
Isaac Sopoaga is carving his role on the inside of New England’s defensive line. (Photo: NFL Game Rewind)
NEPD Editor: Oliver Thomas
In the waning hours of the Oct. 29 NFL trade deadline, the New England Patriots sent a 2014 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for 32-year-old defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga and a 2014 sixth-round pick.
The low-risk move freed Philadelphia from $7.5 million in cap space over the next two seasons, and it afforded New England a veteran inside man to plug into the system with Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly – fellow members of the 2004 class – lost for the rest of 2013.