March 07, 2024
Last night we solicited questions for an Eagles mailbag via Twitter or whatever it's called now. Thank you as always for doing half the work for me.
Question from @Lepe02: If you were Howie who or what position would you most aggressively pursue during free agency?
I think they're going to end up with a good safety. It's a loaded safety free agent group, and in my opinion they'll be shopping at the top of the market initially. If they play it right, they can perhaps add a good player while also keeping the cost reasonable because it should be a buyers market.
They obviously also badly need help at linebacker, but that group isn't quite as strong or deep. Whatever linebacker they sign probably won't be as heralded as the safety, if that makes sense.
And then at wide receiver and running back, I think there are a handful of guys at each position who make sense for the Eagles' offense.
I'd be very surprised if they didn't add at least one player at all four of those spots.
Question from @Boston_Sucks: Do you think the Eagles have Reed Blankenship penciled in as a starting safety for next season or would they be open to upgrading him if the option presented itself and made sense cap-wise?
I would probably have Blankenship penciled in as a starting safety, yes. They'll likely add a good player in free agency, as noted above, which will give them a trio of Blankenship / Sydney Brown (who is recovering from an ACL tear) / new guy. Even if they also draft a safety, which they wouldn't be doing in the first round, my bet is that Blankenship would still probably begin camp as a presumed starter.
Question from @MrAnthonyWeiss: Obviously, Cam Jurgens is Plan A, but is there any scenario in which the Eagles revisit the possibility of Landon Dickerson as center (say, Cam seems overwhelmed by protection calls or whatever), or have they fully ruled that out?
It'll be Jurgens. There's no Plan B, in my opinion, aside from injury. He understudied behind Kelce for two years and played next to him last season. He should be ready. Will there be some kind of dropoff and some growing pains on that front? No doubt. But you can't keep the training wheels on forever.
Question from LotharZZ: Have they given up on the idea of Tyler Steen being the right guard, or a starter in general, or is there a chance maybe they see him potentially being the replacement tackle to groom behind Lane (seeing as he seemed more comfortable at tackle in camp, short arms be damned…)?
It can take a while for offensive linemen to become good players in the NFL. Isaac Seumalo stunk for his first two-three years before the light finally went on for him. Jordan Mailata took a few years to even get into a game. Early in his career, Lane Johnson wasn't close to the player he is now.
So I do think they'll try to continue to develop him at guard. I do think that at some point if Steen continues to look way better at tackle than guard then they'll have to reevaluate their long-term plan for him, but he was a high pick and he's going to get plenty of time to work through the transition.
Question from @Winston_G: The last 3 years the Eagles have drafted at least 2 players from the team that just won the national championship. If I set the over/under at 1.5 Michigan players being drafted by the birds what are you taking and who are the most likely choices?
I actually had two of them in my latest Eagles-only mock draft -- LB Junior Colson and WR Roman Wilson. I think those two guys make a lot of sense, as does slot CB Mike Sainristil. But I'll take the under.
Question from @eagsfan: What are the cap implications if Fletcher Cox retires? Similar to Kelce or not ? Thanks 🙏
His wouldn't be quite as bad. It would result in $14,300,000 in dead money, which they could spread out over two years ($4,200,000 in 2024, $10,100,000 in 2025) with a June 1 designation. They'd save $1,500,000 on the 2024 cap.
Question from @GoooTeam: Last year, Eagles got picks because the Cardinals tampered with Jonathan Gannon. At the end of this year, there was a report the NFL was investigating Eagles for potentially tampering with Vic Fangio. We gonna get a surprise 30 minutes before the draft?
Mike McDaniel spoke about the parting of ways with Fangio at the NFL Combine. It seemed to be an amicable parting, but also one that was unexpected, via PFT.
“I’d be lying if I said I was expecting that during the season at all. And I think Vic would feel similarly,” McDaniel said. “What happened was basically, I think it’s important when the season ends for you to remove emotion and evaluate and have very, very good conversations with all people that you’re depending on. With Vic and I, we had extensive conversations that was very healthy, and ultimately when push came to shove, it seemed like we both had the opportunity ... it’d be best for both parties involved to literally mutually part.
“So, it wasn’t anticipated. It was something that I think was a factor of great communication between him and I, where we feel like we’re all best served if we go a different direction, which is something that we had mutual belief and excited for both parties moving forward.”
Of course, Fangio consulted for the Eagles in 2022, and they would have hired him to be the new defensive coordinator last year if Gannon hadn't communicated that he was staying in Philly following the NFC Championship Game win over the 49ers. Obviously, Fangio and the Eagles have an established relationship. One could do the math and conclude that the Eagles might have been in Fangio's ear about leaving Miami and coming to Philly, but I'm not sure how you prove that.
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