The Dallas Cowboys could be interested in a potential trade with the division rival.
As noted by Mike Fisher of Sports Illustrated, a “source” indicates the Cowboys are interested in a trade for Philadelphia Eagles two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Haason Reddick. The 29-year-old Reddick has been given permission to seek a trade.
“The Cowboys have ‘respect’ for Reddick as well, which is why our source mentions Dallas and Jacksonville as among the teams that are ‘interested’ in making a move,” writes Fisher.
As Fisher further details, the Cowboys are “investigating” ways to acquire Reddick.
“And an NFL source tells CowboysSI.com that the idea of the Dallas Cowboys investigating ways to acquire Reddick is real, too,” writes Fisher.
Haason Reddick is One of NFL’s Top Pass Rushers
The seven-year veteran is coming off of his second consecutive Pro Bowl berth after registering an 11-sack season. He posted a career-best 16 sacks during the 2022 season, with four Eagles defenders posting double-digit numbers in sacks during that year.
While Reddick’s production is not an issue, the Eagles are going through a fire sale of sorts along the defensive line. They’re also shopping Josh Sweat, who had a Pro Bowl year in 2021 and registered 11 sacks during the 2022 season.
As Fisher mentions, a more reasonable time frame for a Reddick trade would be post-June 1 for salary cap reasons. Trading Reddick after June 1 would result in $16 million cap savings and a $5.8 million dead cap hit. Meanwhile, trading Reddick before June 1 would result in a dead cap hit of $20.5 million and a cap savings of just $1.3 million.
“The matter of compensation coming back in a trade for Reddick? It’s anybody’s guess right now … especially because if Philly wants to do something cap-friendly, it needs to be post-June 1 … at which time getting draft picks for him will be about 2025,” writes Fisher.
Over the past four seasons, Reddick has posted at least 11 sacks in each season, totaling 40.5 sacks during that time frame — the fourth-highest in the NFL since 2020.
Why Cowboys Trade for Haason Reddick is Unlikely
While the idea of the Cowboys being interested in acquiring one of the top young pass rushers in the NFL isn’t exactly surprising, the notion of the Eagles trading one of their to players to their chief division rival is hard to imagine — regardless of what type of draft capital Dallas is willing to give up.
The more reasonable scenario where the Cowboys could acquire Reddick sees the Eagles simply cut him and Dallas then sign him.
“The Cowboys and other teams could force the Eagles’ hand and hope he gets released with a post-June 1 designation, in which case the Eagles could cut him and save $16 million under the salary cap,” writes Fisher.
We’ll see what the Eagles end up doing with Reddick, but it’s hard to envision them releasing a sack artist in the midst of his prime without receiving anything in return. Pro Football Focus projects Reddick as having potential second-round pick trade value.
Across seven seasons, Reddick holds career totals of 58 sacks and 410 tackles in 81 starts in 114 career appearances, including stints with the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers.