Howie Roseman shouldn't be suckered into making this fatal Brandon Graham mistake
What a wild last few days for the Philadelphia Eagles and their fan base.
The Eagles are coming off an impressive 28-22 win over the Minnesota Vikings on the road. Quarterback Jalen Hurts became the third player in franchise history to have a perfect passer rating of 158.3, also throwing for 326 yards and three touchdowns to zero interceptions in the win.
Now, Philly has one of their favorite players back, Brandon Graham, after coming out of retirement to help the Eagles out. With the loss of Nolan Smith Jr. and Ogbo Okoronkwo to IR, Za'Darius Smith retiring, and Azeez Ojulari getting knocked out of the Vikings game, Graham returns at the right time to help the Eagles out off the edge.
Despite all this excitement swirling around Philadelphia, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman should remember one thing: this shouldn't be the last move made at edge rusher.
Roseman still has work to do at EDGE for the Eagles
Graham is no doubt an instant upgrade at EDGE as he can help on third down pass rushes, but he's 37 years old and coming off a season where he tore his triceps twice. He might be able to play 15 to 20 snaps a game, so the Eagles still need a long term solution and a potential starter.
Roseman should 100% still be making calls to teams about who is available at EDGE to trade for. While Bengals' Trey Hendrickson is starting to look more and more like a pipe dream, the Dolphins' Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips are looking like perfect options for the Eagles to look at. Phillips is younger and could stay on the team longer, but Chubb knows Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's defensive scheme, so he could instantly help.
The concern is that Roseman will settle for Graham and try to wait until Nolan Smith Jr. comes off IR and can play. That should not be the case, as the Eagles are a consistent pass rusher and lockdown CB2 away from being Super Bowl contenders again.
All Eagles fans should still expect Roseman to be on the phone, trying to make deals, but if he is okay with just Graham being the solution, there could be bigger problems in Philly than just the offense.
Vikings' Loss Is Jaguars’ Gain as Kahlef Hailassie Signs to Active Roster
The past couple of days have been pretty rough for the Minnesota Vikings. They suffered a rough 22-6 defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, and in the aftermath of that loss, it was revealed that two key pieces of their offense, quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Aaron Jones, would have to miss time after suffering injuries against the Falcons.
With McCarthy and Jones out, Carson Wentz and Jordan Mason will take on bigger roles, but these aren’t the only two players the Vikings have lost this week. On Wednesday, it was revealed that the team also lost preseason standout Kahlef Hailassie after he was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars to their active roster.
Vikings Lose Safety Kahlef Hailassie to the Jaguars
After not hearing his name called in the 2023 NFL Draft, Hailassie ended up signing with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent. He didn’t make the team’s 53-man roster, as he was released as part of the team’s final roster cuts, but he ended up getting claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns.
Hailassie played sparingly as a rookie, racking up eight tackles and one pass deflection in nine games of action. The fact that he was on their active roster seemed to be a win, but midway through the 2024 campaign, Hailassie ended up getting released, only to return to Cleveland as a member of their practice squad.
Back in January, Hailassie signed a reserve/future contract with the Vikings, and while he put together a strong body of work over the summer, he got released and signed to the practice squad once again. However, Hailassie has gotten a unique new opportunity, as the Jaguars have
“The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed S Kahlef Hailassie,” the team announced on its official website on Wednesday.
Vikings Looking to Get Back on Track Amid Recent Injury Woes
Losing Hailassie is a bit of a letdown for the Vikings, as the team was working on developing him behind the scenes in hopes that he could earn a role in their secondary in the future. Ultimately, Minnesota just didn’t have a need for him on the active roster, and after stringing together some strong performances in the preseason, Jacksonville has decided to take a flier on him to see if he can earn a depth role for himself in their secondary.
In the meantime, the Vikings will be working on drawing up a plan for their Week 3 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, who also have their own quarterback problems after it was revealed that Joe Burrow would miss three months with a turf toe injury. With that in mind, Minnesota has a shot at getting back on track after losing to Atlanta, even though McCarthy is not going to be on the field. Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.
