As the Eagles work to reach the NFL limit of 53 players on the active roster by the deadline of Tuesday at 4 PM, Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman is busy doing what he does best: Work every angle to improve the roster.
The team announced on Sunday a trade agreement that makes the quarterback room deeper, more talented, and more experienced, acquiring young veteran Sam Howell from the Minnesota Vikings, along with a sixth-round draft pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and a seventh-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. Just 24 years old, Howell arrives in Philadelphia with 18 regular-season starts under his belt. The Eagles also waived/injured defensive back Lewis Cine.
If Howell's name sounds familiar and gives you an odd twitch, here's why: He gave the Eagles' defense fits in the 2023 season while playing for the Washington Commanders, throwing five touchdown passes, completing 68 of 93 passes (73.1 percent) for 687 yards in two narrow, one-possession Philadelphia victories. Howell also showed toughness and mobility in those games, really challenging the attacking defense.
In a 34-31 Eagles overtime win on October 1 at Lincoln Financial Field, Howell went 29-of-41 (70.7 percent) for 290 yards and a touchdown, and he added 40 yards on 6 carries, some of them coming as he escaped relentless pressure from the Philadelphia defense that recorded five quarterback sacks.
Howell was even better the next time the teams met on October 29 at FedEx Field, connecting on 39 of 52 passes (75 percent) for 397 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. He added 11 yards on three carries in the 38-31 Eagles victory.
That season, Howell, a team captain, started all 17 games for the Commanders, tossing 21 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions while absorbing a league-high 65 quarterback sacks behind an offensive line that had nine starters. He had five games with more than 300 yards passing (tied for third most in the league that season), and his passing yardage (3,946 yards) ranks sixth in a single season in Commanders history, and his five rushing touchdowns rank tied for third by a quarterback in a single season for Washington, while the team's rushing attack ranked 27th in the league.
Howell played the 2022 and 2023 seasons with Washington after the team selected him in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft after a standout career at the University of North Carolina, where he holds several all-time school passing records including career passing yards (10,283) and passing touchdowns (92). He played one game as a rookie in 2022, beating Dallas 26-6 in the regular-season finale. In that game, Howell completed 11 of 19 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and added 35 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Washington underwent a regime change in 2024 and wanted to start fresh with the No. 2 overall pick, so the Commanders traded Howell to Seattle shortly after the start of the new league year. With the Seahawks last season, the 6-1, 225-pound Howell stepped in for an injured Geno Smith for the second half of the December 15 game against Green Bay.
Seattle sent Howell to Minnesota during the 2025 NFL Draft weekend and now, as teams are reducing their roster to 53 players, he comes to the Eagles to join Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Kyle McCord in the quarterback room. McKee has a finger injury that kept him sidelined for the past week, so Howell is great insurance in the event the injury lingers into the regular season.
Cine was signed to the Eagles' active roster from the Bills' practice squad for the 2024 playoffs in January. A former first-round pick (32nd overall) of the Vikings in 2022 out of Georgia, Cine (6-2, 199 pounds) recorded an interception in Friday night's preseason finale against the Jets.
