March 07, 2026
Over the last few weeks, we've been taking a position-by-position look at which players will likely be back with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2026, and which ones likely won't. Today we'll finish out the series with the specialists.
Regarding the polls below, they are your votes on what you think the Eagles should do, not necessarily what you think they will do. Please think of them more as approval polls for each player.
Previous "stay or go" polls
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Offensive tackle | Guard | Center
Edge | Interior D-line | Linebacker
Cornerback | Safety
There were too many times this season after Eagles losses, particularly down the stretch, in which you could point to a Jake Elliott missed kick and say, "Those points mattered."
• Week 12 at Cowboys: Elliott missed a 56 yarder in a game the Eagles lost by 3 points.
• Week 13 vs. Bears: Elliott missed a PAT that led to the Eagles needing to chase a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter that they did not convert.
• Week 14 at Chargers: Elliott missed a 48 yarder in a game that went to overtime.
• Wild Card Round vs. 49ers: Had Elliott not missed a PAT after the Eagles' first TD of the game, the Eagles would've only needed three points to tie on their final drive instead of a TD to win.
On the season, Elliott connected on just 74.1 percent of his field goal attempts, well below the league average.
Elliott is pretty safely the best kicker in Eagles history, but over the last two seasons, he has simply become too unreliable, and he does not have the power leg that many of the other kickers around the league do.
Per Spotrac, Elliott is scheduled to count for $4,893,000 on the cap in 2026. If the Eagles were to release him, he would count for $6,469,000 in dead money. If they released him with a June 1 designation, $2,613,000 would count toward the 2026 cap, and $3,856,000 would count toward the 2027 cap.
The Eagles should move on, but my gut says they'll talk themselves into one more season with him. Stay.
The 2025 season was Mann's third as the Eagles' punter. He averaged 49.9 yards per punt, with a net average of 42.8. He seemed fine. Like, I can't recall any moments during the season in which the fanbase was mad at the punter, like they were so often during the Arryn Siposs era.
The punting metrics say that Mann was a little below average, in terms of EPA per punt. Via Puntalytics:
Final punter rankings of the 2025 season:
— Puntalytics (@ThePuntRunts) January 5, 2026
Congrats to everyone on another great year! pic.twitter.com/djcmM4P1lt
During locker room cleanout day, Mann didn't seem certain he'd be back in 2026, and neither am I. Still, I'll guess he returns. Stay.
Last offseason, the Eagles replaced Rick Lovato with Hughlett, who long snapped for the Browns for the last decade. It's not often that long snappers are considered injury prone, but Hughlett missed 12 games in 2024 with a rib injury. He also missed most of 2025 training camp with a neck injury, and he went on IR during the season with a core injury, and missed nine games total.
Prior to this recent spate of injuries, Hughlett had a streak of 152 straight games played.
We should probably note that Hughlett isn't even on the team currently, as he was released near the end of the season, added to the practice squad, and was a gameday callup for the final two games. Hughlett will turn 36 this offseason. The Eagles should probably look for a younger guy to throw the ball through his legs. Go.
Green = Stay
Red = Go
Blue = Will be back in camp in 2025, but a 53-man roster spot is not a given.
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| QB | Jalen Hurts (stay) | Tanner McKee (stay) | Sam Howell (go) | |
| RB | Saquon Barkley (stay) | Tank Bigsby (stay) | Will Shipley (stay) | A.J. Dillon (go) |
| WR | A.J. Brown (go) | DeVonta Smith (stay) | Jahan Dotson (go) | Darius Cooper (back in camp) |
| WR (cont.) | Britain Covey (back in camp) | Johnny Wilson (back in camp) | ||
| TE/FB | Dallas Goedert (go) | Grant Calcaterra (go) | Kylen Granson (go) | Cameron Latu (back in camp) |
| TE/FB (cont.) | Ben VanSumeren (back in camp) | |||
| OT | Lane Johnson (stay) | Jordan Mailata (stay) | Fred Johnson (go) | Cameron Williams (back in camp) |
| OT (cont.) | Myles Hinton (back in camp) | |||
| OG | Landon Dickerson (stay) | Tyler Steen (stay) | Matt Pryor (go) | |
| C | Cam Jurgens (stay) | Brett Toth (back in camp) | Drew Kendall (stay) | Willie Lampkin (back in camp) |
| ED | Jaelan Phillips (stay) | Nolan Smith (stay) | Jalyx Hunt (stay) | Brandon Graham (stay) |
| ED (cont.) | Josh Uche (go) | Azeez Ojulari (go) | Ogbo Okoronkwo (go) | |
| iDL | Jalen Carter (stay) | Jordan Davis (stay) | Moro Ojomo (stay) | Byron Young (stay) |
| iDL (cont.) | Ty Robinson (stay) | |||
| OBLB | Zack Baun (stay) | Nakobe Dean (go) | Jihaad Campbell (stay) | Jeremiah Trotter (stay) |
| OBLB (cont.) | Smael Mondon (stay) | |||
| CB | Quinyon Mitchell (stay) | Cooper DeJean (stay) | Adoree' Jackson (go) | Kelee Ringo (stay) |
| CB (cont.) | Jakorian Bennett (back in camp) | Michael Carter (go) | Mac McWilliams (back in camp) | |
| S | Reed Blankenship (go) | Andrew Mukuba (stay) | Marcus Epps (stay) | Sydney Brown (stay) |
| K/P/LS | Jake Elliott (stay) | Braden Mann (stay) | Charley Hughlett (go) |
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