Eagles miss out on veteran WR they had rumored interest in originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Another wide receiver option is off the board, and the likelihood of Howie Roseman spending an Eagles draft pick on a wide receiver continues to grow.
The Dolphins are trading DeVante Parker to the Patriots, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Saturday, for a pick swap:
Trade terms, per source:
Patriots get WR DeVante Parker and a 2022 5th-round pick.
Dolphins get a 2023 third-round pick.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 2, 2022
Turning a fifth-rounder into a third-rounder is pretty solid return. Parker is a totally reliable veteran wideout, but he’s not exactly an exciting dude with some ceiling he hasn’t yet reached. We know who he is.
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Trading for Parker was definitely a possibility for the Eagles, and you have to imagine Roseman at least reached out to Miami about his price.
There were rumblings of Eagles interest in Parker, though just how legitimate they were is unclear. The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson referenced their interest in a tweet, but his wording left some question as to the source of the report:
Several teams have shown interest in DeVante Parker, who’s under contract. Eagles reportedly among them. Unclear what Dolphins will do with him. Would be potentially co-No.3 with Wilson if he remains.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) March 24, 2022
Parker, 29, played just 10 games last year. He caught 40 passes for 515 yards and two touchdowns. Parker has one 1,000+ yard season to his name, the Dolphins’ 2019 campaign when he caught 72 passes for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s also only played every game in a season once, in 2019.
Our Dave Zangaro wrote earlier this offseason about Parker’s availability after the Dolphins traded for Tyreek Hill, and suggested the Eagles would be wise to pursue Parker:
“Parker (6-3, 219) still has two years left on his contract with very moderate salaries of $5.65 million in 2022 and $5.7 million in 2023. So even if this ends up being a stop-gap option for the Eagles, it wouldn’t be a very costly one.
“Adding Parker would give the Eagles a nice big-bodied complement to DeVonta Smith (although the spelling conundrum would not go unnoticed). That would give the Eagles their starting three of Smith, Parker and Quez Watkins. A top four of [DeVonta] Smith, Parker, [Quez] Watkins and Zach Pascal looks pretty solid.”
READ: Top draft analyst on possible Eagles draft trades, trade-up candidates
Alas, the Eagles’ wide receiver room is currently headlined by Smith, Watkins, and Pascal. Not embarrassing, but certainly near the bottom of the league.
There are quite a few exciting wide receiver prospects who could go in the first round of this month’s draft. We should probably start brushing up on those scouting reports.
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