February 19, 2026
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
The Eagles have some in-house free agents who aren't household names but could really help fill roles in 2026.
Free agency is less than one month away. The legal tampering period of the new league year begins March 9. From now until then, most of the discourse about Eagles free agency will center on obvious names – Jaelan Phillips, Dallas Goedert, Nakobe Dean, and Reed Blankenship.
All four of them are likely to secure multi-year deals, with Phillips perhaps resetting the market at EDGE.
But the Eagles have 19 total in-house free agents, many of which were role players or significant bench contributors in 2025. They won't command nearly as much money on the free-agent market, and almost all of them are replaceable, but as the Eagles seek a bounce-back in 2026, depth – especially cost-efficient depth – will be important.
Here are some in-house free agent role players that should be welcomed back and won't break the purse strings.
Epps, a starter on the 2022 Super Bowl-losing team before signing a free-agent deal with the Raiders, returned to Philly in August after being waived by the Patriots at the roster cutdown. He initially signed with the Eagles' practice squad but made his way onto the 53-man roster as the Eagles were thin at his position from the start. After going on IR and missing four games, he immediately started upon his Week 14 return with rookie Andrew Mukuba on IR from a fractured ankle. Epps remained a starter for the rest of the season, including the playoffs.
Epps just turned 30, knows the defense inside-out, and can team with Mukuba as a bridge starter for a year before a younger safety prospect takes the spot in 2027, a prospect who won't be Sydney Brown. In terms of level of play, there really isn't much of a difference between Epps and the younger Blankenship, and without much depth at this position the Eagles would benefit from re-signing Epps to a one-year deal. Competition for his services shouldn't be abundant.
Yes, you're reading this correctly. Toth has been a punching bag for fans because his crime is that he's not nearly as good as four other Pro Bowler or All Pros on the starting offensive line, or even starting RG Tyler Steen. But Toth showed in his second start last season – first at center – in a win against the Giants that he can be a serviceable backup when used properly.
The new offense should emphasize outside zone and more horizontal movement along with screens, both of which cater to Toth's athleticism and quickness. The asks of Toth to single block – or even double team – on mammoth iDLs at the point of attack on inside runs didn't play to his strengths.
Imagine seeing more of this from Toth if he's thrust into action, from PHLY's Fran Duffy:
Underrated aspect of this successful screen: Brett Toth's angle to block the safety attacking from depth
— Fran Duffy (@FDuffyNFL) October 27, 2025
Would be VERY easy for Toth's eyes to get big here and make a bee line for him, but he stays flat and parallel to the LOS. Meets him where he's going to be; springs Saquon pic.twitter.com/XhwEw71E1z
Here's a gap scheme outside run that, again, showed what Toth can do when moving horizontally, from Shane Haff:
I legitimately wondered if Brett Toth just couldn't move coming into this game based on the Eagles' refusal to ever pull him (or anyone).
— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) October 27, 2025
Another fantastic gap scheme run here. pic.twitter.com/AuGtn9Llxh
Interestingly, Toth was seen as a teacher's pet for former OL coach Jeff Stoutland, but Toth could theoretically be a better fit for Sean Mannion's scheme than Stoutland's inside zone-heavy playbook. There won't be a big market for Toth. There could be none at all. Given the injury issues the Eagles have up front, they'd be wise to at least give Toth another chance to win a backup job.
Fans, media, Vic Fangio – heck, even Howie Roseman – wanted to replace the veteran at every opportunity, but in the end, Jackson was hardly the disappointment that he was anticipated to be, especially after getting repeatedly roasted by CeeDee Lamb in Week 1. Jackson played in 14 games, started 10, and had more noteworthy moments in 2025 than epic fails.
He came through with critical PBUs in consecutive wins against the Packers and Lions, and two more in that Week 17 win against the Bills. Scary to write, but this actually makes him one of Roseman's better free-agent corner signings.
Here's the big one against Detroit, without any safety help, again via Fran Duffy:
Typically the #Eagles roll coverage towards Adoree Jackson's side
— Fran Duffy (@FDuffyNFL) November 17, 2025
Good change-up here from Fangio late on 3rd-and-10, rolling coverage away from him to Quinyon's side
Adoree pays it forward with an outstanding 1v1 rep vs Amon-Ra St. Brown pic.twitter.com/tGFFqzILW7
The Eagles want Cooper DeJean to keep playing nickelback. If so, they have no obvious candidate in 2026 to play outside opposite Quinyon Mitchell in nickel, which is 75 percent of their defense. Jackson will be 31 but he didn't look like someone who's on the verge of losing a step. Re-sign Jackson to a one-year deal, draft another corner, and let them and Jakorian Bennett compete in camp for the job. (The ship has likely sailed for Kelee Ringo).
Before the Eagles traded for Jaelen Phillips, and before Brandon Graham un-retired, Uche was arguably the most productive edge rusher in the pass-rush rotation – at very least second to Jalyx Hunt, who really had his best games in the second half of the season. Uche, on his third team in two seasons, parlayed a good training camp into a healthy, effective situational role in the four-man rush. He played 60 percent of the snaps in the last game before the trade deadline, then rode the bench and played special teams for the rest of the season except for the meaningless season finale.
Depth on the edge is thin, especially if the Birds can't re-sign Phillips and if Graham decides to re-retire. That would leave Hunt, Nolan Smith and Jose Ramirez as their only EDGEs under contract. Uche hasn't stood out enough to get much attention in free agency so he should be easily retainable at a low price.
Fred Johnson #74 of the Philadelphia Eagles walks back to the tunnel after a NFL wild card playoff football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
Like Toth, Johnson is another lineman who appeared to be Jeff Stoutland's cup of tea more so than anyone else's. Johnson signed with Jacksonville last offseason with hopes of winning a starting job. When he didn't, the Jags were happy to trade him back to Philly so he could resume his role as backup swing tackle.
If you need any more proof about Johnson's value to the Eagles, go back to the Week 3 game against Rams when Matt Pryor replaced an injured Lane Johnson because Pryor, at the time, had practiced as the top RT backup. Pryor played for five disastrous drives, Jalen Hurts was nearly killed, and the Eagles went three-and-out four times before Fred Johnson was subbed in and restored order to the offense.
The Eagles' o-line has some real question marks, both inside and outside. The Eagles are likely to draft an offensive tackle who can succeed Lane Johnson but Johnson has an injury history and you can't depend on rookies to step in and win games. The Eagles have some second-year OTs in Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams to also compete but both were Day 3 projects not guaranteed to make the team. Veteran depth is essential, and Fred Johnson can supply that for another year on a modest salary.
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