Eagles general manager Howie Roseman had a busy week leading up to Tuesday afternoon’s NFL trade deadline.

He pulled off three separate trades and then spoke to reporters after the deadline passed.

We don’t hear from Roseman all that often so whenever the mastermind behind the Eagles’ roster does speak, we all listen. Roseman talked about Jaelan Phillips’ fit with the Eagles, Jaire Alexander’s path and why he didn’t trade away A.J. Brown.

But here are some leftover nuggets from his session on Tuesday afternoon with reporters:

Michael Carter II’s versatility

The first trade Roseman made ahead of this trade deadline was to get nickel cornerback Michael Carter II from the Jets for John Metchie III and a 2027 late-round pick swap. Carter was drafted by Joe Douglas in New York and Douglas is now back with the Eagles’ front office. Roseman brought up that connection talking about the Carter trade.

But Roseman also mentioned the relationship Carter has with Eagles safeties coach Joe Kasper, who was a graduate assistant coaching defensive at Duke when Carter was there.

And then Roseman offered this about Carter:

“He could play safety, which is really important. I think that we’ve always had that piece of a guy who could play nickel and also come into the game and play safety. Last year, we had that with Avonte (Maddox), and so it gives that flexibility. Obviously, Coop (Cooper DeJean), incredible player and somebody who can play really anywhere in the secondary. So, it gives you those matchups.”

Roseman’s mention that Carter can possibly play safety is important to note because after the Eagles placed Marcus Epps on IR a few days ago, they’re down to just three safeties on the 53-man roster: Starters Reed Blankenship and Drew Mukuba, along with special teams ace Sydney Brown.

It seems like Carter gives the Eagles more flexibility in their secondary. Roseman talked about the importance of being able to match all kinds and shapes of receivers with their defensive backs and Carter gives them optionality in that.

No in-season extensions

Because Jaelan Phillips is on an expiring contract, Roseman was asked about the potential of extending the newest Eagles edge rusher beyond this season. The GM basically let it known that he won’t be extending anyone during the season.

“We have a lot of good players who are free agents after this year,” Roseman said. “I think when you start picking favorites when you’re trying to compete for championships, there are other issues that come along with that. I think there’s going to be plenty of time to handle our business however long this season lasts. Hopefully, it’s a very long time, and we’ll deal with all that when the time comes.”

This is also the way Roseman handled things in recent years. It’s a bit risky because the contract value for good players isn’t going to decrease the closer they get to free agency. But Roseman is OK with that risk if it incrementally increases the odds of winning a Super Bowl this season.

If you’re wondering, here’s a list of some key Eagles who will become free agents in March: Phillips, Dallas Goedert, Reed Blankenship, Nakobe Dean, Jahan Dotson, Braden Mann, Fred Johnson, Brett Toth, Grant Calcaterra.

How BG came out of retirement

While Roseman was available on Tuesday to discuss the NFL trade deadline, it was also our first time hearing from him since the Eagles brought Brandon Graham out of retirement.

Just like Graham said, Roseman reached out to the legend in August about a return but the timing wasn’t right.

“Before the season started and before we went down any path, I called BG,” Roseman said. “I’m fortunate really to have special relationships with a bunch of guys here and BG was my first pick. I just reached out and said, ‘Hey, we’re in the market for an edge rusher, how are you feeling?’ At the time, he just felt like that wasn’t the right timing for him. He hadn’t really contemplated, was doing a bunch of other things, but apparently got his mind started moving a little bit and he started working out a little bit harder.”

Roseman heard that Graham had started to ramp up those workouts so when Za’Darius Smith abruptly retired, he picked up the phone again. This time, the 37-year-old Graham was ready to come back.

“I got that little BG cackle, and that kind of gave me a sense that he wanted to come back,” Roseman said with a smile. “I don’t know, maybe he was trying to have our team prove that we were any good and when he saw that we had a chance here, he wanted to take the opportunity. But love having him back. I said to him when he came back, ‘I guess there’s going to be a day where we’re not going to have you to rely on. I’m just glad that day’s not today.’”

‘We can’t be afraid to fail’

The Eagles made three trades ahead of this year’s deadline and none of them qualified as “blockbuster” moves. But based on plenty of reports, the Eagles were not opposed to trying for that type of trade.

Over the past few months, they have been linked to big-name players like Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett, who would have garnered way more than a third-round pick.

Roseman on Tuesday was asked his philosophy about taking big swings and it’s a great example of his mindset as an NFL general manager:

“I feel like when there’s opportunities to be aggressive for the right players, we’re not going to sit on our hands. I don’t think that you have great success without taking great risks at times. They’ve got to make sense in terms of the risks that you’re taking. We can’t be afraid to fail. I think for a lot of times for you to get to the top, that you’ve got to be willing to take chances that may look controversial at times. 

“If there was an opportunity to do that, that we thought gave us an opportunity to be the last team standing and put confetti on our heads, we’re going to go be aggressive in that direction. I just feel like that’s the right way to operate our team. That doesn’t come without mistakes. I understand that, but I won’t live with regret. I won’t live with regret in the way that we operate around here. If we feel passionate about something, if we think the value’s right, we’re not going to be afraid to pull the trigger.”