Philly Front Office

This is coming out too early, but I am just too damn excited about the Eagles. You know Howie and company are already having internal discussions about next season, so we need to be prepared for what’s coming. Let’s do this in order…

Retirement

Brandon Graham will go down as one of the best Eagles of all time and is probably the most beloved. I cannot wait for the tributes and career reflections that come out after he finally makes the announcement. On the business side, he still has a $9m cap hit for this season despite not being under contract. Expect the Eagles to resign him to a minimum contract before he officially hangs up the cleats so his cap hit can be minimized.

Resigning Free Agents

Our free agents include Milton Williams, Kenny Gainwell, Isaiah Rodgers, Josh Sweat, Mekhi Becton, and Zack Baun. It’s no secret that all of these guys deserve a raise. Unfortunately, not everyone will be brought back. If I were to handicap it, I would say Baun is the priority while Williams and Gainwell are least likely to return. Nothing against anyone, but it’s simply about roster resources and depth. With Dean going down and likely missing most of next season, there’s just no replacing Baun. Williams on the other hand is a 3rd DT and has Moro Ojomo ready to take his snaps. Plus, he’s going to sign for close to 5/$100m. We won’t match that. I think we all love Kenny G, but Will Shipley is poised to take his place next year.

Josh Sweat is the most interesting of the group. He comes with a cap hit of $16m this season with no contract. Though he earned himself a bigger pay day with a huge Super Bowl, this cap number makes a reunion much more likely than you would think. Ideally, he resigns on a Hassan Reddick 3/$45 deal. Maybe they’d even do 4/$64. If he is looking for more than 4/$80, I think they let him walk. He is about to turn 28 and already has a ring. He is going to want to get paid.

The Eagles would love to have Rodgers and Becton back on reasonable deals, but realistically both could be high level targets for other teams with holes to fill. They are luxuries on this roster though. I will assume Rodgers is more likely to come back if Darius Slay does not stick around. Speaking of which…

Roster Decisions

Bringing Slay back is not cut and dried. The tricky part here is that he has an option bonus for $16m due at the start of the 2025 regular season. If they cut him before then, he will cost around $9m to the cap. Keeping him around at that number isn’t terrible because the cap hit will be spread over several void years, but it is simply too high for Slay this season when spending it on Rodgers would be a better use of resources. My bet is that the renegotiate that down to about $8m and Slay retires an Eagle after the season.

Kenny Pickett has another year left on his contract at around $2.5m. Even with Tanner McKee looking better, you simply do not get rid of a quality backup QB making that little. Now if someone comes calling with a 3rd round pick, that’s different. Odds are that either Pickett or McKee gets traded, but which one is a toss-up. Going into the season with 2 quality backups is not a problem either.

James Bradberry is still on this team and will get a Super Bowl ring. After how he handled SB 57, I am happy for him. His contract was just too big to cut for nothing last season (extending him was one of the few bad moves Howie has made). He will finally be mercifully released this year if he doesn’t just retire. As a post June 1 cut, he will only cost around $4m against the cap next season.

Bryce Huff was a total bust. He is about 90% guaranteed to come back next season because of his contract, just like Bradberry stuck around this year. Cutting him is simply not a viable option. That 10% chance is if Howie happens to find a trade partner. A move like that would likely cost us a 5th round pick (hopefully that’s all) but could save us money this year and next (especially next). I don’t think it’s likely, but it will be considered. Realistically, we just have to hope he bounces back.

Extensions

As long as he has been in charge of the Eagles, Howie Roseman looks to extend his players early. Several guys on rookie contracts are going to be in talks this spring including Cam Jurgens, Nakobe Dean, Jordan Davis, and Reed Blankenship. Jurgens and Blankenship are LOCKS to extend. Dean and Davis should be considered likely, but not guaranteed. For Davis, he has serious talent but is very inconsistent. They will look to extend him to keep the Georgia core together, but if he wants too much, both sides will decide to wait it out another year since he has 2 years of control remaining. Dean is a linebacker who just had a serious injury and the timing for him could not have been worse. It is especially bad since odds are he will miss most of next season AND will not be at the peak of his powers when he does return. That sounds like a chance for Howie to get a bargain. Extending him now might be best for both parties in terms of security and good will toward the defensive captain.

If you want to get excited about next year’s looming extension, I wrote about Jalen Carter a few months ago.

Free Agents

Do NOT get your hopes up. The Eagles will not be in the market for any stars for two reasons: 1. They don’t need them, 2. There aren’t any. This is simply a terrible free agent class. The only position you could see them splurge on is EDGE rusher and they might just do that on Josh Sweat. Expect them to sign backups and that’s it.

Trades

Will the Eagles get in on Myles Garrett? Here is what you need to know. He just turned 29, requested a trade from the Browns, and is basically a superhero in the Saquan Barkley, AJ Brown, Jalen Carter mold. Not only is he bigger than everyone, but he can do things that others cannot. Teaming him next to Carter, Smith, and Davis would be unfair and not unlike putting Barkley behind this offensive line. Only 13 players have officially had 20 sack seasons, Garrett would make it 14. It really would be Barkley 2.0.

So, sign us up right? It’s not that easy. The Browns do not have to trade him for one. His contract is a Howie special with a ton of void years. Trading him on draft day would result in a $35m dead cap hit. If they wait until the summer it is a little more palatable at $14m. Then there is the problem of outbidding everyone else. Eagles draft picks do not have the same value as let’s say Raiders draft picks or even Seattle. As of right now, no 2026 first or second round picks have been traded, so no one has extra selections in their pocket. The Eagles do have an extra 3rd though. Would we package our 2026 1st and 3rd for Garrett? Absolutely. Would someone else offer two 1sts? Probably. Would we? Probably not. I would love to see Garrett in Midnight Green, but that dream might be just out of reach.

The Draft

With the final pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles are on the clock…the Eagles have traded the pick. Probably. If there is value to be had in trading into the second round, the Eagles are going to do it. It would be seriously anticlimactic to wait 4 hours only to not pick on Day 1, but it would be for a good reason. If you can pick up 2 second rounders for #32, you have to do it. That’s even possible ammunition for a Garrett trade. We should all be happy if this happens.

For the picks themselves, the Eagles have 3 clear priorities. Offensive Tackle, DT or EDGE, and Tight End. This is all about succession. Lane Johnson has one or two years left. With Mailata, Dickerson, and soon Jurgens making big money, this line needs to become cost effective. Expect the Eagles to take a toolsy raw tackle with their first or second pick and immediatly enroll him in Stoutland University. With BG retiring and Sweat and Williams possibly leaving, the D-Line silo must be restocked. I am bullish on Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith might be a star, but having and developing the D-line will always be a priority. That’s how we won both Super Bowls. This won’t be the first pick but expect Howie to take one or two in the middle rounds. We do need a tight end. Goedert and Calcaterra are in the final years of their contracts and Howie always has a tight end ready to come in, from Celek to Ertz to Goedert. Expect the next one to come by the second round at the latest this year.

Do you know what we won’t do? Draft a fucking running back like the Chiefs did with Clyde Edwards Hellaire a few years ago. Everyone acted like the Chiefs were unstoppable and could draft a RB as a luxury that year. The Chiefs lost the Super Bowl that season because they couldn’t block anyone. Future Pro Bowler and $100m Guard Robert Hunt went 7 picks later to the Dolphins. There are no luxuries in the NFL. You always have a need for a lineman on either side. Howie knows this.

Conclusion

It is too early to make any specific predictions. Money will not be too much of a problem though. The Eagles can get up to $30m in cap room and manipulate contracts to have a minimal upfront cost. This team can stay together for the most part and load up for another run at championship.