By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
Reports were released about the Eagles shopping Michael Bennett on Monday. Mid-day Friday, reports were that the Eagles would release Bennett if he weren’t traded.
It seemed as though no deal would get done with the Eagles seemingly losing all their leverage and Bennett making himself out to be a locker room issue once again.
Well, Howie Roseman gets the job done once again by improving one of the team’s 2020 draft picks for a player they would otherwise get nothing for. But what team could want a man who is proving himself to be a locker room issue? Enter the New England Patriots.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Patriots will acquire the Eagles’ 2020 seventh-round pick in exchange for the Patriots’ fifth-round pick.
If the Michael Bennett-to-New-England trade is finalized – and it is expected to be – Patriots and Eagles will swap 5th- and 7th-round picks in the 2020 draft, per a league source.
Eagles get a 5th; Pats get Bennett and a 7th.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 8, 2019
The deal is almost the same as the one that the Eagles made to acquire Bennett last offseason. The Eagles sent a fifth and receiver Marcus Johnson to the Seahawks for Bennet and a seventh then. The Eagles essentially delayed their picks and lost Marcus Johnson for a year of Bennett.
It is difficult to imagine this trade working out how Bennett would like. The Patriots will not stand for his outbursts and they are allowing the homegrown Trey Flowers to walk because of price, so it seems unlikely they’d pay Bennett more after just acquiring him.
The team also saves cap space with the move (as shown below).
Eagles Salary Cap Transaction Table
| Transaction | Salary Change | New Cap Space |
|---|---|---|
| Cap Space as of February 25, 2019 | – | $3,613,815 |
| Eagles Extend Brandon Graham | +$10,000,000* | -$6,386,185 |
| Eagles Decline Tim Jernigan’s Option | -$7,000,000 | $613,815 |
| Eagles Extend Jason Kelce | -$4,000,000 | $4,613,815 |
| Eagles Extend Isaac Seumalo | +$800,000 | $3,813,815 |
| Lane Johnson Restructures Deal | -$8,200,000 | $12,013,815 |
| Eagles Trade Michael Bennett | -$7,200,000 | $19,213,815 |
* – Indicates number is a projection and not yet official
The Eagles will need around $7 million to sign draft picks, giving them a bit over $12 million to use in free agency.
