Roseman on how Eagles' trades happened

ASSISTED BY a stroke of good fortune in lodging accommodations at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month, Howie Roseman worked on parallel tracks to begin his overhaul of the Eagles.

One track involved the trades that eventually exiled Byron Maxwell, DeMarco Murray and Kiko Alonso, created cap room to make moves in free agency, and achieved Roseman's goal of getting the Eagles into the top 10 of the upcoming draft.

The other track was targeting and laying the groundwork to sign key pending free agents, for whom the cap space would be needed.

It all came together Wednesday in a dizzying whirl, trades with Miami and with Tennessee, plus five signings, added to the signing of cornerback Leodis McKelvin on Tuesday, McKelvin available early because he'd been cut by the Bills.

Roseman, speaking Thursday for the first time since the combine, sketched out an involved trade process with the Miami Dolphins, who took Maxwell and Alonso, the Eagles exchanging the 13th overall pick for the eighth.

"I think we were fortunate at the combine because our suites were two doors down," said Roseman, restored to his role in charge of personnel when the Eagles fired Chip Kelly. "We'd kind of talk about positions of need and what we were looking to do.

"Some positions they were looking for in free agency, that they were concerned whether they'd be able to find, we felt like we had some depth there, and over the course of time, it worked out."

Ostensibly, the combine is for watching college prospects run drills. But it's actually the league's annual convention, and Roseman tried to use that fact to the Eagles' benefit.

"The great thing about the combine is, you get a chance to talk to every team in the league, see your friends in the league, see the people that you can talk trades with, you're all in the same place," Roseman said. "We had talked to a bunch of teams about a bunch of different things, and one of our goals was seeing if we could move up in the draft. We found a way to do that by giving (Miami) value. It was something that came together over a period of a couple weeks, a bunch of phone calls, but we're excited about getting the opportunity to pick eighth."

Roseman said he liked the fact that he and the Dolphins' front office, run by Roseman's friend, team vice president Mike Tannenbaum, were able to let the talks percolate over a few weeks without any media pressure, because no one knew they were talking.

News of the deal "didn't come out until we got agents involved on the particulars (at the start of this week) . . . It really helped, being able to throw things against the wall and see what stuck," Roseman said.

"This was about value for the Philadelphia Eagles . . . You've got to pay a price. You're not getting into the top 10 for nothing," Roseman said. "We had to give up good players to get there, but, in the end, we thought that was best for what we were looking to do."

Roseman said he would go "best player available" at eighth when the draft arrives, April 28; he did not seem of a mind to trade back.

"We felt like if we were in position to get one of those top 10 guys, there was tremendous value in that, and to be able to do it before draft day and spend more time vetting all those guys, would really help us . . . We've seen here, over the past few years, that it's not always easy to move up on draft day," he said. "We're very comfortable picking at eight. For us, we know we're going to get a really good player."

The other deal, with the Titans, moved the Eagles up only 13 spots in the fourth round, to the second selection of the draft's third day. It was tough going in the NovaCare auditorium Thursday, selling that as anything more than dumping Murray, the massively disappointing running back, along with his contract and his attitude, but Roseman gave it a try.

"He's a good player. We weren't in the business of just giving good players away," Roseman said. "We felt like it was an ability to get some value in the draft, and also use those resources (salary-cap space) in different places."

Eagles coach Doug Pederson, who also spoke Thursday, denied that Murray was a bad fit in his West Coast scheme. But Pederson also indicated that he doesn't want players who aren't excited about being here.

"I can't deny the fact that if he wants an opportunity to go, then let's see where the talks go," Pederson said, after explaining that there was interest in Murray at the combine. "Tennessee was a good fit for him, and that's where he landed."

While all this was going on, Roseman was able to put the Eagles in position to sign two players who ought to start at positions of extreme need - safety Rodney McLeod, from the Rams, and guard Brandon Brooks, from the Texans. Linebacker Nigel Bradham, from the Bills, also should have a chance to start at SAM linebacker, as should McKelvin at corner.

Pederson made it clear Thursday that his quarterback from Kansas City, Chase Daniel, is here in case Sam Bradford gets hurt, not to play ahead of Bradford, but Daniel also filled a need, especially in light of Pederson's clear signal that he doesn't see Mark Sanchez remaining in the mix. Corner Ron Brooks should be a big hitter on special teams who also can help out defensively.

"There's a lot more to do, for sure," said Roseman, who still hasn't added any experience to a young, shallow wide-receiving group, and surely could use another potential starter on the offensive line and at corner.

Good teams, good organizations, tend to value continuity. That's what Roseman harped on a while back when he was announcing new deals for players such as Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson, Brent Celek and Vinny Curry, not to mention Bradford. But this week, a second dramatic reworking of key roster positions in as many years, runs counter to that value, as Roseman knows.

"I don't think we went into this offseason feeling that we were going to make dramatic changes," he said. "Some opportunities came that we felt were better for our team, not only in the short term but in the long term, and when those opportunities came, we also felt that there were some guys at some key positions to fill that we could add."

@LesBowen

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