Day 1 saw losses, Day 2 saw some gains, and Day 3 has an interesting possible pivot. Let’s go through what happened and what is just over the horizon…
Who Left?
The big loss was Jaelan Phillips going to the Carolina Panthers for 4/$120m. It is okay to feel ambivalent about this. Phillips was both a big piece of last year’s dominant defense that we all wanted back AND was not worth that gargantuan overpay. It happens. That’s why the Eagles were trying to lock him up before free agency began and word was that we were in the $25m AAV range. Even that would have been a lot (but acceptable) for a guy with serious medical history (I had him pegged at 3/$72m). Once he had that in his back pocket though, he went to free agency and the Panthers jumped the market. Even if he loved Philadelphia, you can’t blame him for taking the money. Unfortunately, this leaves an enormous hole in the pass rush. We’ll get to that.
Nakobe Dean is a big loss in his own way, but one we are at least prepared for. He signed with the Raiders for a modest 3/$36m (my prediction was 3/$45m). That’s a great deal for Vegas and they are getting a superior leader and competitor, one that I wish could have been an Eagle forever. The problem is that his replacement is 21 years old and damn good in his own right. How did we get in this position? Because Dean was hurt in the 2024 playoffs. I am convinced that he would have signed an extension that year and the team would have let Zack Baun walk without the injury. Instead, it was Baun getting the extension and the Eagles hedging their bets with Jihaad Campbell from both performance and salary cap standpoints
Reed Blankenship was in a completely different situation. While we wanted Phillips back and knew Dean was leaving, the Eagles are still very light in the safety department but didn’t seem too keen on bringing Reed back. He ends up getting 3/$24.75m from the Texans. The Eagles do not like to give mid-range contracts, but $8m per season is barely anything. It’s pretty clear that the former undrafted diamond in the rough was not someone they wanted back. If they weren’t willing to match that price, they didn’t want him. The whole situation was very strange. (I had him at 3/$30m).
Who Signed?
The only Day 1 signing made by the Eagles was the renegotiation of Michael Carter II for 1/$3m. Carter was in the middle of a 3/$30m deal with the Jets when he was traded to the Eagles before this year’s deadline. This contract had a near $10m mostly non-guaranteed base salary for 2026 that the Eagles were never going to pay. Instead, they get Carter to return on a big discount. My assumption is that he gets the minimum plus around $2m in bonus spread over an additional 4 void years (Howie man). His cap hit should be around $1.5m, or $8.5m less than a few days ago.
On Day 2, the Eagles started addressing some of their lesser issues. I say lesser because we still need a pass rusher and a starting tight end, but we did nail down CB2 and finally found an adequate blocking tight end. Long time favorite of athletic testing aficionados and yours truly, Riq (or Tariq, I do not know what he prefers) comes to the Eagles on a 1-year, $15m deal. My assumption here is that all but the minimum comes in the form of a signing bonus meaning a roughly $4m cap hit this season. Woolen is an absurd specimen of an athlete. He is 6’4″ and runs a 4.2 40. Just look at his spider chart…LOOK AT IT!!! People his size are not supposed to move like that. He now slots in as our CB2 with Coop covering the slot and Q on the other team’s top guy. Woolen has the size and speed to match up with damn near any WR2. While he does have issues in coverage, he is also a much-needed ballhawk with 12 picks in his 4 years (although just 1 last year) and steady double digit pass breakups.
Late in the day, the Eagles made two 1-year tight end signings in the form of Johnny Mundt and old non-favorite Grant Calcaterra. Calm down, calm down. Mundt has bounced around the league but is known to be one of the best blocking tight ends in football. What did we not have last year? A blocking tight end! This should be a huge sigh of relief for Eagles fans. As for Calcaterra, think of him like insurance. Last year he was asked to block and he simply can’t do it. That’s on coaching. I figure he is here simply just in case they cannot fill TE1 or if there is an injury in camp. I do not expect him to make the team and will eventually hit the practice squad. His contact is likely for the minimum and non-guaranteed.
A contender is only as good as its weakest links. CB2 and blocking TE were two problems last year and thankfully Howie addressed them. These two moves should have Eagles fans happy that he is not ignoring problems like so many other GMs.
What’s Next?
Despite filling in two smaller holes, the roster still has holes nonetheless. We need a starting tight end, a safety, and pass rush help (yes, we also technically need a punter, but there’s no way Braden Mann leaves right?). Who is out there?
The Maxx Crosby situation took a serious turn last night, almost like the sequel to a movie completely undoing the original. The Ravens claimed that he failed his physical and the trade was nullified. Absolutely no one believes the Ravens here. Remember, this is the same team that traded a clearly unfit to play Jaire Alexander to the Eagles at the deadline. The Raiders are now in a situation where they need to add $30m back on to their salary cap after spending a boatload in free agency, including giving a record deal to former Raven Tyler Linderbaum. They also lose out on the 14th pick in the draft which was surely a big part of their offseason planning. It’s a mess.
Crosby is now damaged goods leaving the Raiders without leverage and with virtually no hope of getting anything close to two 1sts in a subsequent trade. Do they keep him and possibly wait until the deadline? Do they try to trade him anyway? This is where the Eagles come in. I was none too keen on dealing two 1sts for Crosby, but two 2nds? A 2nd and a 3rd? That’s much different. This is a very strange situation for all involved, so it is too early to speculate, but if anyone can use a clusterfuck to their advantage, it’s Howie Roseman.
Who else is out there? At pass rush, the free agent situation is slim with all the bigger names finding homes including Trey Hendrickson with, shocker, the Ravens.1 David Njoku makes some sense as a TE1 with Mundt in the fold to block. That leaves the trade market. Here are some names out there the Eagles should consider:
- Jonathan Greenard – EDGE – Vikings: Greenard has received the most buzz from Eagles social media. After back to back 12 sack seasons, his production dropped to 3.5 last year. While that doesn’t seem like much, his other stats like hurries, QB hits, and tackles for loss were all solid considering he only started 10 games. He will be 29 and makes $18m this season and next, neither of which are guaranteed. The hold up could be that he wants an extension. Depending on how much he wants, that could either be the problem or the solution.
- Bradley Chubb – EDGE – Dolphins: The Dolphins are in full exodus mode with Chubb maybe the last one at the table. He signed an extension last year, but none of the new money is guaranteed. The only reason he hasn’t been released yet is because they are holding out for a trade partner to get something for him like they did with Minkah Fitzpatrick. His $19.5m salary easily restructures to a more manageable $5m-ish, but I have my reservations. His 8.5 sacks seem to be fairly empty as the rest of his pass rush numbers stink. He’s the opposite of Greenard. Vic knows him from Miami, so he would be the reason for a trade I guess.
- Lukas Van Ness – EDGE – Packers: Van Ness would be a low end, but high ceiling reclamation project as a 4th year former 1st round pick. Green Bay needs to decide on his 5th year option which may seal his fate. He does have interesting measurables and could be good with Vic Fangio.
- Evan Engram – TE – Broncos: Engram isn’t the starter in Denver and has an $11m salary. If he didn’t have $5m of that guaranteed, he would have been released already. Would the Eagles want him as a 1 year stop gap at that price? It’s possible, especially because the Broncos will give him away for nothing. That $11m becomes around $3m with a restructure and void years added, but then $8m next year which stinks. Low probability here.
- Jessie Bates – S – Falcons: Who knows what the Falcons are doing, but Bates is 29 and still pretty damn good, picking off 3 passes last season and being named 2nd team All Pro. He is in the final year of his contract making $14m this year. That’s all base though, so it can be restructured down to a $3.6m cap hit. I’m guess he could be acquired for a 3rd or 4th round pick.
- Budda Baker – S – Cardinals: The Cardinals are simply not a contender and holding on to their long-time safety probably isn’t a good idea. He has a $14m salary this season, but that can be restructured down to around $4m if he agrees to add void years to his contract without a real extension. The 30-year-old was 2nd team All Pro in 2024 but productivity dropped last year. He will cost less than Bates.
Even with the Woolen deal, the Eagles should have around $20m to spend in free agency and trades
Contract numbers from Spotrac. Stats from Pro-Football-Reference
- The Ravens pivoting to Hendrickson reeks of ill repute. It sure as hell seems like they saw Hendrickson’s price drop and realized they could get him for the same money as Crosby without the two 1sts and made the excuse to get out of the trade. ↩︎
Philly Front Office 
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