At the end of a hard week grafting, it’s time for a well-earned takeaway! Eagles GM Howie Roseman might not work for Deliveroo but he certainly delivered in the infancy of free agency as he looks to retool the Eagles roster for 2024.
The Appetiser
Before adding any new items to the menu, Howie takes care of a couple of house specials; Veteran Defensive End Brandon Graham earns a 1-year deal to see out his fifteen years in Philadelphia and 25 year old Landon Dickerson rakes in a whopping $84m four year contract making the Stoutland-U graduate the highest paid guard in the NFL.
Hardly surprising that Howie would prioritise the line of scrimmage as his first official act of the new league year. One thing is for sure; Howie treats his linesmen well and rightly so as offensive guards flew off the shelves on the first day of the legal tampering period. Perhaps a $21m per year contract feels a bit rich but when you consider continuity on the left side of the line as well as aiding power and experience next to Cam Jurgens as he prepares to take command post-Kelce, it’s a no-brainier move from management.
Saquon-ton Soup
Box office! The running back market bounced back and became a little frenzied as backs across the league found new homes perhaps owing to the undervalued running back class of 2024 with D’andre’s swift exit for Chicago, Josh Jacobs to the Packers, Aaron Jones to the Vikings, Tony Pollard to the Titans, Derrick Henry to the Ravens (wow), Austin Eckler to Washington, Devin Singletary to the Giants (lol) and of course Saquon Barkley to the Eagles.
The Eagles signed the 27-year-old backfield bulldozer to a fairly aggressive 3-yr $37.75m deal including $26m in guaranteed money with a potential out for Philadelphia after 2 years $26m with a $9.97m dead cap (for you cap nerds).
This offense just got a lot more fun.
Skeptics will ask if he can stay healthy and if he has enough tread left on the tyres. Saquon is an elite talent who has been subject to a cruel and unusual punishment behind a truly awful Giants offensive line plying his trade on an equally awful Metlife surface and STILL producing wether that’s in zone or gap schemes, catching downfield or blitz pickup – Barkley is a do-it-all type back and does-it-all very very well. Barkley is a problem for opposing defensive coordinators who also have to figure out what to do with AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and the Jalen Hurts triple threat. Phew!
Check out @JonnyPage9’s thread below:
Chicken Fried Bryce
Some days before the legal tampering period, noise was trending on X (the artist formerly known as Twitter) that the Eagles would be in on the Jets pass rush specialist Bryce Huff whilst also shopping cash hungry and potentially out of favour OLB duo Josh Sweat and Hassan Reddick.
Huff has been flying under the radar of the top-tier edge rushers in the league producing some nice numbers in 2023 with 29 tackles (10 TFL), 10 sacks and 21 QBHs.
The risk:
Huff really has only one year of production and seemingly on a reduced snap count as a situational pass rush specialist. That is a big wedge of cap space at just over $17m per year (for the next 3 years) to pay for a situational player who may or may not be able to deal with an increased workload and exposed on early downs.
The reward:
High ceiling. GMs, coaches and scouts around the league are constantly trying to uncover hidden gems – the guys with unfulfilled potential waiting for their chance for an increased workload and showcase their full tool-set. Fortunately for Huff, the Eagles love to rotate along the defensive line (or so we’re told) with Nolan Smith’s role also likely to increase in 2024
New Eagles edge rusher Bryce Huff’s sacks in 2023: pic.twitter.com/WpL5OxryKp
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) March 12, 2024
King Prawncey Gardner-Johnson
OK that one is a stretch. I challenge you to do better.
On late Tuesday evening the NFL insiders announced the Eagles had agreed terms with ex-Lions Defensive Back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, also affectionately known as “shagger” to the British and Irish Eagles faithful. Bridges can always be mended when it comes to millions of dollars, CJGJ signs a 3 year deal “worth up to $33m max value” and apologies to the Philly fans. Bargain.
Safety or Nickel?
A reluctance to label CJGC’s position is an interesting one, he may like to be paid as a Safety but those aren’t top safety numbers. Philadelphia under Vic Fangio may deploy him in a more free hybrid role as he can play both positions and is an intelligent playmaker. This move makes a lot of sense in terms of roster replenishment while Sydney Brown is sidelined with an ACL who may not be ready in time for training camp and NCB Avonte Maddox on the free agent block.
Welcome back Shagger.
Devin White Wine
What do we want? Linebackers! When do we want them? Since forever! It cannot be overstated how much of a need the Linebacker position is in Philadelphia. Current rostered Linebackers include; Nakobe Dean, who has unfortunately been sidelined with multiple injuries after a clean bill of health through his entire college career. Ben VanSumeren, a UDFA special teamer who showed some flashes and eh…yes that’s about it.
Devin White promised the world when Tempa selected him 5th overall at the 2019 NFL Draft and whilst he started well, has seriously diminished to the point where he lost his starting job towards the end of the 2023 campaign.
Whilst the PFF grades aren’t sounding great at face value, Devin did show an uptick in coverage toward the back end of the season and ultimately finished with an average QBR allowed of 83.0 from 45 targets/32 recs for 354 yards of which over half (184) are yards after the catch. His run defense grades are also quite concerning with an average of 47.4 per PFF. Yikes.
Now for the upside, Devin is an assured open field tackler with an average grade of 74.4 across the board, he also likes to get to the quarterback with 27 total pressures which includes 3 sacks, 6 QBHs and 18 hurries.
The deal isn’t exactly lucrative and Eagles fans should probably take a breath before getting excited, this is basically a 1 year prove-it deal worth a maximum of $7.5m. The upside is there for a 26 year old looking for a chance of scenery.
Leftovers
Zack Baun-Bauns (27) – 1 year (undisclosed fee)
Rotational role player, more likely to be a special teams addition. Zack played 303 snaps for New Orleans in 2023 accounting for 30 tackles, 15 pressures, 11 hurries, 2 sacks and an interception
Ceiling – A guy that hangs around at the edge of the roster
Floor – Practice squad
Matt Hennessy (26) – 1year (undisclosed fee)
Depth on the line, Temple made. Has experience at both Guard and Center so will provide versatility especially with the departure of Jason Kelce.
Ceiling: A young interior lineman starter
Floor: Camp competition or cut because of his dodgy knee.
Devante Parker (31) – 1 year $1.2m
Ceiling: Cheap as chips, probably 5th or 6th passing option.
Floor: Cut in camp
