
January 28, 2025
Saquon Barkley leads a new-look Eagles team this time around in the Super Bowl against Kansas City.
The Eagles are heading back to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. Well, some of them are.
Thanks in large part to their epic, historic collapse last January that brought with it a house-cleaning of sorts, just 20 players who were on the field for Super Bowl LVII in 2023 against the Chiefs are slated to be on the 53-man roster again for the rematch next week (not including Brandon Graham, who is still on injured reserve).
The turnover is actually remarkable. The Eagles will have just 10-of-22 returning starters from the other Super Bowl — just three of them on the defensive side. That's pretty wild, particularly considering the 2022-23 team was a top 10 defense and set a franchise record in sacks.
Just as remarkable, perhaps, is the coaching turnover. The Eagles were forced to replace both coordinators — twice — and have a new QB coach and almost all new defensive positional coaches in 2024-25 too.
The credit goes to Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia front office, which saw opportunities to improve the roster that many did not see.
Here's a look at the upgrades and changes the team has undertaken since their 38-35 loss in Phoenix two Februaries ago at 13 key positions manned by totally different players this time around:
There's no argument here that the Eagles are currently employing the correct former Penn State running back. Barkley ran for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season and is very close to setting an all-time yardage record with the playoffs combined. Sanders has 1,906 yards in his last three season combined, including a few less than stellar seasons in Carolina. Roseman made it very clear he was not looking to sign running backs to multi-year deals — until he did.
It's a subtle upgrade but a meaningful one, as Calcaterra stepped in and didn't miss a beat for injured Dallas Goedert for much of the regular season. He caught 24 passes, 15 of them for first downs as he's also been useful as a blocker for Barkley.
No matter what player snaps the ball for the rest of the existence of the Philadelphia Eagles, they'll always be a downgrade from future Hall of Famer Kelce — but the drop-off could not be more minimal (relatively speaking) as Jurgens has been a fantastic center and catalyst for the tush push this season.
A former first rounder who struggled as a tackle for the Jets, Becton's transition to a guard in Philly could not have gone better. Seumalo, meanwhile has battled injuries with the Steelers. He's earning $8 million a year while the Eagles got a bargain taking a flyer on Becton who was paid just $2.75m in 2024.
The Eagles had sort of a makeshift DT2 spot two years ago, with Ndamukong Suh also in the rotation. Williams was a rotational guy in 2022 but has assumed the role of starter this season.
Hargrave had 11 sacks as part of one of the more prolific pass rush units ever in Philly — they had 70 sacks in all — and it would be a big leap to think they have found a replacement for that production. But Hargrave left for the Niners and $84 million.
Enter Carter. His 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles might be lacking in the on-paper production, but there's little doubt Carter (just 23) has a brighter future and ceiling than Hargrave. He has the potential to be the best defensive tackle in the entire sport. The Eagles got this one right.
Cox is a legend and an all-time Eagles great — Davis has been a beast at times himself but has fallen to third in the pecking order as a more situational player. There isn't a noticeable drop-off at this spot, nor is there in the locker room and that's impressive in itself.
Nolan Smith's turnaround this season has been remarkable. He hasn't been the prolific sack-master that Reddick was, but he has four QB takedowns in the postseason and they seem to come at incredibly opportune times. The youthfulness and talent of the Eagles defense has them chirping every game and they were the best in football this past season.
Edwards was a pleasant surprise during his tenure as the Eagles middle linebacker, so what does that make Baun? The free agent signee has a real case to be the best defensive player in the entire league, and has continued his ferocious play during the postseason.
The Eagles got solid play from Bradberry before he fell off a cliff in 2023. Still, Mitchell is a defensive rookie of the year finalist.
Here's another upgrade that is hard to argue. Maddox remains a rotational backup cornerback who plays on special teams. DeJean is one of the biggest draft steals of the last decade.
The Eagles like Blankenship's intensity, as do the fans. He's been a key contributor, ball hawk and tackler for the team these last two years as an unexpected starting caliber safety.
Siposs punted just twice in Super Bowl LVII, and the Eagles hope the same is true for Mann in two weeks.
The only players on the defensive side of the football who played more than 40% of snaps in 2022 and also in 2024 were Darius Slay, Josh Sweat and C.J. Gardner-Johnson — who ironically enough left for one season with the Lions before returning for this one.
It's a team with a totally new identity. Jalen Hurts threw for 3,701 yards in 2022 and then he threw for 304 in the Super Bowl. This year he threw for 2,903 and a 300-yard performance in the big game would be positively shocking. But they have an identity as a bruising run-first offense and ran the ball more than 36 times per game.
Vic Fangio's defense relies on speed and sharp tackling, and isn't the pass-rush crazy defense the team had under Jonathan Gannon. But they have a plus-10 turnover margin in the playoffs and were an opportunistic bunch during the regular season too, making opposing offense pay for mistakes while limiting big plays.
Perhaps most important is the depth Roseman built into this team. They've escaped to February with very good injury luck but the have not been totally unscathed in 2024. Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, AJ Brown, Lane Johnson, Nakobe Dean, Darius Slay and many in between have missed time. You wouldn't know it from their 17-3 record through 17 regular season games and three postseason wins.
It's a team with a bright future, depth, and the talent to win it all in two weeks. Will their next Super Bowl roster have just as much turnover?
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