Trading with Eagles’ Howie Roseman is a ‘pain in the’ you know what. Just ask Commanders GM Adam Peters.
As the Eagles traded up for the selection that netted Cooper DeJean, Roseman had a back-and-forth with the Commanders that also drew the attention of owner Josh Harris.
After the NFL draft, the Eagles brought fans inside the war room to get a taste of Howie Roseman’s trade wizardry. The video gave fans a glimpse of the conversations that helped them trade up to take Cooper DeJean.
Thanks to the Washington Commanders, now fans can see the other side of that trade conversation with Commanders general manager Adam Peters. And it’s clear, as Peters says in the video, negotiating with Roseman is a “pain in the ass.”
In the Eagles’ video, the Eagles attempted to trade up with the Carolina Panthers before the Los Angeles Rams made the move instead. Roseman said that the trade with the Commanders was almost finished, they just needed to throw back a sixth-rounder, but the Eagles’ war room was resigned, thinking the Rams would select DeJean before they had the opportunity. After the Rams went in another direction, Roseman finalized the trade call.
“I think that’s what makes the draft so interesting and so much fun,” Roseman said in the Eagles’ video. “You don’t know how everyone else sees things. We know how we see things, and you get into your own head where you’re going, ‘Everybody’s got to see it the same way,’ but it never works out that way. And I think that’s just what makes it an amazing three days and three nights of fun and a great opportunity to improve this team.”
» READ MORE: Cornerback, safety or both? Cooper DeJean doesn’t care about labels. The new Eagle just wants to play.
But there was a lot of back-and-forth between Roseman and Peters that the Eagles’ version didn’t show.
Initially, the Eagles offered picks 50 and 53 for picks 40, 78, and, 152, but Peters said he didn’t want to lose a pick, offering to take the deal if the Eagles added pick 161.
Roseman kept pushing, and asked for Washington’s higher fifth-rounder, which Peters declined, just ahead of the Rams’ selection, one pick before the Eagles went on the clock. At that point, Sixers and Commanders owner Josh Harris, smiling, said Roseman was “unbelievable.” Roseman then tried to read back the trade but offered pick 210 instead of pick 161.
“He’s like, ‘Let me talk it back: 50, 53′ — I said 161!” Peters said. Harris reassured Peters to keep going: “Just keep saying no, they’re going to do it.”
They ultimately settled on picks 50, 53, and 161 for 40, 78, and 152, letting the Eagles get their guy.
“He drives a hard bargain, but he’s a good man,” Peters said about Roseman after the trade was finalized.
The Eagles selected DeJean, picking up their second defensive back of the draft, at pick 40, and traded down with Houston and San Francisco from pick 78 to pick 94, where they drafted linebacker Jalyx Hunt. The Birds used the final pick in the deal, pick 152, on receiver Ainias Smith.