With less than one week until the November 4 NFL trade deadline, Howie Roseman has made a trade.
Here’s a look at the terms:
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES RECEIVE — CB Michael Carter II, 2027 seventh-round pick
NEW
YORK JETS RECEIVE — WR John Metchie III, 2027 sixth-round pick
Carter (not to be confused with the former Jets and current Arizona Cardinals running back of the same name) played college football at Duke before being selected by former Jets general manager and current Eagles executive Joe Douglas with a fifth-round pick (No. 154 overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Since then, he’s logged 25 starts in 65 career games played. The 26-year-old cornerback has two interceptions to go with his 26 passes defensed. MC2 has a 83.4 passer rating when targeted, which is good. But it’s been 109.7 in five this games this season, which isn’t so good.
Carter has experience playing both inside and outside … but he’s mostly been a nickel cornerback in the NFL. Here’s a look at his career snap counts by season, via Pro Football Focus:
2021 — Slot 614, Box 140, DL 17, Wide 4, FS 1
2022 — Slot 662, Box 56, DL 7, Wide 5, FS 2
2023 — Slot 571, Box 65, Wide 29, FS 4, DL 2
2024 — Slot 252, Box 20, Wide 7, DL 5 , FS 1
2025 — Slot 113, Box 18, DL 11, FS 2, Wide 1
One would think the Eagles could experiment with starting MC2 in the slot to free up Cooper DeJean to play on the outside. CB2 has been a weakness for the Eagles all season long with neither Adoree’ Jackson, nor Jakorian Bennett, nor Kelee Ringo stepping up to really lock down that starting job.
It’s possible that the Eagles could give MC2 a look on the outside. Or maybe he just ends up being a good depth player to have behind DeJean, which wouldn’t be crazy considering the low cost it took to acquire Carter.
Metchie’s departure is a little surprising in the sense that the Eagles only traded for him back in mid-August. But with undrafted rookie standout Darius Cooper back from injured reserve, Metchie fell to being WR5 on the depth chart. The Eagles’ remaining wide receivers on the active roster: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson, Darius Cooper, and Xavier Gipson. They also have Britain Covey, Terrace Marshall, and Quez Watkins on the practice squad.
It’ll be interesting to see how Carter, who is currently signed through 2027, fares in Philly. Certainly worth taking a shot at him for very little cost in terms of assets surrendered.
