Eagles roster: Chuck Clark makes sense at the trade deadline

They answered the call! Following their bye week, the Philadelphia Eagles returned to action and answered the questions about rust and complacency. It still wasn’t the perfect performance, but it was complete. There were no second-half lapses or moments where it felt as though they were sleepwalking on offense or defense. Another win is in the books, and now attention shifts back to one of those dates we circle on the NFL’s calendar annually, the trade deadline.

Something tells us that vice president/general manager Howie Roseman woke up on Monday morning and continued working the phones. Might we recommend a safety acquisition? If they’re interested, Chuck Clark might be what the doctor ordered, especially seeing as how he’s someone the Birds have previously shown interest in.

Chuck Clark gives the Eagles the three-man safety rotation that we’ve been clamoring for.

It isn’t always viewed as a premium position. During past seasons, we’ve all crossed our fingers in hope that vice president/general manager Howie Roseman might go the route of pursuing Minkah Fitzpatrick (2019), Jamal Adams (2020), and Jessie Bates III (2021) via trade. In each instance, the asking price was higher than Howie wanted to pay.

Clark is a former sixth-round draft choice in 2017 who was actually invited to the NFL Combine to compete as a cornerback, proving once again that the NFL Draft process isn’t an exact science. He inked a three-year, $15.30 million contract extension that includes $10 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $5.50 million on February 10th of 2020.

That takes care of any concerns about investing top dollar into one player if the Birds gave some real consideration to taking a swing.

Again, historically Howie Roseman has proven that the safety position isn’t one to which he dedicates tremendous resources, but time and time again we’ve learned that things can go haywire if the Eagles don’t have confident and competent players at the position.

If you need evidence of that, look no further than the drop-off we experienced recently when Chauncey Gardner-Johnson was injured for a brief spell versus the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia had to rely on K’Von Wallace. If C.J. or Marcus Epps get injured, the backend of this defense gets worse in a hurry.

We compare the 2022 Eagles to the 2017 version often, but the 2017 Eagles had a strong trio of safeties. Wallace is a good special teamer but not much more than that. Philly doesn’t seem to fully trust Reed Blankenship yet. Adding Chuck Clark gives them a box safety that can lay the lumber.

He, Marcus Epps, and the ball hawk, Gardner-Johnson would make for a formidable trio in an already-stacked secondary. This is a move that we may never see but one that Philly should consider.