PHILADELPHIA – It’s never fun for fans to sit idly by while other teams throw out large chunks of money and make trades to try to figure out how to dethrone the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles.
Plenty of teams did exactly that, while the Eagles’ big play on the first day of free agency’s legal tampering was bringing out Saquon Barkley to discuss his two-year contract extension. That’s not bad, because one of the league’s premier running backs isn’t going anywhere for four years, but key pieces to the Eagles’ second Lombardi Trophy won in the last seven years walked out the door on Monday.
The caveat, of course, is the moved can’t become official until Wednesday at 4 p.m., but there’s no reason to think much will change from now until then.
General manger Howie Roseman warned us of the potential inactivity during this first wave of free agency, where the money being tossed around is incredibly eye-popping.
"It may look different,” he said. “Some of the moves that we may have to make here may not be what are necessarily on other peoples’ minds. ...It's probably not going to look like maybe the conventional wisdom thinks it should look. I would just ask our fans to just have patience throughout the offseason. The offseason doesn't stop in free agency. The offseason doesn't stop in the draft.”
Here's a recap of the day’s events and who it impacted the Eagles.
Milton Williams to Patriots. Moving on was expected for the defensive tackle, and the Patriots were willing to make him the third-highest paid defensive tackle in the league.
Contract: Williams gets a four-year deal worth $26 million per year.
Impact: Losing a home-grown, 25 year old who still has upside is not easy, and this one could hurt the Eagles in the short-term.
Josh Sweat to Cardinals. The Eagles’ fourth-round pick in 2018 is on the move, taking 43 sacks in 104 career games with another five more in nine postseason games to the Arizona Cardinals and his former defensive coordinator, now head coach Jonathan Gannon.
Contract: It’s a four-year, $76.4 million deal with $41M guaranteed.
Impact: His departure leaves a hole on the edge that needs to be filled, likely in the draft.
Isaiah Rodgers to Vikings. The cornerback the Eagles gave a second-chance to after signing shortly him after he was suspended has bolted after a season in which he provided up-average depth while occasionally filling in for Darius Slay. He played 31 percent of the defensive snaps and was credited with four pass breakups and one forced fumble. In four playoff games, he had three pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Contract: It’s a two-year deal worth up to $15 million with $8M guaranteed.
Impact: Once the Darius Slay release is official, the Eagles will have lost two cornerbacks. Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks could battle it out with a draft pick or a free-agent signing to start.
Oren Burks to Bengals. The linebacker provided excellent depth and was a force in the postseason after Nakobe Dean was lost to injury on Wild Card weekend.
Contract: It's a twoyear deal worth $5 million.
Impact: The Eagles' depth takes a hit here, but Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., and Ben VanSumeren are still on the roster and a linebacker could arrive via the draft.
TRADE
Kenny Pickett to Browns. The Eagles backup quarterback was sent to Cleveland for a fifth-round pick in this spring’s draft and the Browns’ No. 3 backup QB, Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Contract: McKee will make $2.2 million over the next two years; DTR will make $2.3M over the same amount of time.
Impact: the move likely elevates Tanner McKee to the top backup role, with DTR slotting in at No. 3.
NOTABLES
-Cornerback Darius Slay has not officially been released, though he has been given permission to seek a trade with other teams. The Steelers are reportedly heavy into those conversations.
Impact: Slay only wants to play one more season, so whatever happens doesn’t move the needle much.
-The Commanders traded for left tackle Laremy Tunsil. To land Tunsil, Washington sent the Houston Texans a 2025 third-rounder, and a second and third in 2026. The Commanders get Tunsil and a fourth in this year’s draft.
Impact: Washington’s offensive line got a lot better.
-Former Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick signed with Tampa Bay for one year and $14 million. The Eagles play the Bucs again this offseason, so they will likely see the player that put up 19 sacks counting the postseason in the Eagles run to Super Bowl LII.
Impact: Not much. He wasn’t returning to the Eagles.
