Philadelphia Eagles OC Kevin Patullo reacts to Howie Roseman's John Metchie trade decision

The Philadelphia Eagles made a surprising trade ahead of their preseason finale against the New York Jets on Friday, spicing up their already sizzling wide receiver competition.

Philly ended up trading tight end Harrison Bryant and a fifth-round pick to the  Houston Texans  for wide receiver John Metchie and a sixth-round pick.

It was a move that, despite a crowded wide receiver room, still made sense, according to offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.

"Anytime you can add player like him to the room to bring more competition to the room is a really great thing," Patullo said. "Howie does a really good job adding depth and options to work with throughout the season. As you know you need as many bodies as you can. We are excited to have him."

The Eagles were already faced with a tough decision on wh o to released come cut-down day next week and Metchie now makes it that much harder on them. It also makes it that much harder on the receivers who are pushing for a spot on the Eagles' 53-man roster.

"I mean that's part of the business side," Patullo said. "We all know that, but I think really when a guy comes in late like we have now in this situation is those other guys need to understand like, 'I still have another week to prove myself. I got to continue to work through this and do the best that I can,' and then from there, the decision comes to Howie and Nick and everyone upstairs. I think ultimately, the guys understand it's all a competitive thing and when you look at a backend roster guy, you're not only competing for our roster, but you're competing for other rosters at all times. Most guys start to understand that and those guys are in Year 1 or 2, so I think they pretty much understand where they are at with that."

We'll see which receivers ultimately get the bump because of Metchie when the Eagles cut down to 53 players on Tuesday, August 26.

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