The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles have two common bonds outside of both teams playing in the NFC East.
That common bond is needs at both cornerback and edge rusher, two positions the Eagles and Cowboys could address ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline, which may lead to the two NFC East squads competing for the same players.
One team Dallas and Philly may end up striking a deal with is the Tennessee Titans, who are expected to make cornerback Roger McCreary and edge rusher Arden Key available at the deadline, according to rumors from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Fowler notes that the Titans are “open to trading players who are in the last year of a contract and are not in the franchise’s long-term plans.”
Fowler goes on to say that McCreary and Key both fit that description.
“The Titans are open to trading players who are in the last year of a contract and are not in the franchise’s long-term plans. Key fits that mold,” Fowler wrote.
“Similar to Key, McCreary is a defensive starter who doesn’t fit the long-term plans of a team in transition. His name circulated in trade buzz at roster cutdowns too,” Fowler added on McCreary.
The Eagles’ need at cornerback comes on the boundary, where Kelee Ringo and Adoree’ Jackson haven’t played up to snuff across from Quinyon Mitchell. Cooper DeJean could move outside, but Philly likely prefers to keep him in the slot.
At edge rusher, the Eagles were already in desperate need before the retirement of Za’Darius Smith, so his unexpected decision only makes things worse. Brandon Graham coming out of retirement definitely helps, but that’s not enough for the Eagles to stand pat.
In Dallas, the Cowboys haven’t gotten what they hoped to get out of Kaiir Elam and need a better solution for his spot. It also wouldn’t hurt to add more depth given the injury issues with Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland in the last few years.
In what is a surprise to absolutely no one, the Micah Parsons trade has badly hurt the Cowboys’ defense, and especially in the pass rush, which makes adding an EDGE a major need.
McCreary does his best work in the slot, but he also has experience playing on the outside, so he offers versatility. He has struggled this season, though, but it’s fair to wonder how much of that has to do with the overall state of the Titans, who are a complete dumpster fire in 2025.
Key has been a solid edge rusher over the past four years, tallying 23.5 sacks from 2021-2024. Over five games this season, Key has tallied 1.5 sacks and nine pressures, so he’s close to the pace for his typical sack production.
Neither player would amount to a blockbuster addition, but McCreary and Key would still be upgrades for Philly and Dallas.
More NFL News
