Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 3/20/23.

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The First-Week Free-Agency Files - FMIA
12. Philadelphia. For now, the ethos should be, “In Howie we trust.” After building a terrific roster and coming within a few snaps of a Super Bowl win with a neophyte QB, GM Howie Roseman chose to bring back some of the longest-in-the-tooth Eagles: center Jason Kelce, who will be playing his age-36 year in 2023; defensive linemen Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, who will play this year at 33 and 35, respectively; and 32-year-old corner Darius Slay. The last two teams that reached the Super Bowl and tried to run it back didn’t. Tampa Bay brought back every starter from its 2020 Super Bowl team and lost in the divisional round in ’21. The Rams got all emotional after winning it in 2021 and had a disastrous 5-12 season last year. The difference here may be that Kelce played as a top center in the league last year, and spot-playing Graham—43 percent of the snaps, his lowest over a full season in eight years—led to his first double-digit sack season. But sticking with four vets to play prominent roles at an average age of 34 is pretty risky. Roseman did bring back his best cover corner, James Bradberry, and didn’t get seduced into a second contract for an effective back, Miles Sanders. Paying running backs often leads to wasteful deals, sadly for them, and the Eagles budgeted wisely in the backfield.

Eye on the Enemy #131: Grading the Eagles Week 1 Free Agency moves + looking through the NFC East transactions - BGN Radio
John Stolnis recaps Week 1 of free agency, grades all the Eagles’ moves, pored through the NFC East’s transactions from this week then hit the highlights of all the major moves through week 1 of free agency in the entire NFL.

Detroit Lions reportedly signing C.J. Gardner-Johnson to 1-year deal - Pride Of Detroit
Gardner-Johnson is a versatile piece that can play both nickel cornerback and safety. Last year, he was tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions. He is also a familiar face to this regime. Gardner-Johnson played three years in New Orleans with the Saints, alongside both Lions head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Gardner-Johnson joins a safety group that includes Tracy Walker—who is recovering from a torn Achilles—and Kerby Joseph, who logged four interceptions in his rookie season in 2022. This secondary—which was one of the worst units in the NFL last year—has suddenly taken a complete 180, and now may be considered one of the team’s strengths. With Gardner-Johnson in the fold, Detroit’s entire starting group when in their nickel defense could very well be new faces.

Another Departure - Iggles Blitz
Jurgens is 6-3, 303. Seumalo was 6-4, 303 when he measured in at the Combine in 2016. Jurgens will be new to OG. He was a 3-year starter at center in college so he’s played a lot, but this will be a new position. Jurgens looked very good in the 2022 preseason. He is an athletic blocker who excels when blocking on the move. He will have a full offseason to learn the RG position. It will also help being between stud veterans like Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. Having Jeff Stoutland oversee the whole thing doesn’t hurt either. The Eagles have Sua Opeta on the bench. He’ll be allowed to compete for the job. The team will likely bring in someone in the draft to add depth and competition. They should be okay. It won’t be easy replacing Seumalo, but Jurgens should do a solid job.

Roob’s Observations: Mariota makes most sense for this huge reason - NBCSP
6. There is no way the Bradberry contract, Slay restructure and Greedy Williams signing all of a sudden mean Roseman won’t take a corner early in the draft. Nothing changes. This is a strong cornerback draft, and if there’s a corner who’s available that the Eagles love, they won’t hesitate to snag him whether it’s at No. 10 or 30 or with a trade up or down. Bradberry will be 30 before the season starts, Slay is 32 and Williams has started nine games over the last three seasons. Think back to the 2002 draft. Bobby Taylor was 29 and Troy Vincent was 32 and both were at the top of their game. But the Eagles drafted Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, and it seemed like lunacy at the time but it sure worked out. Roseman won’t reach for a player at a position of need no matter how obvious the need, so he’s no less likely to take a corner now than he was before these recent signings.

Biggest needs for all 32 NFL teams after free agency: Chiefs’ offensive line, Jets’ QB situation and more - PFF
Philadelphia Eagles: EDGE, DB, IOL. As you might expect for a team that just made the Super Bowl, there aren’t a ton of needs the Eagles have to address. They brought back both James Bradberry and Darius Slay, so the outside cornerback isn’t the pressing need we thought it might be. They also brought back veterans Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox. With two first-round picks, the Eagles are in a great spot to draft the best player available at both spots. They’ll likely look toward the trenches, as they often do, but could also eye an extra secondary pick.

Cowboys trade for WR Brandin Cooks, give up a 5th this year, 6th in 2024 - Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys already made a trade this offseason to fill a major hole on their roster. They flipped a fifth-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts for Stephon Gilmore. That filled their need for someone opposite Trevon Diggs at corner. Now, they have filled another huge need on their roster before getting to the NFL draft. Dallas has sent a fifth-round pick this year, and a sixth-round pick next year, for wide receiver Brandin Cooks from the Hosuton Texans. Dallas has needed some help to pair with CeeDee Lamb, and a hopefully recovered Michael Gallup, for the 2023 season.

Valuing the Cowboys and Texans Trade - Over The Cap
Now the timing on the return is very different for both teams. Realistically the savings on Cooks wont really factor in for the Texans until 2024 and their draft picks will contribute more in 2024 and 2025 than they will in the present. Dallas gets almost all their value from the trade in 2023 unless Cooks proves to be very productive. If he does the trade would strongly favor Dallas because they would get two rather than one year of higher end production. The danger for Dallas is if Cooks does not mesh with the offense and they do not get that $12.5M of value from him.

Is Saquon Barkley worth a large second contract? - Big Blue View
It may all be a moot point. Schoen has committed to substantial sums of money in new contracts in the past couple of weeks. More are coming later this year with extensions of other top-tier players such as Dexter Lawrence looming. A multi-year contract could have the advantage of lessening Barkley’s 2023 cap hit, but at the cost of greater cap hits in future years. Schoen may just decide that a multi-year contract at a price Barkley will accept is just not workable. If that turns out to be the case, though, something will have been lost that is not as easily replaced as some have imagined.

Looking at Washington’s 2023 draft through the lens of likely 2024 needs - Hogs Haven
QB (MEDIUM/DAY 3). Key free agent: Jacoby Brissett. With Sam Howell under contract for three more years, if he plays well in 2023 he’s almost certainly the starter in 2024. My assumption, under those circumstances, is that the coaching staff and front office will return, even under new ownership. However, if Howell bombs, and we’re forced to see Brissett carry a limping team across the finish line, I assume the entire house will be cleaned, and that finding a QB1 becomes the overriding goal of the 2024 draft. In the meantime, I’d say QB3 is a medium priority this year, if only to shave significant cap savings over what the team is going to be paying Brissett in 2023 ($8-10M) for next season. Brissett could also leave in free agency and generate 2025 comp pick capital for the team, assuming he still has a market next year.

NFL free agency 2023: Ranking best remaining players still available - ESPN+
2) Bobby Wagner, ILB. 2022 team: Los Angeles Rams | Age entering 2023 season: 33. Wagner’s declining play speed shows on the tape, but the six-time first-team All-Pro linebacker can still produce due to his high-level awareness and defensive instincts. Last season, Wagner logged 81 solo tackles with six sacks and two interceptions. He can key and diagnose with speed to track the ball. A one-year deal from a contending team adds up here.

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