PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman all but put a "For Sale" sign on the team's first-round pick, with the caveat that the price, and the situation, has to be right.
"I would say, overall, we're open for business," Roseman said Thursday about the possibility of trading out of the 32nd slot to acquire more draft capital, responding to a question during a media session alongside VP of player personnel Joe Douglas. "We're open for business in every round. If it's something that we think makes sense for our team, we're going to do it. But at the same time, we're ready to pick. We've got 32 guys that we feel really good about. We can't operate under the assumption that we're going to bail out, so we're ready to roll."
It's no secret that the Eagles are in the market for more picks. They are tied for a league-low with six at the moment, and do not currently have a selection in the second or third round. That's the price of doing deals for players like quarterback Carson Wentz, cornerback Ronald Darby and running back Jay Ajayi, who all played roles in delivering Philadelphia its first Lombardi Trophy in 2017.
"For our team, for our fans, we thought that we had to do whatever it took to give us the opportunity to win each Sunday," Roseman said. "We made these trades also [for] guys that weren't necessarily just here for one year. But it doesn't make it any easier, especially when we're with Joe and his staff. All the time that they've put in, to sit there on Friday and potentially have a golf outing, that's not great."
They are prepared to sit out of Day 2 if need be and focus on the five picks they have for Saturday. Douglas pointed out that 22 of the starters in Super Bowl LII were third-round picks or lower, including 18 who were fourth-rounders or below and six who were undrafted free agents.
"So we choose to keep the glass half-full," Douglas said.
Still, Roseman has expressed the need to infuse the roster with more draft picks to offset the number of veterans carrying large contracts, especially with Wentz being eligible for his second deal after this season. And it's well known that Roseman isn't one to sit still. The Eagles have made 20 trades since the beginning of 2016 alone, second only to the New England Patriots (21), according to ESPN Stats & Information. If he can can move back into the top of the second round, add a pick or two and still land a player that the team feels strongly about, there's plenty of reason to think he'd do it.
One key difference between the first and second round is that contracts for first-round players come with fifth-year options. That can be of value in particular for a team that is looking for a quarterback.
Roseman said that trade talks across the league are about to pick up in a big way. No doubt, he'll be as active as any in exploring what's out there.
"The next week is when we get a chance to try to talk to every team in the league," he said. "And so I'm sure you'll see a lot of reports coming out, 'This team is talking to this team.' But that's our job is to figure out, hey, if we're at 32 and we want to move up and want to move back, who are the teams that are anxious to do that? I think it will continue to be that way... It's very hard when you're on the clock to dial all these teams or to take all the calls. So by doing this now, you set yourself up in advance to have a short list of conversations when you're on the clock or another team's on the clock about your interests, so it helps your preparation."