One of the NFL’s best writers just proposed what would wind up being the worst trade in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles.
It isn’t often that you see the player-for-player trade in the NFL. Teams ship off guys for draft picks. Occasionally, you see draft picks and players that are sent over. Every April, we see teams swap picks to move up a few slots. That’s done so that the team could, hopefully, land that guy that will change the franchise. The Philadelphia Eagles, recently, have used the draft, and they’ve dipped in the free-agency pool to fix those areas of need.
Sure, they’ll make a trade if need be, but here’s one that they shouldn’t. Recently, Paul Domowitch, who’s a veteran NFL writer for The Inquirer proposed a trade that would send Houston Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney to Philly in exchange for their starting right tackle, Lane Johnson.
Now, let’s understand something. Domowitch did what you’re supposed to. He grabbed our attention with the headline. As members of the media, you learn that people often don’t read past headlines and tend to overreact. If you’re not careful, that can be done here. Domowitch’s story is really about the pros and cons of the trade and very well written as always.
We at ITI just don’t like the idea that the questions being asked. Either way, it sparks conversation, and that’s the point. Take a look at the tweet.
Would you trade Lane Johnson for Jadaveon Clowney? | Early Birds https://t.co/Dc0wH7FLky via @phillyinquirer
— Paul Domowitch (@pdomo) August 16, 2019
No one will deny Domowitch is one of the best at what he does, but this is an idea Philly shouldn’t entertain. Now, in fairness, again, it’s the title that makes your heart stop beating, but that’s just meant to be the attention-getter. In his story, he lists reasons why Eagles vice president and general manager Howie Roseman should and shouldn’t pull the trigger. Let’s save some time. He shouldn’t, but here are a few reasons why Domowitch thinks the deal works.
1. Philly could afford Clowney’s $15.97 million franchise-tag number.
2. Everyone wants this Eagles’ pass rush to be great, and Clowney would, no doubt, make that a foregone conclusion.
3. The Texans need offensive line help, especially at left tackle, and if they add Lane Johnson, they could move him to the other side of the line.
Keep in mind those are all valid points, but they’re three good reasons why this deal would work for the Texans. This deal doesn’t work for Philly, and here are three reasons why it doesn’t.
1. This Eagles team is better with Johnson than they are without him, and the numbers prove that. Just look at Philly’s record with Johnson and their record without him.
2. Clowney takes too many plays off, often doesn’t play up to his potential (we saw that at South Carolina), and he needs to be re-signed after this season. Most likely, he’ll want a max deal.
3. Adding Clowney disrupts the chemistry of two of the Eagles’ position groups, the offensive line and the defensive line. Philly is fine with the guys they have, and after what we’ve seen with the likes of Daeshon Hall and Joe Ostman, Philly’s got younger guys who are less expensive.
Ostman is on the team’s IR (injured reserve) but he will return next season. Clowney just isn’t a priority, and whether he believes it or not, Lane Johnson is, potentially, working on a Hall-of-Fame career. Kudos to Domowitch for an amazing read and an even better talking point, but most would disagree with this one. Can we officially kill this idea once and for all?