Eagles trade for a LB

Poor Joe Mays.

Nicknamed 'Headbuster' by his teammates for his hard-hitting, the linebacker who was handed the starting job when Stewart Bradley went down has so far been replaced this season by Omar Gaither, Jeremiah Trotter (fresh off the couch after a two-year layoff) and now Will Witherspoon, just traded from the Rams and expected to start in the middle of this defense Monday night.

Witherspoon is a good player - he's the best LB on the team right now - but it really says something about the Headbuster when he's not just third on the depth chart, but constantly being bumped for guys they're bringing in from the outside.

It highlights yet another roster miscalculation by the Eagles - first-guessed in the preseason by this blogger - that they are suffering from a lack of depth at key positions (MLB, OT) and scrambling to find answers.

Although it's panicky, I do like the Witherspoon move. He's an instant upgrade talent-wise, although he's a better fit on the weak side instead of the middle. And I'm not sure how long it'll take him to learn the system, but there's no question the Eagles are stronger at LB after this trade. They had to give up promising young WR Brandon Gibson, who I see as an eventual starter in this league, and a fifth-round pick. But since the Eagles seem to have completely given up on Joe Mays, they had to do something to improve.