Philadelphia Eagles: Looking at obituary from 2019 season

Player Regression

Player regression is an issue every team deals with and is the reason Bill Belichick has a policy of letting players go a year early instead of a year late. When it comes to the Eagles obituary, you cannot talk about a cause of death without mentioning player regression.

The most notable players this applies to is wide receivers Jeffery and Agholor. This season, Jeffery had the fewest yards receiving out of any season he has played in the NFL, outside of his rookie campaign.

Jeffery’s 11.4 yards per reception average in 2019 was the lowest of his career, and so were his receptions of 20 yards or more as well.

Since Jeffrey played injured a lot this season, these numbers do require an asterisk. But with a history of injuries and his overall numbers beginning to dip in 2018, it was absurd to have Roseman guarantee the rest of his contract this past offseason.

With $11.5 million guaranteed next season and only four touchdowns to show for 2019, the decision to convert most of Jeffrey’s salary into a signing bonus in the offseason was officially a bad move.

Meanwhile, Agholor’s stats dipped this season as well. And while Agholor only played in 11 games, his missteps in the closing moments against the Patriots and Falcons will haunt him when he is a free agent this offseason.

All across the team, players from the Super Bowl team had their stats decrease by varying degrees. Many of these players were with the team on a one-year deal, with Ronald Darby immediately coming to mind. One last Super Bowl run, or so the thinking in the offseason went.

The problem with that rationale is there is always going to be another season. Roseman has made personnel decisions this past offseason looking to make the most of a Super Bowl window, which is smart, if you can pull it off.

However, investing money and roster spots in regressing players can leave you in a situation the Eagles will likely face this upcoming offseason. Even if they draft impeccable players for the cornerback or wide receiver positions, they’ll still potentially need a season to start producing.

At the end of the day, player regression is an issue very few teams can prepare for. It can be difficult for general managers and coaches to let go of aging players, especially if they are fan favorites.

But also, some of these players were clearly regressing last season. And while it is smart to make the most of a Super Bowl window when you have it, the team would have been better off this past season if they had moved on from certain players on the Super Bowl team around this time last year.

Philadelphia broke the cardinal rule of Belichick personnel decisions, which is letting go of certain players a year late instead of a year early.