Eagles add safety, Philly native Kevin Byard in trade with Tennessee
NASHVILLE, TN - JANUARY 2: Kevin Byard #31 of the Tennessee Titans stands for the national anthem prior to an NFL game against the Miami Dolphins at Nissan Stadium on January 2, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA - The defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles traded for two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard on Monday to help a banged-up secondary hours after beating the NFL's best offense, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The Eagles are sending the Tennessee Titans safety Terrell Edmunds and fifth and sixth-round draft picks in 2024, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade has not been announced.
Philadelphia improved to 6-1 and tied reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City for the NFL's best record after beating Miami 31-17 on Sunday night. The Eagles limited Miami’s offense to season lows in points scored, total yards (244), passing yards (199), rushing yards (45) and time of possession (23:17).
Reports of the trade came while Eagles coach Nick Sirianni talked to reporters and he said he couldn’t talk about those.
"I obviously want to get with everybody and talk before I say anything here," Sirianni said.
The Titans (2-4) had no immediate comment coming off their bye.
Byard posted his heartfelt thanks on social media to everyone in the Titans' organization, both head coaches during his tenure, his teammates and especially the Tennessee fans. He concluded that it was a "dream come true" to be a Titan.
"With that being said… (at)Eagles it’s up!!," Byard wrote. He also added a couple of eagle emojis and the hashtag "FlyEaglesFly."
Byard has 27 interceptions since becoming a starter in 2017, most among all NFL safeties through 2022.
Edmunds, a first-round pick in 2018, has five interceptions. Edmunds has started two of seven games played for Philadelphia after spending his first five seasons with Pittsburgh.
This deal fills a big need for the Eagles who lost safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Detroit in free agency and are dealing with injuries in their secondary.
Philadelphia cornerback Darius Slay liked the trade, writing on social media: "Just got better let’s work (at) KevinByard yes sir!!!"
This trade reunites Byard with a former Tennessee teammate in wide receiver A.J. Brown, traded by the Titans to the Eagles during the 2022 draft. Brown shared the NFL's social media post reporting the trade along with a photo of himself with his finger to his lips.
The 5-foot-11, 212-pound Byard was the first pick overall in the third round of 2016 and had been Tennessee's longest-tenured defensive player. Born in Philadelphia, Byard has started 111 of his 120 games and has not missed a game because of injury.
The Titans have lost 11 of their past 13 games going back to last season. Their new general manager Ran Carthon confirmed in April that he asked Byard, who turned 30 in August, to take a pay cut this offseason despite leading the Titans in both tackles and interceptions each of the past two seasons.
Byard and Tennessee restructured his contract in July just before training camp. The trade leaves the Titans with a dead cap hit of $8.82 million for this season and $13.36 million for 2024, according to Spotrac.com.