The Philadelphia Eagles brought back a familiar name from the 2022 NFL Draft, acquiring offensive lineman Kenyon Green from the Houston Texans in a trade in early March that sent safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson the other way in a deal that some viewed as a surprise.
Philadelphia was high on Green coming out of Texas A&M two years ago, having met with him at the NFL Scouting Combine and hosting him on a top-30 visit. Ultimately, the Eagles traded up to select defensive tackle Jordan Davis at No. 13 overall, leaving Green to be selected two picks later by Houston.
The Eagles had tough decisions to make following their Super Bowl win. Now, Roseman explains the method behind the madness.
Howie Roseman Defends C.J. Gardner-Johnson Trade, Lays Out Vision for Eagles’ Future
The move did indeed send question marks around the league. A few weeks later,
Roseman addressed the trade, placing it in the broader context of the team’s roster strategy.
“I think if you’re just taking the C.J. move in a vacuum, it’s kind of not giving the whole perspective of where we’re at,” Roseman said. “Chauncey did a great job for us, and both the years that he was with us — obviously, making the Super Bowl twice in two years with him as our starting safety.”
Roseman emphasized balancing high-paid veterans with young talent still on rookie deals.
“We got eight guys who are making $15 million or more,” Roseman said. “From the 2022 to 2024 drafts, we have eight starters on the Super Bowl team, none of those guys have long-term contracts. In those drafts, probably have five or six players that will be competing for starting jobs.”
The Eagles’ general manager stressed the importance of maintaining roster flexibility without undergoing massive year-to-year turnover.
“We never want to be in a situation where we have one year where we’re getting rid of 20 guys,” he said. “We’ve been very fortunate to be aggressive in keeping our guys and signing guys in free agency, and it’s also got to align with the draft and having young players.”
Green, 24, gives the Eagles another versatile option on the offensive line as the team continues to invest in long-term depth up front.
As Roseman put it: “Certainly that’s the important thing to do — draft well and then keep your players. And so we got to make sure that going forward, we have an opportunity to do that, as well. A lot of those players that we’re talking about are good young players that we’re excited about. And so we had to make some tough decisions here.”