the available receivers — Jeudy, Moore, Cooks or even Pittsburgh's Chase Claypool, if he's really available. Jones surely doesn't want to pay the price for any of them. But would he really stay out of the bidding and let one of them end up in, say, Philadelphia?

Washington Commanders (3-4)

Buying or selling?: Their victory over the Packers on Sunday might have changed their thinking. Commanders coach Ron Rivera had admitted they were on the fence about which way to go. But after two straight wins have them on the very edge of the playoff picture (just a half-game back), a fire sale seems unlikely.

That doesn't mean they'll be buyers, though. The Commanders generally seem to think they have a good team that has just been crushed by injuries. They are not thinking about tearing it down, especially since Rivera calls the shots, and he's a 60-year-old who'll surely be on the hot seat next season.

Most likely they'll continue to straddle that fence and could go either way — buying at the right price, or selling an expendable asset if the offer is enticing enough.

Trade chips: If the Commanders did want to have a fire sale, they have quite a few interesting assets that might generate interest, according to league sources. 

Veteran TE Logan Thomas intrigues some teams, though missing three straight games with a calf injury probably crushes his value. They also could get a nice return for RB Antonio Gibson, according to a league source, if they were ready to entrust their backfield to rookie Brian Robinson and J.D. McKissic, who would surely interest the Bills since they nearly signed him in March.

Teams also will likely call about CB William Jackson, who reportedly wants out after he was benched in Week 5. And they'd probably get the most interest in first-round DT Daron Payne if they put him on the block. Payne has 3.5 sacks and could cost them a fortune when he's done playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal. The Commanders could conceivably get a second-round draft pick for him alone, if not more.

Ideal targets: If they were going to add anything, help along the offensive line would make the most sense. They have enough playmakers, and they like what they have on defense, especially with their young cornerbacks playing well. A stud pass rusher would be nice, but the price on that can't be worth it for a 3-4 team.

So maybe the Commanders could trade a late pick for an unwanted lineman like Baltimore guard Ben Cleveland. Their own line is obviously banged up, but the truth is any available lineman they could get would be too expensive, injured or old.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.