Good job by the Philadelphia Eagles in recognizing how they blew it in 2018 NFL free agency.
The last time the Philadelphia Eagles played in the Super Bowl, they came up considerably short the following season.
Philadelphia won Super Bowl 52 over the New England Patriots to finish the 2017 NFL season on the best of notes possible. Although the 2018 Eagles team still made the playoffs, they went 9-7 and only qualified as the No. 6 seed. While they did beat the Chicago Bears on Wild Card Weekend, that team was quarterbacked by Mitch Trubisky, who struggled with making 10-yard completions.
One thing that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has done to mitigate any sort of massive pullback after winning the NFC last year is signing younger players in free agency. After signing veterans like Michael Bennett and Haloti Ngata, who were firmly in their 30s in 2018, Roseman opted to add younger players like Terrell Edmunds and Nicholas Morrow, who are in their mid-20s.
While I still think the Eagles are a massive regression candidate and infinitely more likely to suffer a Super Bowl hangover as opposed to the Kansas City Chiefs, I do appreciate Roseman’s logic in building up a team in this manner. This will be without question the most important season in Nick Sirianni’s young head coaching career. Can he do enough to sustain excellence with Philadelphia?
Keep in mind that the Eagles are so fortunate to have Jalen Hurts as their franchise quarterback.
Philadelphia Eagles hoping to avoid Super Bowl regression like last time around
Bennett and Ngata were more established players when they joined the Birds in NFL free agency. They probably wanted to be a part of something special and link up with the first repeat Super Bowl champions since the 2003-04 New England Patriots. The Eagles were coming off their best season ever, so it was understandable for them to take fliers on veterans who were chasing rings.
Frankly, I don’t think the additions of Edmunds, Morrow and company move the needle at all. What really matters here is to crush the No. 10 overall pick y’all got from the New Orleans Saints and draft a superstar. Maybe you guys are the team that stops the Jalen Carter slide down the draft board? He is the next Fletcher Cox. Or you could replace Miles Sanders with Bijan Robinson.
Ultimately, I am intrigued to see if this philosophical change in team building works out for the Eagles. They have taken big swings in the past. Some have worked out well, while others have blown up in their face. As a third-party observer with no vested interest in the franchise, I have always admired this about them. That all stems from Roseman and top-flight owner Jeffrey Lurie.
I don’t know if the Eagles will repeat in the NFC, but this team should still win around 11 games.
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Author: John Buhler
March 25, 2023 | 11:12 am
