Howie Roseman Can Stay Patient with Jalen Reagor Until Asking Price is Met

The GM is looking for a second-round pick to part ways with his WR, but he can afford to wait for one team to say yes since Reagor still has some value to this Eagles team

You hear a second-round pick for Jalen Reagor and laugh.

No way, you think.

Then you remember. It is Howie Roseman we’re talking about. Trades are usually his specialty.

The Eagles GM has won more of those than he’s lost and most recently was able to secure from the New Orleans Saints a first-round pick next year, a second-round pick in 2024, and a third-round pick this year to basically move back two spots in this year’s draft.

So, one never can be sure.

A second-round pick is Rosman’s asking price, per a source. A second-round pick will get it done for a first-round pick from just two years ago.

It’s not like the Eagles are being terribly active in shopping Reagor. They have, however, given permission for him and his agent, Jeffrey Nally, permission to look around for a landing spot.

Reagor may have been a bit over-drafted two years ago, but certainly, he would have been snapped up in the second round, maybe late first, if the Eagles didn’t take him at No. 21 instead of Justin Jefferson.

Reagor can say what he wants about not feeling the pressure to live up to being picked ahead of Jefferson but he’s feeling the pressure of being picked ahead of Jefferson.

That's one of many reasons things haven't worked out that maybe a change of scenery might help.

Roseman would be doing Reagor a favor by moving him, but he’s probably not going to do it unless his price is met.

It’s hard to see the GM lowering his price to a third-round selection because trading Reagor is going to entail taking on a $3.6M dead-money hit and saving just pennies under the salary cap.

If the Eagles wait until training camp, which is a very real possibility after teams begin to come to grips with what they have and what they still need, Reagor’s dead-money hit reduces to $1.802M and saves them $1.816M on the cap.

Another reason Roseman can hang on until a team meets his demands is that Reagor still holds value for this Eagles team, whether you choose to believe it or not, especially since the GM wasn’t able to land a veteran pass-catcher in the offseason.

He got Zach Pascal, and the former Colts WR will be used and used a lot.

DeVonta Smith is the No. 1 receiver, Quez Watkins the No. 2, and, if the season began next week, Pascal would be the No. 3.

After that, it’s Reagor, Greg Ward, and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, and not always in that order.

If there’s an injury to the 1, 2, or 3, Reagor would earn more snaps.

Ward, too.

There’s a high probability the Eagles take another WR early in the draft. That would bump Reagor to No. 5, Ward to probably No. 6, and Arcega-Whiteside out the door.

Even the slightest value, though, will allow Roseman to be patient.

Keeping Reagor also allows Roseman to perhaps take an injured WR such as Jameson Williams, who likely won't be ready for the first month as he rehabs his AL tear.

Roseman can ask for a second-round pick all he wants, but if nobody nibbles, he likely just hangs on to Reagor.

The flip side is it only takes one team to say, 'OK, here's your second.'

There are teams that could use a receiver, and yes, the Eagles are one.

The Kansas City Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill and the Green Bay Packers dealt Davante Adams.

That’s two.

The San Francisco 49ers and Washington Commanders could be two more, with Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin looking for new, lavish deals that their respective teams may not be willing to accommodate.

Then there are the Cowboys, who could use somebody to replace Amari Cooper.

Don’t dismiss Dallas.

The Eagles and their NFC East rival have made deals during the last two drafts, including one in the fourth round that moved the Cowboys up to take center Tyler Biadasz. Then there was last year when the two teams swapped first-rounders, moving the Eagles up to No. 10 where they selected Smith.

Reagor wouldn’t necessarily be an upgrade for those two teams, but he would give them another receiving option and, more importantly, two years of control at a relatively cheap price while they try to tap into his talents.

Reagor is set to make $1.8M this season and $2.4M in 2023.

That right there could be a worth a second-round pick.

It only takes one team to say yes, after all, and Roseman can afford to stay patient until that one team stands up.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.