After what felt like a very long wait, the Philadelphia Eagles officially have all their rookies under contract from the 2026 class.
NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported that the Eagles have signed third-round pick Markel Bell to a contract. Bell was the last of the rookies on the Eagles to sign his contract with the franchise.
Bell allowed nine pressures, one quarterback hit, and zero sacks in 440 pass-blocking snaps with the Miami Hurricanes in 2025. That resulted in the Eagles selecting him on Day 2 of the draft to be the potential replacement for right tackle Lane Johnson.
Markel Bell is officially under contract with the Eagles
During the first two months on the team, Bell has made quite the first impression as he was asked to start at right tackle while Johnson sat out the early parts of OTAs. Early indications were that Bell was playing well at the position and even got some chances to play at left tackle as well.
The Eagles might have a swing tackle in Bell, as he could be training to play both positions. Watch for him, though, to be Johnson's replacement once the future Hall of Famer decides to retire from the NFL.
This offseason, there has been more of a focus on the Eagles adding depth and youth to the offensive line. They lost Matt Pryor and Brett Toth to free agency and nearly lost Johnson and Landon Dickerson to retirement with injuries mounting for them.
Philly decided to select Bell in the third round and Micah Morris in the sixth round to alleviate some of those offensive line issues. Bell is expected to make more of an impact on the Eagles in the next few years.
Read more: 4 Eagles players who could become trade candidates in 2026
It's a relief for the Eagles to finally get all their rookies under contract and can finally just focus on starting the 2026 season.
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