It's been two months since the Philadelphia Eagles hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy and partied well into the night. How did you spend the remainder of the evening? Did you sleep? We certainly didn't. We avoided the temptation of heading downtown and climbing those greasy poles, but we certainly didn't get any shuteye.
The best way to describe our evening was we walked around in a state of relief. Whew.! We're so happy we didn't lose to Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs again. Can you imagine how we'd feel had that happened?
Instead of being a footnote in K.C.'s story. They're now a footnote in ours. That was a fun game to watch. It had a bit of Cody Rhodes flair. Our Birds finished the story, one that began with the disappointment of losing Super Bowl 57.
But, again... It's been two months... The 2025 NFL Draft nears. The roster already looks different, and more new faces will be introduced at the end of May.
Call us crazy, but we can't help but think about some of the guys that moved on. We think Philly will be fine, but some unexpected free time allowed a question to cross our minds.
Is there any chance that Howie might regret letting some of these guys walk?
Four Eagles that Philly may regret not re-signing
Yeah... We know... We know... Roster shuffling is part of the offseason process. We get it. There isn't enough money to go around, and for a roster that was as deep as Philly's was, there was no way they were going to hang on to everyone.
Milton Williams became the highest-paid player in the history of the New England Patriots' organization. There was no way Philly was giving that type of cash to their third defensive tackle. Keep in mind the fact that Philly will have to pay Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter at some point.
We expected Josh Sweat would leave after a massive payday. We can see why Philly wouldn't get into a bidding war over Mekhi Becton. There are a few Birds we've thought about once or twice. It's probably erroneous to state they're irreplaceable, but we can't help but wonder if there was a way to retain them (and if there's a chance that the Eagles may miss them at some point this season.
Oren Burks, linebacker
Everyone exhaled with a sigh of relief when Philly extended Zack Baun. The second level of their defense looks pretty rock-solid now! Waiting in the wings is Jeremiah Trotter Jr., the son of a franchise legend.
Oren Burks played well when called upon last season, especially after Nakobe Dean's late-season injury. It's unlikely that Dean will be ready for the start of next season. Is it possible that Philly moved off Burks too early?
Oren got $2.5 million per season thanks to a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. Philly gave $1.03 to Ben VanSumeren and some pretty healthy deals to some new guys. That makes us think they could have done something for Burks if they chose.
Fred Johnson, offensive tackle
As mentioned, Mekhi Becton is gone. He played guard for Philly but had experience at playing tackle. He also wasn't the only cap casualty.
Le'Raven Clark and Jack Driscoll are also gone. To date, they haven't been signed anywhere, but the best swing tackle Philly had last season was Fred Johnson. He signed a one-year, $1.17 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Philly is expected to add at least one offensive tackle in the draft, but until then, we've been asking ourselves a question. Philly couldn't match or beat the offer the Jags gave Johnson?
Kenneth Gainwell, running back
There were times when we felt we were alone in this belief, but Kenneth Gainwell was better than he got credit for being. He was good in pass protection. He provided quality snaps. He was good in two-minute situations.
Philly will lose some of that by swapping him out for A.J. Dillon. We have high hopes for Will Shipley, but as was the case last season, Saquon Barkley will get most of the snaps.
We'll see what happens, but we admittedly have our fingers crossed here. If there are any injuries, the complexion of this unit changes swiftly, and we aren't sure about Tyrion Davis-Price and Lew Nichols.
The Pittsburgh Steelers gave Kenny G $1.79 million. That seems like a small price to pay for everything he seemingly brought to the table.
Worth mentioning: Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers
We aren't sure if Isaiah Rodgers was worth $7.5 million per season he got by signing a two-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings. We do however know that he was serviceable and provided Philly with another emergency returner. Is it possible he would have agreed to a pay cut to stay in the nest and continue his run with the Birds?
Maybe he and Philly spoke about this. Maybe they didn't. Who knows. All we have is the present, and the Eagles may explore adding a cornerback in the coming NFL Draft.
As it stands now, with Rodgers gone, the starting outside CB role opposite Quinyon Mitchell is probably a battle between Adoree' Jackson, Kelee Ringo, and Eli Ricks. Vic Fangio has already expressed his plan for Cooper DeJean. Rather than move him outside, Coop will remain in the slot.