The writing is on the wall with the Eagles and defensive tackle Milton Williams, who is set to cash in during free agency next week.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman has intimated that this offseason is going to look a little different than it typically does for Philadelphia, a franchise long built on the foundation of its offensive and defensive fronts.
Yet most around the NFL have basically written Williams and edge rusher Josh Sweat off in Philadelphia despite both excelling to a Super Bowl-winning season.
In the case of Williams, the Texas native bet on himself and won big. Just how big will be revealed next week, but early estimates from those in the know are talking about $23 million-or-more from an average annual value standpoint and massive guarantees.
An NFL source told Philadelphia Eagles On SI that Williams has had little contact with the Eagles since cleanout day after the Super Bowl LIX victory, another tea leaf pointing to the preparation for an exit.
The Eagles do have an ascending in-house three-technique type player in Moro Ojomo, who will be entering his third season in 2025 after one in which he proved to be a capable rotational piece over a somewhat significant sample size (490 defensive snaps through the Super Bowl).
The team is also high on Gabe Hall, a high-level undrafted player out of Baylor last season, who spent the entire season on the practice squad. Hall has impressive length at 6-foot-6 and some outside/inside versatility.
However, for a team with such high aspirations, it’s unlikely the Eagles just default to Ojomo, a 2023 seventh-round pick.
"We have young defensive tackles that we're really high on and we have other players who we expect to make a big jump,” Roseman said. “We've added some players from the time the season ended who we're going to get a good look at. We're going to have competition. That's the goal – have as much competition at every position as we possibly can.”
That means multiple bodies will be added on the interior, perhaps a veteran and a Day 1 or 2 draft pick to compete with Ojomo.
Because the Eagles want to play the compensatory pick game this season due to the projected contracts Williams and Sweat will be getting on the open market, the most logical path for Roseman to go is players released from existing contracts.
Former Washington DT Jonathan Allen is still an outstanding player but likely too expensive while Javon Hargrave comes with nostalgic intrigue after being released in San Francisco but he's now 32.
The focus should be on former Seattle DT Dre’Mont Jones, a 2019 third-round pick out of Ohio State by Denver when Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was the head coach of the Broncos.
Still just 28, Jones played significant snaps for Fangio over three seasons and was a solid inside pass rusher with 15 ½ sacks, production that got him a big-money deal with the Seahawks.
If the money is right, Jones could be a no-brainer for Philadelphia.
In the draft, the player who most resembles traits similar to Williams and could be around at No. 32 if things fall right is Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen, a natural three-technique that’s a fit for the Eagles from both need and value perspectives at the back end of the first round.
