The Eagles (6-1) are sending safety Terrell Edmunds and fifth and sixth-round draft picks in 2024 to the Titans (2-4), pending both players passing physicals; the two teams have done business before, with star receiver AJ Brown sent to the Eagles in a shock draft day trade in 2022
Tuesday 24 October 2023 11:36, UK
The Philadelphia Eagles have traded for two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard from the Tennessee Titans to help bolster their banged-up secondary.
The Eagles are sending safety Terrell Edmunds and fifth and sixth-round draft picks in 2024 the other way to the Titans, pending both players passing physicals.
The Eagles and Titans confirmed the trade on Monday night, a week on from Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni voicing his frustration with multiple injuries at safety, including to Reed Blankenship, Sydney Brown and Justin Evans.
An All-Pro selection in 2017 and 2021, Byard has started 111 consecutive games. Since he was drafted in 2016, Byard's 27 interceptions rank second in the NFL. He was born in Philadelphia before moving to Atlanta as a teenager.
In a post on social media, Byard thanked the Titans fans and the organisation. "You embraced my family and me with open arms from day one, and it's a blessing to be a part of this community," he wrote.
"The energy and passion you bring to every game is unmatched. Middle Tennessee truly became our home, and it always will be. It was a dream come true to be a Tennessee Titan."
He added, along with a couple of eagle emojis and the hashtag FlyEaglesFly, "with that being said [at] Eagles it's up!"
The deal between the Eagles and the Titans is not the first time they have hooked up, with a shock draft day trade in 2022 seeing wide receiver AJ Brown sent to Philadelphia in exchange for a first and third-round draft pick.
Byard has two years and $16m remaining on the five-year, $70.5m contract he signed in 2019.
The Titans are in their first season under general manager Ran Carthon, who inherited a challenging salary cap situation and could look to make additional moves to clear salary for 2024.
The only players on the roster with higher cap figures than Byard for the rest of this season are quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henry.
Tannehill has a cap figure of $36.6m and is in the final year of a four-year, $118m deal he signed before the 2020 season. Henry has a cap charge of $16.4m for 2023.
Philadelphia improved to 6-1 and tied the Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs for the NFL's best record after beating the Miami Dolphins 31-17 on Sunday night. The Titans (2-4), meanwhile, are in the midst of a rebuild after losing 11 of their past 13 games going back to last season.
