Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

No Fun So Far

Posted March 9th, 2026 | 1 Comment »

Free agency can be a lot of fun when your team makes big moves. It isn’t as much fun when you have a stacked roster and other teams come and take away your players. That’s what the Eagles went through on Monday.

There were projections that Jaelan Phillips would get about $22M per year. Some thought a team might overpay and drive that number up to around $25M. Not even close.

Wow. Good for Jaelan, bad for the Eagles. Carolina was desperate for pass rush help. They tried to sign Milton Williams a year ago but were outbid at the last moment. They decided not to let that happen again. They blew the market wide open with this deal.

The Eagles wanted to keep Phillips, but weren’t going to overpay for him. They have limited cap space and couldn’t hand Phillips a blank check. The one positive here is that the Eagles will get a third round comp pick for Phillips in 2027 as long as they don’t sign anyone in his price range. Howie Roseman will want that pick so the Eagles are going to be selective shoppers.

Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt return as the projected starting edge rushers. The Eagles still need to add to the position. The smart move would be to sign Bradley Chubb. He’s played for Vic Fangio and remains a productive rusher. The Eagles are also linked to Jonathan Greenard, who the Vikings are shopping. Chubb got cut by Miami so he wouldn’t count against the comp pick formula. Greenard would be a trade and also not affect the comp pick.

There are some lesser free agents the Eagles could consider. If Fangio wants a bigger body (like Phillips), they could go after AJ Epenesa from Buffalo. He’s 6-6, 260 and would be a good run defender and adequate pass rusher. There is also a good group of edge rushers in the draft. The Eagles could spent an early pick to add to the mix.

I do think it is important to remember the team likes Smith and Hunt. Smith wasn’t healthy last year and his play reflected that. Hunt had a breakout season, but still has room to improve. The Eagles wanted to keep Phillips to have a really strong group of edge rushers. Losing him hurts, but it doesn’t kill the defense.

*****

Some people are frustrated by the lack of activity. I get it. You want the Eagles to do something. Howie warned that this would be another quiet offseason. That’s what happens when you draft well. You focus on keeping guys and not chasing after big name free agents.

Be patient. Howie will add some players in the coming days. Don’t expect splashy moves. With the state of the roster and the cap situation, the Eagles have to be selective shoppers. That’s what smart teams do. It isn’t fun in March, but tends to work well in the season.

*****

The team was able to keep DB Michael Carter.

Carter offers depth at safety and at nickel. He played a bit more late in the season. Fangio seems to like Carter so keeping him around makes good sense. You always like depth and versatility in your secondary. The new deal opens up some extra cap space for the Birds to spend.

*****

Jahan Dotson signed with the Falcons. His deal was big enough the Eagles could get a comp pick for him, but they will certainly sign someone who cancels this out. Good luck to Jahan with the other Birds.

His departure means Darius Cooper is WR3 for now. The Eagles like Cooper, but they will add someone in free agency or the draft to upgrade that spot.

*****

No word yet on other key free agents.

Dallas Goedert
Nakobe Dean
Reed Blankenship

There was a lot of movement in the TE market today, but nothing about DG. That may mean teams aren’t overly interested. Or he could be a hot commodity tomorrow when teams see what options are left. The Eagles have interest in keeping him if the price is right. While a lot of TEs signed today, the numbers were reasonable.

Everyone still expect Dean to leave in free agency. There were several LBs coming and going around the league. The new deals weren’t too crazy. Even with a reasonable price, I don’t anticipate the Eagles being able to afford to keep Dean.

There was also some movement in the safety market. Nothing on Blankenship, though. He is a solid starter and would upgrade some teams. But he’s not a difference-maker. You aren’t going to throw a lot of money at him. Maybe the Eagles will be able to keep him. All about the dollars.

UPDATE

As soon as I hit publish we got this news.

Good for Nakobe.

*****

Let’s hope this procedure helps both Dickerson and Jurgens. When healthy, they are an outstanding duo. Neither guy was healthy last year and it showed in the OL’s struggles.

*****

The Eagles got some good news in regard to the draft.

They were only expecting to get three comp picks. Apparently Josh Uche didn’t count against the formula and that helped to add the sixth round pick.

*****

Still no update on the AJ Brown situation. The top two free agents are off the market, with Alec Pierce staying in Indy and Mike Evans signing with the Niners. That means AJ is far and away the best receiver available. If the Patriots want a difference-maker, they are going to have to pay a steep price for him.

Still hard to read this situation. The asking price may scare teams off and we could see AJ stay in Philly. Stay tuned.

_

Ready…Set…Tamper

Posted March 9th, 2026 | No Comments »

The offseason really gets going today when legal tampering starts at noon. Normally this is a very exciting time for Eagles fans. Howie Roseman is an aggressive GM and goes after star players. Today will likely be less exciting, with the Eagles focused more on keeping their own guys than chasing free agents.

Let’s look at the projected starting lineup before we talk about options. It is always helpful to know what you have and what you need.

WR – AJ Brown
WR – DeVonta Smith
WR –
TE –
LT – Jordan Mailata
LG – Landon Dickerson
C – Cam Jurgens
RG – Tyler Steen
RT – Lane Johnson

Edge – Nolan Smith
DT – Jalen Carter
NT – Jordan Davis
Edge – Jalyx Hunt
LB – Zack Baun
LB – Jihaad Campbell
SS –
FS – Drew Mukuba
CB – Quinyon Mitchell
CB –
NB – Cooper DeJean

You can see that there are some holes in the lineup. The Eagles could bring back their own guys at most of those spots. Receiver is the one place where they may want to upgrade on Jahan Dotson. He was adequate, but didn’t stand out in any way.

Now let’s talk about the open positions.

WR – It is really tough to discuss this without knowing how the AJ Brown situation will play out. If he’s back, all you need is a complementary player. If you move AJ, there is a major hole that needs to be addressed with a key resource (high pick or key free agent/trade). For now, let’s assume AJ stays. The Eagles might prefer to add a speedy receiver to help stretch the defense. Fran Duffy floated Brandin Cooks as an interesting option. He’s a proven veteran with good speed and the cost would be reasonable. Romeo Doubs might cost more than they want to spend, but he knows Sean Mannion and the system he wants to run. Gabe Davis doesn’t have top speed, but he was a good downfield receiver for the Bills and would be an interesting option.

TE – The cupboard is almost bare. The Eagles need to add several players. Expect this to be a combination of free agents and draft picks. Most people expect Dallas Goedert to leave in free agency. The Eagles do have some interest in bringing him back, but the price would have to be right. If DG leaves, there will be some options to replace him. Isaiah Likely is an undersized receiving TE who could be an interesting fit in the new offense. If they prefer more of a true 2-way TE, Cade Otton might make sense. David Njoku will turn 30 this summer. I don’t know that the Eagles would want an older player, but he’s a good receiver with consistent production.

Edge – The team has Smith and Hunt so there isn’t technically a hole in the lineup. This is a spot where you need more than just starters and the focus is on trying to re-sign Jaelan Phillips. Ian Rapoport just said there is “significant momentum toward a deal” for the Eagles to keep Jaelan Phillips in Philly. That would be a great start to the offseason. There is still no guarantee this gets done. If the Eagles have to replace Phillips they could go for veteran Bradley Chubb who has played for Vic Fangio. Odafe Oweh was really good for the Chargers last year and is in the prime of his career. He wouldn’t be cheap, but could be a nice addition.

S – Reed Blankenship has started the past three seasons for the Eagles. They would probably love to keep him around. The key here is cost. Blankenship is a solid starter, but he’s not a guy you can overpay. There may not be a great market for him so it’s possible the team can work something out with him. Blankenship will want to see what is available. This is a spot where the team could focus on the draft. There is a good safety class. I think the team would be smart to bring back Marcus Epps regardless. Sydney Brown is still in the mix, but he’s yet to show he can be more than a good STer.

CB – I don’t know what to expect here. Adoree Jackson started slow last year, but played better as the season went along. There is an argument to be made for bringing him back. The cost would be reasonable and he knows the system. He is older and his best days are behind him so it’s not an ideal move. EJ Smith floated the idea of the team going after Alontae Taylor, who is one of the top corners on the market. That would give the Eagles a dominant coverage group. I don’t think they’ll spend big, though, so that feels unlikely. There are good corners in the upcoming draft and the team could go for one of them, even as early as the first round. If the Eagles want to take an interesting chance, Kader Kohou played for Fangio in Miami. He’s coming off an ACL injury (last summer) and will be 100 percent for the upcoming season.

There is more uncertainty heading into this offseason than in any other that I can think of. There are a lot of moving pieces and it is really hard to predict what is going to happen because of that. The Eagles have some cap space, but not a lot. They have to be smart shoppers. That could mean a slow start to the offseason. But Howie is Howie and that means you never know what he’ll pull off.

*****

Here is an AJ update.

Still a very confusing situation.

_