INDIANAPOLIS – The Super Bowl 59 champion Philadelphia Eagles may not look like the 2025 Eagles, but general manager Howie Roseman said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine fans should trust the front office’s plan – and have a little patience.
“Really, we have to do whatever we can to keep this window open as long as possible,” Roseman said.
But Roseman also said the most important season is the next one and that maximizing it is the top priority.
“We have to be creative to make sure we’re keeping as many of our good players as we can,” he said.
Several key contributors to the championship roster could potentially not be with the team for the 2025 season.
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Linebacker Zack Baun, a first-team All-Pro in his first season with the Eagles, was on a one-year, $5 million deal. For Philadelphia to re-sign him, that price would surely be higher and for more years. Milton Williams (two sacks in the Super Bowl) and Josh Sweat, who had 2.5 against the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, are going to hit the open market.
Right guard Mekhi Becton, formerly a tackle the Eagles moved to an interior line spot, is also set to be a free agent. Backup offensive linemen Fred Johnson and Nick Gates are also up for free agency. Linebacker Oren Burks, who stepped into a starting role for the injured Nakobe Dean during the playoffs and through the Super Bowl, is another pending free agent.
There is also the specter of Brandon Graham’s retirement, which would create another need on the defensive line. Backup running back Kenneth Gainwell – always game to spell Saquon Barkley – is also a free agent.
That being said, the trenches will always be Roseman’s priority. He never feels like the Eagles have enough linemen on either side of the ball and perpetually remains on the lookout for those positions at every avenue of acquisition, whether it’s in free agency, the draft, after the draft or “on the street,” as Roseman said.
“It’s really an unhealthy obsession to be honest with you,” Roseman said. “I never feel good enough because I can convince myself – I can go back and watch a game from this year and see that we were down three offensive linemen and say, ‘You need eight starting linemen.’
“You can never have enough of them.”
The salary cap is increasing to between $277.5 million and $281.5 million in 2025, per a memo sent to teams this month, which would afford Roseman and owner Jeffrey Lurie some flexibility in their efforts to bring back players or replace them.
“To put us in a box and say, ‘Hey we’re not going to plan on paying that, we’re not going to pay because historically we haven’t done that’ I mean, part of what we do is evolve is look at things and see how things are affecting our team, how things are affecting the league, and seeing our place in that,” Roseman said.
That’s all part of the process Roseman deploys regardless of the previous season’s results: Identify the guys they want as quickly as possible and be confident in their choices. There is humility to know they won’t always be the right ones, but for the ones they hit on, it allows the Eagles to start the proration earlier and saves money in the long run.
The Eagles have successfully negotiated contract extensions for players such as quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver DeVonta Smith in recent offseasons to help spread out future cap hits and secure short-term flexibility.
“Obviously you got to find the happy medium towards making sure the players are fairly compensated and feeling good about it,” Roseman said. “At the same time, doing it early enough to try and save some cap room.”
Roseman believes the team has plenty of players in their prime under contract for the foreseeable future. Getting players on their first contract is part of the path for the Eagles, however, Roseman said. Linebacker Nicholas Morrow and defensive lineman Jalyx Hunt could certainly fall into that category.
Roseman stressed remaining consistent with the front office’s vision for continuing to play at a high level. The creativity to make it all financially possible follows. The pillars – aka the offensive and defensive lines – matter most.
“You can’t just make up opportunities,” Roseman said.
Throughout his tenure, Roseman has accrued a reputation for being the league’s most formidable trader. One player who could be on the market – despite his team’s public reluctance to actually trade him – is Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. Roseman was explicitly asked about bringing the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year and four-time All-Pro to Philadelphia.
He had no interest in discussing anyone under contract with another team.
Roseman did offer Eagles fans one promise.
“There will not be a player that’s available that we won’t study – that we want to look at and see if he could help the team,” Roseman said. “Sometimes those opportunities work and you’re able to do that. Sometimes they don’t.”