Philly Sports News

Philly Sports News continuously updated

Offseason In Review: Philadelphia Eagles

by

Reaching their second Super Bowl in five seasons, the Eagles were a much-debated defensive holding call from having a shot to topple the Chiefs. Nick Sirianni‘s team then beat the defending champions in Kansas City last season. Philadelphia then saw its momentum stall, leading to one of the stranger collapses in recent NFL history. The Eagles went from an NFL-best 10-1 to ending the season in a wild-card blowout against a 9-8 team, leading to changes at many areas — including the offensive and defensive coordinator posts.

Sirianni was spared, as it would have been an interesting look for the Eagles to fire another Super Bowl coach not long after that appearance. But the fourth-year leader has moved to a hot seat. Sirianni’s relationship with Jalen Hurts is under the microscope, and Bill Belichick may be lurking. The Eagles, however, still boast a strong roster that could help their coach rebound from a disastrous finish. Despite the unraveling, the team got to work on fortifying both sides of the ball early.

Extensions and restructures:

Playing 17-game seasons and coming along in a pass-friendly era, Brown now holds the top two spots on the franchise’s single-season receiving yardage list. Brown broke Mike Quick‘s 39-year-old record in 2022 and eclipsed it again last season. The Eagles did well to pry Brown from a Titans team that erred in assessing the changing WR market two years ago, and Philly’s latest agreement contributed to another positional boom this year.

Shortly before the draft’s first night, the Eagles gave Brown a new deal that topped Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s record-setting AAV. After back-to-back 1,400-yard seasons, Brown landed a $32MM-per-year extension that moved guaranteed money up and gave the Eagles three more years of control. Given the changing market, that might be an issue down the road. The deal includes $84MM guaranteed in total. Brown, 27, also put to rest any rumored concerns he had with the Eagles by recommitting.

Brown’s contract, which runs through 2029, includes void years through 2034. Prorated option bonuses run through 2034, as the Eagles showed consistently this offseason — in rather innovative fashion — they will prioritize short-term cap position over down-the-road concerns.

Just before the Brown extension, the Eagles made a bit of transaction history by locking down Smith. Since the 2011 CBA introduced the fifth-year option, teams have made those decisions annually since the first draft class eligible brought those decisions in 2014. No team in that span had paid a first-round receiver with two years of rookie-deal control remaining. The Eagles became the first, locking down Smith on an extension that became rather team-friendly as the offseason progressed. Smith’s deal both gives the Eagles five years of control and sets up the former Heisman winner as the NFL’s 11th-highest-paid receiver going into the season.

Bailing out the Eagles for their JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Jalen Reagor missteps, Smith has delivered as Brown’s wingman. He has joined the trade acquisition in elevating Hurts, who was tied to a run-heavy offense in Smith’s rookie year. Smith has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, scoring seven TDs in each campaign.

The Eagles having their 25-year-old WR2 as the NFL’s 11th-highest-paid wideout now should age very well, as the market figures to keep spiking or at least gradually increasing while the Alabama alum is tied to this pact. Smith still secured the chance, via a three-year deal, to cash in again in his 20s as well.

Known for taking early action along their offensive front, the Eagles made two steps in that direction this year as well. The first of the Eagles’ would-be Jason Kelce heir apparents — before staying at guard and becoming one of the NFL’s best — Dickerson enters this season as the NFL’s highest-paid guard. The Eagles gave Dickerson $21MM per year, topping Chris Lindstrom‘s previous position record. The former second-round pick became a quick study at left guard, quickly taking over for Brandon Brooks and later helping the Eagles feel comfortable letting Isaac Seumalo walk in free agency.

Developing under acclaimed O-line coach Jeff Stoutland, Dickerson ranked second in pass block win rate and first in run block win rate in 2022. Dickerson also led all interior O-linemen in run block win rate last season, while also ranking as a top-10 player in pass protection. Going into his age-26 season, Dickerson will be counted on as the Eagles aim to replace future Hall of Famer Jason Kelce.

Stoutland completed a more impressive accomplishment with Mailata, leading the effort in the Eagles turning him from a rugby performer to long-term project to standout left tackle. Philly had drafted Andre Dillard to eventually succeed Jason Peters, but a seventh-round pick became the better option. Philly now has three $20MM-per-year O-linemen on an offense with a $50MM-per-year quarterback, an eight-figure running back and two highly compensated receivers.

Two seasons remained on Mailata’s initial Eagles extension (four years, $64MM), but the team operated proactively once again — with cap savings at the root of the move. Mailata’s $22MM-per-year deal tops Lane Johnson‘s AAV while ranking fifth among left tackles. The Australian has yet to draw a Pro Bowl invite, but Pro Football Focus has viewed him as a top-10 tackle in each of the past three years. Run block win rate slotted Johnson and Mailata at Nos. 1 and 2 last season. The Eagles now have their ascending LT signed through 2028, with the team’s usual batch of option bonuses and void years included to defray the cap hits.

As the Eagles rearranged their edge-rushing setup, they prioritized Sweat over Haason Reddick. Though, they took trade calls on both players during an uncertain period ahead of free agency. A 2018 fourth-round pick, Sweat is nearly three years younger (at 27). Sweat was tied to a three-year, $40MM extension that expired after the 2024 season. He agreed to a compromise, accepting a one-year, $10MM redo that came nearly fully guaranteed. With Reddick gone, Sweat is positioned to remain a key piece.

By agreeing to a reworking rather than an extension, Sweat has a platform year ahead and could become one of the 2025 free agent class’ top players with a standout season under the new DC. Sweat slowed late last season along with Reddick, as Philly’s defense crumbled, but he has been a three-year starter and notched 11 sacks as the team pushed for the 1984 Bears’ single-season record in 2022.

The Eagles have Nolan Smith waiting in the wings, and while they will need to see more from the pass-rushing specialist, their 2025 starting OLBs may well be Smith and Bryce Huff.

Free agency additions:

Since trading LeSean McCoy in 2015 (on Chip Kelly‘s watch), the Eagles have kept costs low at running back. They did not re-sign Jay Ajayi, Jordan Howard or Miles Sanders and let D’Andre Swift walk this offseason. Swift’s price point became an issue for the Eagles, but Barkley’s subsequent contract revealed how wide of a gap Philly placed between Swift and its new starter. Plenty came out about Barkley’s free agency this offseason, thanks to Hard Knocks’ inaugural offseason effort, but Howie Roseman zagged after the RB market reached a crisis point in 2023.

Barkley joined Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard in being tagged and not extended. This came after the Vikings and Cowboys cut stalwart RBs Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott, and the offseason ended with Joe Mixon following Aaron Jones in taking pay cuts. Entering last season, no RB had been given an eight-figure-per-year contract since July 2021. After the cap’s record-setting $30.6MM spike, the RB market — following Jonathan Taylor‘s October extension — course corrected a bit. A host of starters landed decent deals in 2024, but the Eagles came in with an outlier pact that rewarded the top talent on the market. Barkley’s $26MM guarantee at signing leads the RB pack, and the Eagles pounced after the Giants passed on a second franchise tag.

The Eagles won a bidding war that featured a lucrative Texans offer, along with Bears and Chargers interest, for a player who has dealt with a number of injuries but one that has shown difference-making ability when healthy. Barkley spent much of his prime trapped behind poor Giants O-lines. The Eagles are betting the two-time Pro Bowler has some of his prime remaining, and they will place him behind a top-tier offensive front. Barkley still finished in the top 10 in rushing yards over expected last season, and he powered the Giants to the 2022 divisional round despite that team being largely bereft of talent at the skill spots.

GM Joe Schoen citing the RB’s age (27) as a key factor behind the Giants moving on. Though, FA replacement Devin Singletary turns 27 today. The Giants will see the former Offensive Rookie of the Year again soon. Unlike the Falcons and Kirk Cousins, no tampering penalty ultimately emerged for the Eagles.

As the Jets’ standoff with Haason Reddick persists, the Eagles poached a player New York had deemed ill-equipped for full-time duty. The Eagles appear prepared to unleash Huff, who led the NFL in pressure rate (21.8%) during his 10-sack breakout season. The Jets passed on franchise-tagging Huff, and as they aim for Reddick to be an every-down player, the Eagles clearly viewed Robert Saleh‘s designated pass rusher as an underused asset.

The Jets gave Huff, a 2020 UDFA, just 480 defensive snaps last season. He flashed brightly for another imposing defense, albeit in a part-time capacity. Vic Fangio has a history of coaxing high-end production from edge players, with DPR-type Aldon Smith‘s early-career 49ers work coming to mind. The Eagles could come out of this Reddick-for-Huff switch looking good, though they will bet on a player PFF deemed a poor run defender being able to handle an increased workload.

Read more

Conflicting reports came out about the Eagles and Gardner-Johnson in 2023, but the team clearly missed the versatile DB/trash talker extraordinaire. Injury and performance issues plagued the Eagles at safety in 2023, and Gardner-Johnson — who excelled for the 2022 Eagles edition, intercepting an NFL-high six passes despite missing five games — secured better terms than his Lions pact despite missing almost all of 2023 with a torn pec. Recovering from a late-season ACL tear, Sydney Brown landed on the reserve/PUP list. Converted corner James Bradberry is on IR. Gardner-Johnson, 26, will team with returner Reed Blankenship in the meantime.

Typically replacing exiting O-linemen from within, the Eagles are set to fill Kelce’s shoes with a newcomer. Right guard Cam Jurgens made good on the team’s multiyear plan of sliding him to center, and 2023 third-rounder Tyler Steen had been the team’s preference to step into the starting lineup. Becton changed the plan, usurping Steen after the second-year blocker dealt with injuries during training camp. This will be quite the O-line subplot entering the season, as Becton has been a tackle since his Louisville days and has an extensive injury history.

The former first-round pick missed all but one game from 2021-22, and although he returned for 16 starts (at both left and right tackle) for last year’s Jets edition, no market formed. The Eagles landed the slimmed-down blocker post-draft. They have some insurance in the event the converted tackle does not pan out, with Steen lurking and former Giants and Commanders starter Nick Gates on the practice squad.

Last year’s plan to install Nakobe Dean as the Eagles’ linebacking centerpiece did not work out; the 2022 third-rounder missed most of the season. White and Baun are now in place, though each is tied to a stopgap contract. Baun only started 14 games in four Saints seasons, but he is set to work as a first-stringer. Dean is still slated to play a key role, but the Eagles added some interesting veterans after being caught shorthanded last season.

White was electric at points in Tampa, posting a nine-sack season as an off-ball linebacker, but his freelancing became an issue for the Buccaneers. Pro Football Focus had long viewed White as one of the NFL’s most overrated players, and after he sought a top-five ILB deal, the Bucs wrapped his contract year by reducing his playing time.

Re-signings:

Graham edged Kelce for the Eagles’ games-played crown, with both surpassing David Akers‘ mark last season. Graham (195 career games), however, had wanted to become the first Eagle to play 15 years with the team. He is about to eclipse Chuck Bednarik‘s franchise longevity standard. Graham, 36, is back in place as a supplementary pass rusher. Fangio will be Graham’s ninth defensive coordinator (counting the Matt Patricia period) in a career that dates back to Sean McDermott‘s tenure in the post, making it interesting the Eagles have continued to value the 2010 first-rounder as they have.

After a career-high 11 sacks during Fangio’s consulting season in 2022, Graham totaled three under Patricia and Sean Desai‘s guidance. The former Super Bowl hero is prepared to retire after this season. Of the Core Four, Lane Johnson has a ways to go in order to catch the Michigan product for Eagles service time.

The Eagles both cut and signed Maddox this offseason. The team moved on from Maddox’s 2021 extension, as he ran into persistent injury trouble on the deal. Similar to the Cowboys and Ezekiel Elliott, the Eagles are taking on dead money for a player they have since re-signed.

Maddox’s previous contract still counts $7.72MM on Philly’s payroll. Maddox, 28, is shifting from slot corner to backup safety this year. Given the Eagles’ injury trouble on the back end, Maddox may be valuable. Though, he has missed 21 games over the past two seasons. The Eagles have two DBs — Maddox and Gardner-Johnson — who made it back from September pec tears by season’s end.

Notable losses:

Kelce’s ESPN and Amazon deals will keep him in football fans’ lives for the foreseeable future, but the Eagles will miss a player who turned in one of the greatest after-30 stretches in NFL history. A zero-time All-Pro in his 20s, Kelce retired after collecting six of the past seven first-team honors at center. The Eagles counted on the gregarious presence for leadership purposes, a component that will also be missed for a team that imploded down the stretch last season.

The Tush Push anchor — to the point it is worth wondering how well the Eagles will execute that play henceforth — became one of the greatest centers in NFL history, once boosted McCoy to a rushing title and later helped keep the 2017 squad afloat under Nick Foles. Playing lead roles for two Super Bowl-bound squads, Kelce played lead roles in both Hurts and Carson Wentz securing monster extensions. The Eagles continued to retain Kelce, 37, on a year-to-year basis; how their O-line looks without him will be fascinating to observe.

The Eagles are taking on $8.7MM this year for Kelce’s retirement, processed as a post-June 1 transaction that will see $16.4MM hit Philly’s books in 2025. Cox will count $4.2MM against the Eagles’ 2024 cap and $10.1MM on their ’25 payroll. The interior pillars proved worth this damage during their careers, with Cox spending a period as the NFL’s second-best D-tackle behind Aaron Donald.

A six-time Pro Bowler, Cox contributed seven sacks to the Eagles’ record-setting push in 2022 and added five in his NFL finale. The Patriots double-teaming Cox on that seminal Super Bowl LII snap gave Graham a one-on-one matchup, leading to the latter’s strip of Tom Brady en route to the team’s conquest. The Eagles have Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter ready for more work, and while Cox (no Pro Bowls since 2020) may not be as difficult to replace as Kelce, this will still be a transition for a team that continued to keep its long-running OL/DL quartet around.

Taking a backseat to Kenneth Gainwell in Week 1 of last season, Swift took the reins quickly and delivered by far his best season. While the Eagles are aiming to use Barkley more as a receiver — as Hurts has not turned to RBs for help much in that department — the Bears probably have the same intentions with Swift, who was more dynamic in Detroit. Behind Philly’s top-shelf O-line, however, Swift amassed 1,049 rushing yards. His odometer reads 788 career touches (to Barkley’s 1,489), but the team is clearly convinced a substantial upgrade is coming.

Trades:

Reddick overdelivered on his three-year, $45MM Eagles deal, combining for 19.5 sacks between the 2022 regular season and playoffs and then adding 11 more last season. While Reddick ranks fourth among 2020s sackers with 50.5, he has never been paid like an elite rusher. That is now the Jets’ problem, after the Eagles landed Huff to team with Sweat. Though, Reddick’s holdout still impacts the Eagles, as the pick becomes a second-rounder if Reddick plays 67.5% of Gang Green’s 2024 snaps and records 10 sacks.

After granting Reddick permission to find a trade — one the Temple alum insisted he did not request — the Eagles tabled Reddick’s $1MM roster bonus to April 1. This all but ensured he would be dealt. The Jets made a low-ball offer before agreeing to trade for him, and he has held out for nearly six weeks.

Pickett faceplanted in Pittsburgh and did not exactly take his demotions for Mason Rudolph or Russell Wilson well. The Eagles will take a risk having him as Hurts’ backup, as the dual-threat starter missed time in 2021 and ’22 (when Gardner Minshew was QB2) and played through a leg injury last season.

The Eagles made an offer to see about a reunion with Joe Flacco, briefly a Hurts backup in 2021, but the reigning Comeback Player of the Year joined the Colts. Pickett has managed 13 TD passes in 24 starts; two years remain on the former No. 20 overall pick’s rookie contract.

As Brown and Smith have thrived, the team has been unable to find a reliable third wideout. Quez Watkins and Julio Jones were not up to the task, and while Parris Campbell remains in the mix after joining the practice squad, the role may still be up for grabs. Enter Dotson, who returns to Pennsylvania after inconsistency in Washington.

The Penn State alum did not fare as well in Eric Bieniemy‘s offense, clashing with the OC and ranking near the bottom in ESPN’s open score metric in 2023. Two years remain on the former No. 16 pick’s rookie deal, and after two 500-plus-yard seasons with below-average QB play, the Eagles replicated their Pickett trade package to see if a better environment can bring an uptick.

Draft:

The Eagles were the only team to primarily start two 30-somethings at outside cornerback last season. As the pass rush did not get home at the historic rate it did in 2022, the Darius Slay–James Bradberry pair did not play as well. Maddox also missed most of the year. Philly became connected to corners during the draft run-up, and buzz about a trade-up surfaced. The flood of QBs and tackles to come off the board early aided the Eagles, who did not need to climb up for Mitchell.

Mitchell led Division I-FBS with 25 passes defensed in 2022, returning two of his five interceptions for touchdowns that year. The mid-major cover man did nothing to drop his stock in 2023, attaining All-American acclaim. Set to team with Slay and the reinstated Isaiah Oliver as starters, Mitchell enters his rookie season with plenty on his plate. The team has the 6-foot CB set for a three-down role, which looks likely to involve base-set boundary work and sub-package slot functions. It will be interesting to see how Mitchell moves from the MAC to a full-time NFL role.

Philadelphia jumped to No. 40 for DeJean, who starred at Iowa before suffering a fractured fibula last season. DeJean joined Mitchell in intercepting five passes in 2022; the Hawkeyes star returned three picks for TDs. Rumors about a move to safety naturally surfaced, as there has not been a white NFL starting corner since 2003. But Fangio confirmed the Eagles view DeJean as a corner. DeJean did not come off the Eagles’ NFI list until mid-August, pointing to a ramp-up period. Rodgers is in place as a potential bridge, giving the Eagles options on the boundary.

Hunt combined for 13.5 sacks in two seasons at Houston Christian, a Division I-FCS program. The Cornell transfer may not see too much time in 2024, with Graham and Sweat rostered. The Eagles will gauge the small-school product’s readiness, however, and Graham’s retirement and Sweat’s potential free agency exit would stand to open the door to a heavy rotational role behind Bryce Huff and Nolan Smith. Arriving in Philly just 15 years after his father’s Eagles career wrapped, Trotter could be a starter-in-waiting behind the likes of White and Baun.

Making a record-setting (in the seven-round era) eight draft-weekend trades, Roseman also targeted what is expected to be a deeper 2025 draft by adding third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks via trade-down moves. NIL and the COVID-19 fifth year thinned this class’ talent pool, and the Eagles will have extra ammo — even after already using one of the third-rounders to acquire Dotson — next year.

Other:

The Eagles’ undoing naturally prompted ownership to seek staff changes. While Doug Pederson did not respond well to such requests after the 2020 season, Sirianni moved on from Johnson and made the expected move to ditch his co-DC setup. It did not appear Sirianni was too close to losing his job, having gone 3-for-3 in playoff berths and nearly pushing the 2022 squad to the mountaintop, but the team showed interest in Bill Belichick after he became a coaching free agent (that interest is mutual). Sirianni is on the hot seat.

Chief among Sirianni’s issues, his relationship with Jalen Hurts deteriorated last year. Hurts grew frustrated with the offense’s direction, and as he sought to expand the scheme Sirianni brought with him from Indianapolis, drew hero-ball accusations. Hurts was accused of tuning out his coach — as his INT count spiked to 15 — and Sirianni minimized Johnson’s power to the point confusion existed about the unit’s play-caller. This ended with Johnson booted after one OC season. Hurts’ two-year position coach, whom the QB has known since childhood, dropped off the OC tier this offseason and is now the Commanders’ pass-game coordinator.

Sirianni and Hurts have attempted to mend fences this year, and the coach has stepped back to give Moore more autonomy than Johnson received. Formerly an HC carousel rider, Moore has the keys to a third team’s offense in three years.

The former Cowboys play-caller drew a bad hand with the Chargers, as Mike Williams and Justin Herbert went down, but he has seen his stock dip since Dallas’ 2021 attack ranked first across the board. Moore has brought much-needed motion concepts, after the Eagles ranked last in 2023 motion usage. Hurts bouncing back would undoubtedly rocket the 35-year-old coordinator back into HC consideration.

Fangio ruffled feathers in Miami, alienating several players during his one-and-done Dolphins DC stay. The AFC East team let the veteran DC out of a contract that paid high-end coordinator money ($4MM-plus), and some Dolphins believed Fangio wanted to be back in Philly last season. The Pennsylvania native took the Miami job before Jonathan Gannon had made it clear he would leave for Arizona, complicating matters for the Eagles, whose defense regressed — dropping to 29th in DVOA — under Desai and Patricia.

Fangio, 66, is one of this era’s top defensive minds. Beginning his pro career as an assistant for the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars 40 years ago, Fangio is aiming to wrap his coaching run with the Eagles.

Top 10 cap charges for 2024:

  1. Lane Johnson, RT: $15.87MM
  2. Jalen Hurts, QB: $13.56MM
  3. A.J. Brown, WR: $11.83MM
  4. Jordan Mailata, LT: $11.62MM
  5. Darius Slay, CB: $10.65MM
  6. Dallas Goedert, TE: $9.13MM
  7. Brandon Graham, DE: $8.19MM
  8. DeVonta Smith, WR: $8.13MM
  9. Josh Sweat, DE: $8.03MM
  10. Landon Dickerson, LG: $5.99MM

Adding younger pieces in key defensive places and locking in cornerstone offensive talent to go along with last year’s Hurts extension, the Eagles laid out what looks like a better plan this offseason. Fangio and Moore bring far more experience than Philly’s initial post-Gannon/Shane Steichen coordinators carried. Superior parts being in place cranks up the heat on Sirianni.

With the Commanders rebuilding and the Giants clinging to a blueprint most do not believe will work, the Eagles still should have a smoother runway toward an NFC East title. They have traded the crown with the Cowboys for most of the past decade. The NFC still appears shallower than the AFC, and the Eagles will need to capitalize in order to extend Sirianni’s tenure. Hurts moving back on track could well be enough for the team’s CEO head coach, but as Belichick circles the NFC East, the Eagles are set for a pivotal rebound effort as a whole.