Properly, the Eagles’ 2024 offseason began with two gaping divots at their core, with the introduced retirements of two future Eagles’ Corridor of Famers, Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox. They’re irreplaceable. To his credit score, normal supervisor Howie Roseman started opening the Eagles’ pockets to safe free brokers Saquon Barkley, defensive finish Bryce Huff, security C.J. Gardner-Johnson, linebackers Devin White and Zack Baun, with in-house re-signings of probably the NFL’s finest guard, Landon Dickerson, arguably the NFL’s finest clutch kicker and 2023 Eagle’s workforce MVP, Jake Elliott, and with out query the NFL’s finest locker room chief, Brandon Graham. Roseman then labored out a cope with the Pittsburgh Steelers to accumulate a back-up quarterback, Kenny Pickett.
Will this profit the 2024 Eagles?
Proper now, in all probability not.
There’s an unavoidable caveat with every of the Eagles’ new main additions.
Barkley is an improve over D’Andre Swift, although not a lot of an improve. The value was definitely larger than it ought to have been, a reported three-year, $37.75-million contract that would attain $46.75 million, which included $26 million absolutely assured when he signed. Barkley arrives with appreciable tread taken off the tires, six seasons of NFL put on and tear questioning whether or not his finest years are behind him. In 2020 and 2021, he performed a mixed 15 video games, battling nagging ankle and knee accidents. His explosive first step appeared to sag. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards as soon as within the final 4 years, gaining 1,312 yards in 2022, although, satirically, missed the 2023 season finale in opposition to the Eagles with a excessive ankle sprain. He blocks higher in cross safety than Swift, however the Eagles didn’t signal Barkley to dam.
On Monday, Roseman stated on the NFL’s annual league conferences in Orlando, Florida, “We expect Saquon’s a particular participant and we predict he’s a particular individual. And if you’re looking for these guys, they’re laborious to search out, particularly on the open market. You then put into the dynamic about … has the pendulum swung thus far at this place? The man touches the ball 300 occasions a yr, hopefully. There’s not a number of different talent place gamers which might be touching the ball that many occasions and have that impact.”
In six seasons, Barkley has had 300 touches in a season twice, each occasions with 352, in his rookie yr (2018) and in 2022. Final yr, he had 288 touches, in 2021 he had 203, 25 in his injury-depleted 2020 season and 269 in 2019. At 27, with the pounding Barkley’s physique has taken from Penn State to the Giants, and now with the Eagles, can his physique face up to 300 touches? Can he take 250 touches? He has solely gained over 2,000 yards from scrimmage as soon as, his rookie yr (2,028), gaining a mean of 5.8 yards/per contact. Since then, that common has sunk to 4.3 yards/per contact final yr, his second-lowest common, in the event you wipe away his 2020 damage season.
Huff arrives after a profession yr with the New York Jets, the place he posted 10 sacks and 21 quarterback hits in 17 video games. If teamed in a rotation with Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat, it’s an awesome signing and a substantial improve. If Huff was signed to interchange Reddick, which might be why the rationale the Eagles signed him, contemplating Reddick’s contract calls for, it may very well be a downgrade. In 2023, Reddick, arguably the Eagles’ finest defensive participant, performed 74.18% of the defensive snaps, whereas Sweat performed 71.26%. Huff performed 42%. Earlier than 2023, Huff by no means had greater than 3.5 sacks in a season. In 2023, he took 480 defensive snaps, which Reddick (862) and Sweat (828) blew away. The Eagles are taking a look at what Huff will be, not who he presently is. Proper now, the 25-year-old is a situational cross rusher who might be requested to enter new terrain as a potential every-down finish in new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system.
Can he do this?
Who is aware of.
The issue with that’s the 2024 Eagles’ protection wants certainties, not query marks. Huff being efficient as an every-down edge rusher is a query mark. In 4 years with the Jets, he by no means performed over 51% of the defensive snaps in a season. It’s not a solution Eagles’ followers wish to hear.
Does anybody bear in mind security Justin Evans? You shouldn’t. He was one other of Roseman’s stopgap measures who he signed as a free agent and, consider it or not, began the primary 4 video games of final season earlier than being misplaced for the yr with an ankle damage, ultimately launched, and erased from reminiscence, it appears. Paired with him was Reed Blankenship, who has confirmed to be a serviceable defensive again although probably not an every-down security. The return of Gardner-Johnson is an improve—if it’s the 2022 CJGJ. This would be the fourth workforce he has been with in 4 years (New Orleans, the Eagles, Detroit, and now again with the Eagles). He was “a ache within the ass” within the locker room, as one supply described him two years in the past.
Gardner-Johnson had his finest NFL season with the 2022 Eagles—as did many gamers on that workforce. Can Gardner-Johnson replicate that? Most likely not. For one, he needs to be on the sector, which has been an issue, enjoying 15 video games during the last two years beset by accidents. Secondly, Gardner-Johnson has an issue tackling. He doesn’t prefer it. He’s a finesse participant who provides versatility to the secondary, capable of play some slot, and although younger at 26, his physique tends to fail him. He performed simply three video games in Detroit, resulting from a torn pectoral, he was sidelined for 5 video games with a lacerated kidney in 2022 for the Eagles and a knee damage pressured him out of 4 video games with New Orleans in 2021.
Baun was added for depth. White wasn’t. Once more, the Eagles are relying on a reclamation undertaking within the hopes he can discover previous glory. By the top of the 2023 season, Tampa Bay Bucs’ coach Todd Bowles, who is aware of protection, benched him. So, the Eagles might be searching for White to improve a doubtful space of the sector, when he couldn’t get on the sector for the 9-8 mediocre Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
Will the pairing of White and undersized Nakobe Dean, who has barely performed in two seasons resulting from damage, be the Eagles’ reply at linebacker? White is on the small facet himself, listed at 6-foot, 237 kilos. White’s solo tackles have gone down steadily in every of the final 4 years, 97, 87, 73 and a career-low 49 final season. The Eagles locked White right into a one-year deal that’s reportedly price as much as $7.5 million. Possibly that can provide White’s incentive to show he nonetheless belongs on an NFL roster as a starter. In any other case, he may very well be Nicholas Morrow, or Zach Cunningham, who confirmed glimpses of high quality play final yr, in disguise.
As for Pickett, he was traded to the Eagles for a draft decide swap. The Steelers then grabbed Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears for a sixth-round decide that would mature right into a fourth-round alternative primarily based on enjoying time. Who would you slightly have? Actually? Fields is the apparent alternative. Pickett needed out of Pittsburgh due to how he felt in direction of the Steelers after they acquired Russell Wilson. He is an effective locker room man and he, too, has one thing to show, if given the possibility. The Eagles had no bother saying goodbye to Marcus Mariota. So, getting Pickett is an improve on this space.
Will Barkley, Huff, Gardner-Johnson, White, Baun and Pickett be sufficient to right the epic crash of the 2023 Eagles? Most likely not. Bear in mind, this workforce was in freefall, shedding six of its final seven and hemorrhaging errors, with gamers actually working into one another like a foul, slapstick comedy.
It’s a workforce in want of a severe angle overhaul, after they appeared to stop within the Tampa Bay playoff loss. As Troy Aikman stated through the 32-9 loss to Baker Mayfield and the Bucs, the Eagles appeared like “a defeated workforce they usually had been once they got here in.”
There’s a lot that must be mounted.
The NFL Draft is a month away. The Eagles have three of the highest 53 picks. Possibly some severe areas of concern might be addressed then.
As of now, the 2024 Eagles may very well be “Dream Staff II,” a multitude of big-name expertise ready to occur. The 2024 Eagles, nevertheless, can’t end 8-8 because the 2011 debacle “Dream Staff” Eagles did. The NFL performs 17 video games now.
As of Monday, the Eagles opening over/beneath win complete for 2024 is 10.5, together with the Detroit Lions, Inexperienced Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons—all trailing the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers (11.5).
The final time anybody appeared, are the Eagles, who misplaced six of their final seven, actually one recreation behind the 49ers?
Joseph Santoliquito is a corridor of fame, award-winning sportswriter primarily based within the Philadelphia space who has written function tales for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin and The Philadelphia Inquirer/Every day Information. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a particular undertaking piece for ESPN.com referred to as “Love at First Beep.” He’s most famous for his award-winning ESPN.com function on highschool wrestler A.J. Detwiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015, he was elected president of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America.
