On Wednesday, the Eagles added to their defense while the Jets got the better of a pick swap and a young receiver.
With the NFL trade deadline less than a week away, the teams agreed to a deal that sent slot corner Michael Carter II to Philadelphia while receiver John Metchie III was dealt to New York. The trade also included the Jets receiving a 2027 sixth-round pick, with the Eagles getting a ’27 seventh-rounder.
Carter, 26, spent his first five seasons with the Jets, playing as much as 74% of the defensive snaps. However, that number had decreased each of the past two years before slightly rising in 2025 to 45%.
As for Metchie, he’s been a spare part on the Eagles since coming over from the Texans before the season, catching four passes for 18 yards while playing only 31 snaps.
Jets
This is all about first-year general manager Darren Mougey trying to clear cap space in future seasons. Carter is signed through the 2027 season at a cap hit of $12.2 million each of the next two years. By trading Carter to the Eagles, Mougey gets out of that bind while eating only $3.6 million in dead money.
As for Metchie, the 25-year-old beat leukemia coming out of Alabama as a third-round pick in 2022, but has unfortunately never found his stride at the next level. In 36 career games between the Texans and Eagles, Metchie has 430 receiving yards and one touchdown.
However, Metchie is only signed for the remainder of this season, allowing New York to regain some roster flexibility and cap space for upcoming years.
Grade: B
Eagles
Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has been talking about potentially moving star second-year corner Cooper DeJean out of the slot and into a boundary role, and the acquisition of Carter sets up exactly that.
General manager Howie Roseman is always aggressive, as seen with his previous trades, including A.J. Brown, Darius Slay and others over the years. This is a far more minor swing, but it’s also a move that potentially could upgrade the Eagles’ secondary in multiple ways.
This season, Carter has struggled, even in his limited playing time, ranking 111th of 113 cornerbacks with a 43.0 grade on Pro Football Focus. However, he now enters a much different scheme, one in which he’ll be asked to play more man-matchup concepts in Fangio’s layered zones.
While Carter’s coverage has been lacking this year, he does rank 19th among all corners when sent at the quarterback, racking up a pair of pressures.
The big question is whether a different defense and a better supporting cast will allow Carter to regain his past form, as evidenced by his 73.5 and 80.4 grades in 2022 and ’23. Over those years, Carter had two interceptions, 18 passes defensed and 113 tackles.
It’s a somewhat risky move by Roseman, as Carter has inherited cap hits of $9.6 million each of the next two years. Still, Philadelphia doesn’t have to pay out any guaranteed money, so why not make the move?
Grade: B-
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jets-Eagles Trade Grades: Philadelphia Upgrades Its Secondary.