One trade, cut and signing the Philadelphia Eagles should make

After a 1-5 finish to the regular season and a quick exit from the playoffs, Philadelphia has work to do in 2024. With that in mind, here’s a trade, cut and signing the Eagles should make. 

TRADE: CB Patrick Surtain II

The Broncos cornerback is one of the league’s best defensive players and according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, Philadelphia considered trading for the three-time Pro Bowler last year. Any NFL team would love to have a player like Surtain, but he’d fit particularly well with the Eagles next season.

New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was Denver’s head coach when the team drafted Surtain ninth overall in 2021 and the Broncos' then-defensive backs coach, Christian Parker, is now with Philadelphia in an unspecified role.

Surtain won’t come cheap. According to the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora, the Broncos wanted at least two first-round picks for their cornerback last year. The Eagles have the 22nd pick in this year’s draft, but with the league’s 31st-ranked secondary, they should have no problem giving it up for a player like Surtain who has one year left on his rookie deal.

CUT: S Kevin Byard

A fifth- and sixth-round pick plus backup safety Terrell Edmunds seemed a small price to pay for Byard last October, but Philadelphia’s secondary actually got worse with the two-time All-Pro on its roster.  

In 10 games with the Eagles, the former Titan allowed a completion rate of 75.6 percent and a passer rating of 103.3, the worst marks of his nine-year career. The 30-year-old safety carries a $14M cap hit for 2024. but only $711K in dead money. At those numbers, the Eagles have no choice but to let Byard go. 

SIGNING: LB Patrick Queen

Baltimore’s Pro Bowl linebacker had a career-high 133 tackles (84 solo) and 3.5 sacks while the Ravens defense allowed a league-low 16.5 points per game in 2023. He’s missed one game in four NFL seasons and would instantly upgrade to Philadelphia's woeful linebacker corps.

Like Surtain, Queen was mentioned as a possible trade target for the Eagles last season, but the team opted to sign veterans like Zach Cunningham, Shaquille Leonard and Nicholas Morrow instead. 

As a result, Philadelphia struggled to defend the middle of the field while allowing 25.2 points per game, third-most in the NFL. The Eagles may scoff at his asking price, $18.5M per year according to spotrac.com, but if they want to fix the defense, Queen is their best option.