Welcome to The Linc, the daily Philadelphia Eagles links roundup at Bleeding Green Nation!
The Eagles should absolutely trade Saquon Barkley if they get a good offer. Getting at least one second-round pick is probably key to making that deal work. A second-round pick and a third-round pick? Should be a no-brainer. Barkley is still good; it’s not a slam on him. Rather, it’s about him not really fitting the team’s timeline to contend moving forward.
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links
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Seven things Solak thinks entering NFL Week 7: From Eagles to Matthew Stafford – ESPN
RB Saquon Barkley to the Texans for a 2027 third-round pick, a 2027 sixth-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and RB Woody Marks. Would the Eagles really trade Barkley? It feels bold, but if there’s a general manager willing to get out a year early instead of a year late on a 29-year-old running back, it’s certainly Roseman. When Roseman invested in Barkley in 2024 free agency, he was doing so with contention in mind — adding a final key piece to an offense that had a dominant offensive line and dominant wide receiver play. Now, in fall 2026, with a rebuild in mind, how likely is Barkley to remain a prime player the next time the Eagles are ready for playoff football? I waffle on this. Barkley could be a huge boon to a rookie-contract quarterback if they move on from Hurts. But the offensive line will need addressing first, as might wide receiver. I think the Eagles will say Barkley isn’t unavailable so that acquiring teams are compelled to send that can’t-refuse offer. Remember: Barkley, if traded, would hit the Eagles with about $26.5 million in dead cap in 2027 … on top of the $27.1 million Brown has already left behind. That’s a big hurdle to overcome. I could see a few contenders doing it. The Seahawks came to mind, as did the Packers and the Vikings. But I love the idea of GM Nick Caserio, fresh off the Marvin Harrison Jr. deal, doubling down on the offense and adding Barkley to a backfield that he has yet to solve in Houston. The Texans are once again on pace to have a bottom-5 rushing attack, but Barkley has the talent behind the line of scrimmage to help cover for a shaky interior offensive line group. By forcing opposing defenses to play more heavy boxes by formation and by the presence of Barkley, the 2-4 Texans could pull further defensive attention away from receiver Nico Collins and field an offense really worthy of a comeback run into the playoffs.
Will the Eagles have a fire sale? Could they be buyers? A way-too-early look at the NFL trade deadline – Inquirer
The Eagles have a few valuable trade candidates who aren’t on expiring deals, too. RB Saquon Barkley: This one doesn’t seem likely, but it’s worth considering. The two seasons following Barkley’s historic 2024 campaign haven’t gone as planned. The offensive line in front of him struggled in 2025. This year, Barkley has missed time with a hamstring injury. He’s signed for two more seasons, and the Eagles at least have the draft capital to not go full-blown rebuild mode. Why wouldn’t they want Barkley around for the next few seasons? Every player has a price, and while Barkley turns 30 in February, it’s not hard to imagine a team like Seattle or Minnesota parting with a premier draft pick to acquire him.
It’s getting harder to see how the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts marriage ends well – BGN
The simplest and cleanest way to get the Eagles back on track just may be to get rid of everyone, strip the coaching staff and the roster down, and retool. With a ton of draft picks, the Eagles could rebuild their lines and get a new QB pretty quickly. A new head coach/offensive coordinator would be able to identify the QB he believes would be best suited to run his offense and work on building a new program, starting in 2027. Unfortunately, that would mean Jalen Hurts is traded this off-season. Make no mistake, Hurts is the best quarterback in franchise history. It would be very interesting to see how things would work out if Sirianni was gone and an offensive-minded head coach was brought in who would tailor an offense around Hurts’ strengths. But it would also require Hurts to run the ball more often than he has, and if he’s decided he’s not a running QB anymore, then Hurts’ value as a franchise player decreases tremendously.
Can Eagles defense hold up if it has to keep playing this much? – NBCSP
The Eagles defense could be better. Let’s start off with that so this doesn’t read like an out-and-out excuse for that side of the football. Because this defense is supposed to be elite and it hasn’t been that yet this season. But the Eagles’ offense isn’t doing the defense any favors. In the 25-14 loss on Sunday at the Linc, the Eagles played 79 defensive snaps and saw 74 plays, while their offense was on the field for 64 snaps. The Eagles lost in time of possession 34:48-25:12. And this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Eagles’ defense on the field this much. Because of that, it’s not surprising that unit keeps collapsing in the fourth quarter — 42% of the points the Eagles have given up have come in the fourth. Ultimately, it’s fair to wonder if the defense will be able to hold up at this rate. “Nobody is going to be perfect for that many plays and you’ve got to be able to deal with ups and downs each and every play,” Cooper DeJean said on Sunday evening. “The biggest thing is effort. Just putting in your best effort and communication and doing your job each and every play to the best of your ability.”
Another Hurts Update – Iggles Blitz
The Nick Sirianni press conference wasn’t ideal. The Eagles certainly could have handled that better. The right messaging can make situations like this so much less messy. Let’s hope they learn from this. I have no issue with the league doing an investigation. I have no problem with the media asking tough questions. This is a complex, bizarre story about the team’s star QB. I just hope people are better informed. The sleepless angle no longer exists. That is a real game-changer. We have a better idea of the timeline so everyone can understand how things went down. If new info emerges we’ll adjust the story and our conclusions. Hopefully this situation will settle down so we can get back to talking about the Eagles as a football team.
Jalen Hurts’ recovery comes first. What’s next for his Eagles future? – The Athletic
Earlier this year, owner Jeffrey Lurie was effusive in his support of Hurts, saying, “I love everything about him.” Lurie’s words spelled out support that the eventual lack of an offseason extension omitted. Hurts entered the third season of a five-year, $255 million extension. The deal’s guarantees decline significantly to $22 million after this season, according to Over the Cap. He has no guaranteed money left after 2027. Moving on still carries substantial salary-cap consequences, and Hurts’ no-trade clause gives him control over whether to approve a trade. The Eagles executed their biggest schematic shift in Sirianni’s tenure with Hurts still on the roster, which spoke to their collective confidence in the quarterback. But like Sirianni, first-time offensive coordinator Sean Mannion and the rest of the offensive staff, Hurts would be judged on his performance in the new offense. The first five weeks of the 2026 season suggested the Eagles’ offense would eventually require a full evaluation. The Eagles ranked 30th in the NFL in offensive EPA (-42.74), according to TruMedia. Their run game had the league’s ninth-lowest success rate (33.6 percent). Their play-action passes had the fourth-lowest EPA per dropback (-0.25) and the fifth-lowest yards per attempt (6.1). The system’s growing pains were complicated by injuries, the sudden retirement of right tackle Lane Johnson, and the trading of two-time Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens. Mannion must now identify and field solutions while playing backup quarterback Tanner McKee, who had less experience in this type of offense than Hurts and whose practice reps were split during his training camp position battle with the recently released Andy Dalton.
Buying or Selling the NFL’s Crisis of Confidence Teams – The Ringer
With all that going on, Philadelphia needs Hurts and offensive coordinator Sean Mannion to do the heavy lifting, but that’s just not happening. The Eagles rank 24th in the league in passer rating and 29th in first downs gained on passes. Their current success rate on passes is just 36 percent, which is lower than the Broncos’ success rate on rushing attempts—and Denver isn’t even good at running the ball! Mannion was hired to incorporate the Shanahan-McVay system into the Eagles offense, which was supposed to add play-action passing under center and more easy completions with yards-after-the-catch opportunities in shotgun. This is another facet of the offense that hasn’t come to fruition. The Eagles are tied for 27th in under-center play-action passes per game (with just under five dropbacks) and last in success rate on those dropbacks. In shotgun, the Eagles are bottom 10 in yards after the catch, completion rate, and air yards per attempt. What hasn’t been poorly designed has been poorly executed this season, and Philly can’t explain all that away with the fact that it traded away receiver A.J. Brown in the offseason or that DeVonta Smith has missed two games.
Albert Breer’s Notes: Colts Have More Decisions to Make After Firing Chris Ballard – SI
On the Hurts situation, please first allow me the preamble you’ve heard from every other media person over the past couple of days: I am not a doctor. All right, now that we have that covered. … There are some unanswered questions that I got from doctors I did talk to about the situation. The first regarded the issue of Hurts being told not to sleep, something multiple medical professionals told me would not be the course of action for a patient with a superficial clot. The second is what the ultrasound taken in London showed and whether it was misread by a radiologist over there. The third would be how he was handled on the plane ride back to Philly, and who cleared him to fly. Clearly, if the doctors had found the embolism in London, they’d have kept him in England for a while, or at least should have. But even in the case that they hadn’t, and only knew about the superficial clot, there’d be extra care they’d have to take in flying him home. And if the team or the player’s camp is more concerned about Hurts’s image, in making clear this was out of his hands, and would sideline anyone, fine. There are other ways to illustrate that. Also, as Conor Orr wrote Monday, the Eagles shouldn’t have put Nick Sirianni out there to answer for this. I can say after a day of digging into it, it’s not an easy topic to expound on.
NFL wide receiver rankings: Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads after Week 6, Mike Evans rises to No. 2 – PFF
15) DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles (down 3). In his return to the Eagles’ lineup, Smith caught seven passes for 75 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets. So far this season, he ranks third in PFF receiving grade and 18th in yards per route run (2.21).
Allen Sills dismisses concern about team physician bias as “nonsense” (it’s not) – PFT
Finally, Sills invoked “patient privacy concerns” to justify not taking questions about the treatment Hurts received. That’s a copout. Hurts has already authorized the issuance of multiple statements that shared with the world various details about his private medical issues. It’s easy to use “patient privacy concerns” as a shield when, in reality, the player quite possibly would authorize doctors to answer any and all questions about a situation that has already become extremely public. At this point, why would Hurts object to his doctors explaining what they did and why they did it? Through it all, the NFL and the Eagles simply want to move on. All’s well that ends, as the late NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue liked to say. Hopefully, this one won’t end until all necessary questions are asked and answered — and until the NFL recognizes that, for certain health conditions, a UNC-style approach is needed.
Eagles’ Michael Carter II throws baby shower for 30 Philadelphia moms – NBC10
Philadelphia Eagles player Michael Carter II is making an impact beyond the football field, this time by helping 30 new and expectant mothers in Philadelphia get a little extra support. The defensive back’s foundation hosted “Baby Shower on the Block” in South Philadelphia on Tuesday night, bringing together moms for a free community celebration filled with baby essentials, food, gifts and valuable resources.
NFL awards: J.J. McCarthy, Chuba Hubbard, and Evan Williams are the NFC’s Week 6 Secret Superstars – SB Nation
McCarthy’s outing was far from perfect — start with the fact that on that final play, he missed a wide-open Malik Nabers in the end zone — but offensive coordinator Matt Nagy set McCarthy up to do the two things he does well — air the ball out downfield, and run around when things get complicated. McCarthy was also the Giants’ leading rusher on the day with 26 yards on two carries. So, it wasn’t one of those overnight turnarounds, but the fact that McCarthy was able to come in cold and do what he did was singularly impressive. Per Next Gen Stats, he wound up tied for the sixth-most fourth quarter passing yards in this century, and his 14.9 air yards per attempt and 17.2 air yards per completion were the most by a quarterback with at least 20 dropbacks in a game this season. McCarthy led the NFL last year with 9.3 air yards per attempt and a 42.4% downfield throw rate, so little surprise there.
3 storylines for NY Giants vs. Houston Texans: Will it be Jameis or J.J. at QB? – Big Blue View
The biggest storyline of the week heading into the New York Giants Week 7 game vs. the Houston Texans is whether the Giants will start Jameis Winston or J.J. McCarthy at quarterback. Giants head coach John Harbaugh wasn’t ready to decide on Sunday night after McCarthy’s fourth-quarter heroics nearly brought the Giants back from a 24-point deficit in a 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints. On Monday, he said the team was still “honing in” on a decision. Theoretically, Harbaugh does not have to announce a decision on Wednesday. It would seem logical, though, since this is the beginning of the practice week and reporters will see which quarterback takes the first reps during individual drills early in practice.
History says Cowboys will be patient with Brian Schottenheimer – Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys have only two wins through their first six games for just the 16th time in franchise history. Amazingly, and unfortunately, this has now been the case for them in back-to-back seasons. Brian Schottenheimer’s direct predecessors each oversaw only one start to a season of this variety. For Mike McCarthy (2020), Jason Garrett (2015), and Wade Phillips (2010) mid-October saw them lead the Cowboys to at least a hat trick’s worth of wins more often than not. Schottenheimer is the subject of great focus for the Cowboys right now and as a result some on the internet are wondering if the Cowboys could look to make a move. You will of course be shocked to learn that the team’s brass said that is in no way on their minds at the moment.
Commanders vs. 49ers – Studs and Duds – Hogs Haven
I wanted to put QB Jayden Daniels on the Duds list – I really did, but I decided against it because some in this fan base are too fragile to handle the truth! He left SO many big plays on the field it wasn’t even funny. I get his offensive line is trash and he was playing scared, but he’s just not seeing the field right now. He checked the ball down all evening and missed wide open shots down the field. 110 of his passing yards came on great run-after-catch plays by his receivers. And then there was that bone-headed play on fourth down at the 13-yard line where he threw the ball out of bounds… He also had the intentional grounding in the fourth quarter which really hurt Washington. I get the concept called by Blough was poor, but take off running between Sam Cosmi and Josh Conerly. This was NOT a good game for Daniels despite the 300 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers.
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