3 Eagles players the Buccaneers should target after SNF embarrassment
By Rob Leeds
The Philadelphia Eagles just pulled off one of the more interesting maneuvers of the 2020 NFL season, and the fallout could benefit the Buccaneers.
After their showing last night, why would any NFL player want to play for the Eagles? Sure, the franchise has recently won a Super Bowl (far more recent than the Buccaneers), but actively tanking during a winnable game could easily do more harm than good.
The Washington Football Team looked like the stronger unit for most of the game, but pulling a struggling Jalen Hurts from the game for Nate Sudfeld still felt like the Eagles were throwing in the towel and happily looking towards their sixth-overall pick.
This decision appeared to come completely opposite of the players and their desires and was a complete antithesis of Jason Kelce‘s impassioned speech from several weeks ago. No matter how bad a team is, the players always want to win with their pride on the line, and the organization taking that chance away during a game should feel like a slap in the face, especially for a proud team like the Eagles.
While this may just blow over as the offseason approaches, the Eagles have already burned some bridges this season, and more could follow after last night. If the Buccaneers wanted to take advantage of a struggling NFC East opponent, they could attempt to bring some of these current Eagles players to Tampa Bay.
Player #1
Perhaps a bit too much of a fantasy, the idea of pairing Tom Brady and one of the best pure pass-catching tight ends in the NFL could be too good to pass up. Ertz has likely played his last game in Philadelphia, and the Buccaneers could make some roster moves to make the most of his talent.
There are many mouths to feed in Tampa as is, but why not improve upon a strength during a Super Bowl season? Rob Gronkowski should return on a far cheaper contract, O.J. Howard could return from injury, and Ertz would realistically end up as a slightly more expensive option than Cameron Brate if the Buccaneers decide that his production doesn’t live up to the price tag.
Switching out Brate for Ertz in a must-win season could be the perfect push to keep the 44-year old Brady as comfortable as possible.