The Philadelphia Eagles have been relatively quiet this offseason with very few moves being made, but they might have made the most underrated one so far.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that the Eagles have re-signed punter Braden Mann to a four-year, $14 million contract with $7 million guaranteed. Mann is coming off the best season of his NFL career, averaging 49.9 yards per punt and 43.1 net yards per punt.
Back in the 2020 NFL Draft, Mann was a sixth-round pick of the New York Jets, where he would spend the first three years of his NFL career. In 2023, he joined the Eagles and played a key role in their Super Bowl win in 2024.
Braden Mann back long term with the Eagles
This is a sneaky, underrated move for the Eagles, as Mann has improved each season he has been with Philly after an up-and-down start to his NFL career with the Jets. Last year, he was sixth in the league in average yards per punt and 11th in net yards per punt.
The Eagles' special teams are in a much better spot as they land their long-term punter. Now the question is going to be what do they do about their kicker, Jake Elliott, who has had back-to-back rough seasons for the Birds.
While there will be no competition being brought in for Mann, there certainly should be for Elliott, as he barely made over 73% of his field goals last year. Mann was way more efficient and more impactful with his punts than Elliott has been with his field goals.
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Nobody nearly talked about how important it was for the Eagles to get Mann back, but now that he is locked in, the punting game should be on solid ground for a long time.