Saints GM Mickey Loomis wary of doing deals with the ‘bright’ Howie Roseman and the Eagles

"I have to keep both hands in my back pockets when I’m talking to Howie," said Loomis. "And I mean that in the most complimentary way."

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has had a heck of a run with trades in the past few years.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer

by Gustav Elvin

Published Aug. 24, 2023, 3:10 p.m. ET

Howie Roseman is the reigning Pro Football Writers of America’s executive of the year for a reason. The Eagles general manager pulled off several marquee trades last season and compiled a star-studded roster that came up just a few plays short of winning Super Bowl LVII.

Roseman, who has now won executive of the year twice in the past five years, has shown recently he is a shrewd negotiator, and he is building a reputation as a general manager who consistently gets the better of his counterparts across the league.

If the secret wasn’t fully out, it is now, as New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis acknowledged in an interview released Thursday that doing a deal with Roseman can be a slippery proposition.

While appearing on the podcast Green Light with Chris Long, Loomis was asked by Long, who played for the Eagles in 2017 and 2018, whether there is a general manager or coach he feels he needs to watch when it comes to doing deals.

Loomis responded by saying Roseman before showering him with several compliments.

“He’s done a great job in Philly,” Loomis said. “But he’s always one of the guys that, ah OK, I’ll get both hands in my back pockets when I’m talking to Howie. And I mean that in the most complimentary way.”

Loomis, who smiled as he said it, would know firsthand, having completed two significant deals with Roseman and the Eagles over the past 16 months.

The first deal was in April 2022, when the Eagles traded two 2022 first-round picks (No. 16 and No. 19) and a sixth-rounder (No. 190) for a 2022 first-round pick (No. 18), a third (No. 101), a seventh (No. 237), a 2023 first (No. 10), and a 2024 second-rounder (TBD).

A popular trade at the time, the Eagles later turned No. 18 and No. 101 into A.J. Brown, who was a second-team All-Pro and broke the team’s single-season receiving record last season with 1,496 yards.

This year, the Eagles traded No. 10 and a 2024 fourth-rounder to Chicago to land Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter, widely considered the most talented player in this year’s draft class, with the ninth pick.

Last August, the two general managers struck another deal, the Eagles acquiring safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and a 2025 seventh-round pick for a 2023 fifth and a 2024 sixth.

Gardner-Johnson, now with the Detroit Lions, was excellent in his lone season in Philly, tying for the league lead with six interceptions.