The Philadelphia Eagles know how to play in the games and the draft. During the 2025 NFL Draft, things got a little spicy – but in a fun way. We all know that the Eagles’ GM, Howie Roseman, was eyeing Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell and wanted to trade up. But the pick he needed? That belonged to the Washington Commanders and their GM, Adam Peters. And he wasn’t exactly handing out favors.
When Howie Roseman called, Peters joked there’d be an “in-division tax,” meaning if a rival team wants to move up, they’d better pay extra. That was enough to shut the trade down. Moments later, Peters used that pick to snag Oregon tackle Josh Conerly Jr., and even though Roseman didn’t get his guy, he gave credit where it was due, calling it “a great pick” right there on camera. But guess what? All that was just a made-up story by the Commanders’ GM.
During a new episode of the Pat McAfee show, Adam Peters joined the podcast to talk about the league and his team. Later, co-host Boston Connor brought up the whole “tax” moment and asked Peters if he was really trying to charge Howie Roseman big, maybe even asking for someone like Jalen Carter. But Peters laughed it off. He said, “That was actually me busting his chops and we’re on TV for because he did that to me and so that part they left out but my first time talking to Howie he was trying to trade me a player last off season it was like the first phone call we had he’s like, ‘Yeah well we can do this or that but you know because you’re in division there’s a tax so you’re going to have to pay a little more.’ And so that was just me throwing it back at him, and we were just joking around about it.”
For context, last year, things felt easy between Adam Peters and Howie Roseman. Peters took Jayden Daniels at No. 2, then handed Philly the 40th pick in round two. Howie Roseman used that to snag Cooper DeJean, who later picked off Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl and helped bury Washington 55-23 in the playoffs. That stung. Fast forward to this year’s draft – Roseman tried calling Peters again.
This time, he wanted to jump from pick 32 to 29 and grab Jihaad Campbell. But Adam Peters? He wasn’t in the mood this time. He hit Roseman with the “in-division tax” line, and it changed everything. Roseman saw it coming, too. You could even hear him say in their draft room video, “Yeah, I don’t have a good feeling about Washington.” And just like that, the call ended. No trade and no favor was done. So, clearly, Peters was playing along with Roseman this year. But that doesn’t mean there is something wrong between the two GMs.
Despite the Eagles defeating the Commanders in the NFC Championship, the two share a good bond. That’s the reason, while revealing his trade rejection to Philly, Peters mentioned, “But it’s actually, really, he’s a great guy. He’s a great GM, obviously, and he’s awesome to deal with. We’ve done two deals already together and probably do more, but yeah, it was just us back and forth having fun.”
Nevertheless, Howie Roseman tried to trade with Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs, and they were successful in this attempt. But KC had their advantage too!
Andy Reid, too, played well with Howie Roseman?
The Chiefs played it smooth on draft night, and Philly’s war room footage tells the full story. Howie Roseman had his eyes on Jihaad Campbell and was hustling hard to move up, starting around pick 22. But team after team passed, especially the Rams, who scored a way better offer from Atlanta.
Howie Roseman saw it coming, who even said it out loud, “I understand why people aren’t taking our deals.” Then came pick 31. He called Brett Veach and pitched a swap with pick 168 in the mix. Veach didn’t bite right away – he said he’d call back. That’s when Philly’s GM joked they might’ve just handed the Chiefs a freebie.
But Veach returned the call, and Howie Roseman gave in, tossing in pick 164 instead. He told him straight – he’s going defense, the rest is on you. The deal was done. Philly got their guy. And the Chiefs snagged Josh Simmons like they planned, and later used that bonus pick to grab Jeffrey Bassa. In the end, both GMs shook hands over the phones and walked away with what they wanted.
When asked about the trade philosophy of Howie Roseman, he clearly said, “It’s no problem that a trade is good for the other side as well. Because that means we can continue to trade with that team.” So, perhaps, next year’s draft could also see such trades happening in the league.
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