The Philadelphia Eagles have been one of the most aggressive teams in the NFL under general manager Howie Roseman, and that might not be doing it proper justice.
Roseman has been aggressive in free agency, he's been aggressive on the trade market, he's been aggressive in the NFL Draft, and he's been aggressive on the coaching market. No matter what category, Roseman has been willing to take massive risks and make bold moves, and it's paid off for him tremendously.
Approaching 2026 NFL Free Agency, Roseman is going to be frustrated with the way things went for his offense this past season. The Eagles were horrendous in 2025 compared to what we saw in 2024, and big moves will be made. But there's one move that would absolutely flip the NFC on its head...
Eagles stealing George Pickens from the Cowboys would be the storyline of 2026
One of the top players set to hit free agency in just over a month is Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens is expected to command a salary north of $30 million per season, and it's fair to wonder -- after they drew such a hard line in the sand with Micah Parsons -- how far the Cowboys will actually be willing to go to keep Pickens around.
The expectation right now is that he will be back with Dallas, but if the Cowboys can't get a true contract extension done with Pickens, tagging him will be tough. They are almost $32 million in the red on this year's salary cap. Teams have gotten out of far worse holes, but with so many other players to take care of and needs to address, would the Cowboys really allocate that much of the salary cap pie to Pickens?
Maybe.
If they let him test the market, they risk what could potentially be the Eagles' way of flipping the entire conference on its head with a couple of moves.
Since the offseason is the time to live in the land of hypotheticals, hear me out on this one: What if the Eagles trade AJ Brown to the highest bidder, and sign George Pickens away from the Dallas Cowboys?
We've seen Howie Roseman make a move like this before when he signed Saquon Barkley away from the New York Giants, another division foe in the NFC East. But there's a little extra salt between the Eagles and Cowboys. Stealing from Dallas and getting a young playmaker like Pickens to pair with DeVonta Smith would very much be on-brand for Howie Roseman.
And it would send the NFL world into a complete frenzy.