Trade Rumors Engulf Eagles

(973espn.com) - With little money to work with under the salary cap and plenty of problems to address, perhaps the trade market will be where Howie Roseman puts his stamp on this offseason.

Already reports have surfaced that the Eagles are looking to move highly-paid backup quarterback Chase Daniel and are in the mix to acquire New Orleans receiver Brandin Cooks, a productive but disgruntled player.

The Saints’ first-round pick in 2014, Cooks has excelled with Drew Brees throwing him the football and snared 78 passes for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

He also complained about how he was used at times in the New Orleans offense and the Saints have depth at the position with Michael Thomas and Willie Snead.

Cooks remains under his rookie deal, meaning he's under contract at the bargain rate of $1.56 million for 2017 although a trade would likely come with the kicker of a renegotiated deal, giving the Oregon State product a big money extension.

New Orleans needs a lot of help on defense and the Eagles would like to move defensive end Connor Barwin and linebacker Mychal Kendricks, who would project to be a starting-caliber players with the Saints but that's a lot of salary to take on for a team that has about $28 million in cap space as we head toward the new league year.

Complicating matters even further is that Tennessee, a team also in need of WR help, is also in the mix to acquire Cooks, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, and may be willing to give up the 18th overall pick in the draft.

As for Daniel, the hope is that some teams would view the highly-regarded but little-used veteran as a potential bridge QB for a year or two.

Moving the 30-year-old, who attempted one pass as Carson Wentz's backup last season, is easier said than done, however, because Daniel is due to make $7 million in 2017 and carries an $8M cap hit with $5M of that guaranteed.

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen