Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman already had an excellent offseason, but there might be one more move out there to be made that could take this offseason from excellent to historic.
Jessie Bates was franchised tagged by the Cincinnati Bengals, but the 25-year-old has no intention of playing the 2022 season without a long-term contract, so the speculation is that he will force a trade.
CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin listed eight possible destinations for the 2020 second-team All-Pro safety, with the Eagles at the No. 1 spot.
"I think there is no question that Howie Roseman is inquiring about this, because Jessie Bates plays the position, the one position really that the Eagles didn't address with a major upgrade this offseason," Benjamin told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show on Tuesday.
"So Bates, who played on a Bengals team that employed current Eagles assistant head coach Jemal Singleton, represents the ideal solution for a quiet NFC East contender," Benjamin wrote in his article.
What would it cost the Eagles to acquire Bates?
"An extra second round pick with maybe a conditional pick this year, to me that starts to move the needle because then you're taking the burden off of the Bengals to pay him huge money," Benjamin said.
Bates is currently set to make $12.9 under the franchise tag in 2022. The Eagles, according to OverTheCap.com, have just $9 million in cap space currently, so Roseman would need to do some finagling to add Bates.
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The Eagles do have some question marks at the safety position with Rodney McLeod leaving for free-agency and eventually signing with the Colts. Currently, the Eagles will turn to Anthony Harris, new free-agent signing Jaquiski Tartt, Marcus Epps, Jared Mayden, and K'Von Wallace.
Bates played in 63 of 64 games in four seasons with the Bengals, recording 408 combined tackles, 35 pass deflections, 10 interceptions, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one touchdown.
This offseason, Roseman acquired star wide receiver A.J. Brown during the NFL Draft, signed outside linebacker Haason Reddick, cornerback James Bradberry, and veteran WR Zach Pascal, and drafted young defensive playmakers in Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean.
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