The Philadelphia Eagles have reached a trade agreement to acquire quarterback Sam Howell from the Minnesota Vikings. The deal, announced Sunday, also includes a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for the Eagles, while the Vikings receive a fifth-round pick in 2026 and a seventh-round pick in 2027.
Howell, who is 24 years old, has started 18 regular-season games and brings additional experience to the Eagles’ quarterback group. He joins Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Kyle McCord on the roster. The move comes as teams across the league work to finalize their rosters ahead of Tuesday’s deadline to reach the NFL’s 53-player limit.
Howell is known to Eagles fans for his performances against Philadelphia during his time with the Washington Commanders in 2023. In two close games that season—both won by Philadelphia—Howell threw five touchdown passes and completed over 73 percent of his attempts for a total of 687 yards.
In an October matchup at Lincoln Financial Field that went into overtime, Howell completed 29 of 41 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown while adding another 40 rushing yards. Later that month at FedEx Field, he improved further with four touchdowns on 39 completions out of 52 attempts for nearly 400 passing yards.
During his only full season as Washington’s starting quarterback in 2023, Howell passed for more than 3,900 yards with five games exceeding the 300-yard mark. He also ran for five touchdowns but was sacked more than any other quarterback in the league behind an offensive line that saw nine different starters.
Drafted by Washington in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft after setting school records at North Carolina—including career passing yards (10,283) and touchdowns (92)—Howell played one game as a rookie before taking over as starter.
Following organizational changes in Washington after the team’s regime change in early-2024 and their decision to draft a new quarterback with the No.2 overall pick, Howell was traded first to Seattle then later moved to Minnesota during this year’s draft weekend. His most recent action came when he replaced an injured Geno Smith during Seattle’s December game against Green Bay.
The Eagles also announced they have waived/injured defensive back Lewis Cine. Cine joined Philadelphia from Buffalo’s practice squad before last season’s playoffs and recorded an interception during Friday night’s preseason finale against New York.
