Sam Howell trade: Eagles acquire quarterback from Vikings in draft pick swap

The Philadelphia Eagles were in need of more quarterback depth due to Tanner McKee dealing with a finger injury and neither Kyle McCord nor Dorian Thompson-Robinson appearing qualified to directly back up Jalen Hurts.

And so Howie Roseman made a trade!

Here are the terms of the Eagles’ deal with the Minnesota Vikings:

EAGLES RECEIVE: QB Sam Howell, 2026 sixth-round pick

VIKINGS RECEIVE: 2026 fifth-round pick, 2027 seventh-round pick

BGN alumnus Jimmy Kempski reports that the picks involved in this trade are conditional, though the exact conditions are not yet known. We’ll keep an eye out for that.

Eagles fans know Howell from his time with the Washington Commanders, where he failed to establish himself as a franchise QB … yet proved troublesome for the Birds.

Howell’s numbers from two starts against the Eagles in 2023: 68/93 (73.1% completion), 687 yards (7.4 average), 5 TD, 1 INT, 107.2 passer rating … nine rushing attempts, 51 yards.

Despite this success, Howell has a career 77.5 passer rating with 22 touchdown passes to 23 interceptions. He’s 5-13 in 18 games as a starter.

Howell’s struggles contributed to the Commanders trading him to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2024 offseason. The Commanders sent Howell, a 2024 fourth-round pick, and a 2024 sixth-round pick to the Seahawks in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick and a 2024 fifth-round pick. In Seattle, Howell didn’t see much playing time as Geno Smith’s backup.

The Seahawks then traded Howell and a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Vikings for a 2025 fifth-round pick (ultimately a 30 spot difference) earlier this year in April. He completed 12 of his 18 pass attempts for 118 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, and a 61.8 passer rating this preseason.

The Vikings seemingly didn’t see enough to retain Howell as a backup behind J.J. McCarthy. Or, at least, they prefer having the compensation they got from the Eagles …. PLUS signing former Eagles franchise quarterback Carson Wentz as their backup. That’s a funny development related to this trade.

Still, acquiring Howell is a worthwhile move for the Eagles with McKee seemingly expected to miss some time. The Birds couldn’t have gone into Week 1 with either McCord or DTR as Hurts’ backup. Howell is a much more credible option. And he’s a high quality emergency third quarterback to have around in the extreme and unlikely circumstance that both Hurts and McKee (when he’s back) go down in the same game.

Acquiring Howell also gives the Eagles some flexibility to move McKee ahead of the 2025 NFL trade deadline. To be clear, that’s not a move they should be looking to make. But it’s worth noting that McKee has reportedly drawn interest:

With Howell here, the Eagles are now likely to waive both McCord and DTR. One would think they’ll re-sign McCord to the practice squad, assuming he clears waivers. Which he should. Hard to see another team clearing a spot to add him to their roster.

Following this trade, the Eagles are still loaded with 13 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. They are now down to six picks in the 2027 NFL Draft by losing their seventh-rounder.

UPDATE: In order to make room for Howell on the 90-man roster, the Eagles waived/injured safety Lewis Cine.