Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters was expected to make at least one trade on draft weekend to recoup some of the capital he'd spent in the weeks and months leading up to it.
However, when the weekend had passed, the Commanders stuck with the five picks they entered the event with, but not for lack of trying.
According to Peters and Washington assistant general manager Lance Newmark, the team received multiple opportunities to move back, starting in the first round at pick No. 29. In a recently released behind the scenes video, the Philadelphia Eagles revealed their general manager Howie Roseman was one of those trying to move up with the Commanders on night one.
The video starts with Roseman inquiring as to the status of their board compared to the amount of picks with one individual inferring they feared Washington might take the player at the top of their list.
We then see Roseman on the phone with Peters beginning the conversation with a cordial, "Hey, buddy, how we doing?"
While we don't hear what Peters says on the other end, we can assume he reference their previous trades both in the 2024 preseason and NFL Draft as Roseman's next words are, "Eh, it's a tradition, I figure we should keep doing trades. Any interest in a small move back?"
Roseman next says, "see ya," before hanging up the phone, stating that Peters had told him there'd be an in-division tax.
The Eagles' GM's takeaway was that Peters really didn't want to trade with him specifically, while the Commanders will tell you they had offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr. from the Oregon Ducks' program at the top of their board and on a short list of players who would prevent any sort of trade back if he were there.
Washington selected Conerly at pick No. 29, rebuffing all trade-back requests along the way.
Philadelphia did eventually move up one spot, to No. 31, and selected Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell.
