2025 March - Pro Football Rumors

Month: February 2025

Eagles Have “Real” Interest In Myles Garrett

March 1st, 2025 at 11:30am CST by Ben Levine

Ever since Myles Garrett publicly aired his trade request, the defending champs have been loosely mentioned as a suitor. It sounds like the connection is legitimate, as Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports that the Eagles’ interest in the star pass rusher is “real.”

It certainly wouldn’t be out of character for the Eagles to take a major swing. As we noted previously, Howie Roseman has a penchant for acquiring big-name players, as the GM was either leading or part of Philly front offices that acquired the likes of A.J. Brown and Jason Peters. Both of those players required first-round picks, which is the reported starting value for any Garrett trade.

“Garrett could be this year’s version of Saquon Barkley for Howie [Roseman],” one GM told Russini. “He’s an impact add and isn’t a free-agent overpay. Howie’s not afraid to try stuff, and it fits where they are as a team.”

Besides stealing headlines, the Eagles naturally have some on-the-field reasons for pursuing a player like Garrett. The team isn’t expected to re-sign Josh Sweat, and impending free agent Brandon Graham is recovering from a season-ending triceps tear. Further, Bryce Huff disappointed after inking a $51MM deal last offseason, leaving 2023 first-round pick Nolan Smith Jr. (and perhaps 2024 third-round pick Jalyx Hunt) as the only sure-things on the edge for the 2025 Eagles.

Garrett still has two years remaining on his contract worth around $20MM per season, and the pass rusher is hoping to reset the positional market with an extension. Even if the Eagles could convince the pass rusher to take a slight discount (and/or reduce his 2025 charge), the front office would still be pinching pennies when all was said and done. Russini suggests that a Garrett addition could come at the expense of the team’s free agent grouping, which includes Sweat, linebacker Zack Baun, defensive tackle Milton Williams, and guard Mekhi Becton (who reportedly wants to re-sign with the organization). The former Defensive Player of the Year would surely be worth that sacrifice, but it’s not like the Eagles have a seamless path to adding him to the roster.

Of course, a potential Eagles trade would be dependent on the Browns relenting to Garrett’s trade request. So far, Browns GM Andrew Berry has rejected the idea of trading Garrett. If the organization does ultimately honor the player’s wish, it sounds like the Eagles would certainly be a team to monitor.

Raiders Shopping TE Michael Mayer, RB Zamir White?

March 1st, 2025 at 9:32am CST by Ben Levine

While the Raiders’ 2024 campaign offered more disappointments than positives, the team can rest easy knowing they have a foundational piece in rookie Brock Bowers. However, with the tight end establishing himself as one of the best players at his position, the Raiders could now look to trade some of their positional depth.

According to Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic, the Raiders have had trade discussions with teams about tight end Michael Mayer. While the former second-round pick has disappointed during his brief stint in the NFL, there are still teams willing to gamble on the player’s upside.

Drafted as the 35th pick in the 2023 draft, there was initial hope that Mayer would solidify the position for years to come. He somewhat looked the part of a starter as a rookie, finishing with 27 receptions for 304 yards and two scores in 14 games (12 starts). He was knocked down the depth chart last offseason when the Raiders added Bowers, and Mayer later landed on NFI due to undisclosed personal reasons. The 23-year-old ultimately finished his sophomore campaign with 21 catches for 156 yards.

To the Raiders’ credit, they still managed to get Mayer into about 63 percent of their offensive snaps when he was active, so the team’s two tight ends should be able to coexist. Still, as The Athletic notes, the Raiders were expecting a bigger impact from Mayer, and they could look to trade him for assets instead of keeping him around as a backup. With two years remaining on his inexpensive rookie pact, the Raiders probably aren’t feeling a whole lot of urgency, but there should be suitors willing to pull the trigger in an offseason that features an underwhelming TE class.

Mayer isn’t the only former draft pick on the block. According to The Athletic, Zamir White is also believed to be available. The former fourth-round pick showed up as a sophomore when he finished with 549 yards from scrimmage, and White seemed prime to lead the depth chart in 2024 following the departure of Josh Jacobs.

However, the RB failed to establish himself in the Raiders backfield, with the third-year player getting lapped by the likes of Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah, and Sincere McCormick. White finished this past year with 213 yards from scrimmage, and any interested teams would surely be eyeing him as a depth option at this point.

Mekhi Becton Drawing Interest, Prefers To Re-Sign With Eagles

March 1st, 2025 at 8:43am CST by Ben Levine

After inking a prove-it deal with the Eagles last offseason, Mekhi Becton is ready to cash in. According to Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda.com, the offensive lineman “is drawing a lot if interest” from around the league.

A former first-round pick by the Jets, Becton struggled to stay on the field during his stint in New York. He was limited to 15 games through his first three seasons in the NFL, and he struggled in 16 starts during the 2023 campaign. With the Jets having previously declined the lineman’s fifth-year option, Becton entered free agency last year with an uncertain market.

It took him until late April to find his next gig, with the Eagles signing the 25-year-old as an offensive guard. Becton proceeded to have a career season, starting all 15 of his appearances while finishing 20th in Pro Football Focus’ rankings of 77 qualifying guards. Becton also started each of Philly’s four playoff games en route to a Super Bowl championship.

Considering his success in 2024, it’s no surprise that Becton is eyeing a reunion. Per Pauline, the free agent prefers to re-sign with the Eagles, as he’s “comfortable with the franchise that helped him reclaim his career.” Financials will be an obstacle, however, as Pauline acknowledges that Becton’s return to the Eagles would be reliant on the team fitting “him in the budget.”

In the meantime, other teams are expected to recruit the lineman, with Pauline noting that many of these suitors would intend to keep Becton at offensive guard. The reporter also expects the lineman to take his time in free agency with the hope of providing the Eagles with more opportunites to clean their books.