Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Patience Grasshopper

Posted March 16th, 2026 | 3 Comments »

Some teams have attacked the offseason aggressively, signing a lot of players to fill a lot of holes. Other teams have made big moves, hoping to put them over the top. The Eagles fall into the third bucket. They are one of the teams that has had to shop for bargains. They have lost more than they have gained so far this offseason. That’s no fun for the fans. It has to be even more frustrating for Howie Roseman.

Howie is one of the most aggressive GMs in the league. He loves to make moves and take risks. He’s now a victim of his own success. By drafting well and putting together such a strong roster he’s got to find a way to pay those guys. That means limited resources for some of the open spots. For those of us on the outside it can lead to confusion.

Why isn’t Howie doing anything at safety? All the good players are getting signed! He should have kept Reed Blankenship. What’s going on?

Patience, grasshopper.

There is a method to his madness. Howie has a plan. I’m not saying you can’t be critical of him or that the moves will work as planned. They went after Bryce Huff aggressively in 2024 and he did basically nothing. That team still managed to win a Super Bowl. The year before they signed a bunch of band-aids for the defense and basically none of them worked. That defense fell apart as the season went along.

The Ravens are the non-Eagles team I have paid a lot of attention to over the years. They don’t panic. They are patient. Think of all the times that good players have fallen to them in the draft. It feels like that has started to happen with the Eagles (Quinyon Mitchell, Jihaad Campbell). There are times to go get your guy (Cooper DeJean), but you also need to be able to sit tight and trust your draft board.

Baltimore can also be patient in free agency. Ozzie Newsome wanted to find the right guys. Why go sign some mid-tier player you don’t believe in? Wait and see who gets cut. See if someone is availabe via trade. See if someone from your own roster emerges. But don’t add guys just for the sake of making moves.

Think about the safety position. Howie could have afforded to re-sign Reed Blankenship. He didn’t, though. He could have afforded some of the other free agents we’ve seen get deals. Howie has sat tight. That tells me that he’s got a plan. Unfortunately he’s not been kind enough to share the plan with me. Maybe the Eagles truly belive Michael Carter can play safety. Maybe they will draft someone with an early pick. I still think re-signing Marcus Epps would be a smart idea. He impressed when he played last year.

The Eagles still have options. We just have to be patient to see what the plan is.

Free agency is always broken into segments. There is the first week when it is fast and furious. Teams are going after players aggressively. Signings are coming at us fast and furious. Things settle down over the weekend. The second week of free agency is kind of a re-set. Teams look to see who is still available. Players and agents have to re-set their expectations. Maybe they are now willing to sign shorter prove-it deals. Or maybe just lower their price in general. There won’t be as much activity this upcoming week, but plenty of deals will be made.

Now that Howie has resolved the Dallas Goedert situation, he will have a better idea of what the team can spend and what moves they can pursue. The Eagles still need help at receiver and safety, as well as possibly wanting another edge rusher. The Eagles reportedly showed some interest in Darnell Mooney, but he just signed with the Giants. Fran Duffy mentioned Brandin Cooks as an interesting addition. He’s fast, experienced and cheap (Cooks, not Fran). Jauan Jennings would also be an interesting target.

Jennings is also a very good blocker. He would make for a good addition if the price was right.

There are holes left to be filled. There are deals to be made. They won’t all get done this week. Back in 2017 Howie signed Chris Long and Patrick Robinson three weeks into free agency. There are still good players available. Your scouts have to identify the players who are the right fits for your scheme and organization.

Let’s see what happens.

*****

I know some of you will get the reference in the title. It comes from a 1970’s show called Kung Fu. It was about a boy who was raised as a Shaolin monk and then had to flee to the US and wandered the old West. I watched it as a kid and it was one of my favorites.

Clearly Nick Sirianni is a fan of the show.

More of Master Po’s lessons might lead to another Super Bowl.

_

Dallas Stays in Philly

Posted March 15th, 2026 | Comments Off on Dallas Stays in Philly

Finally. No more moving deadlines. The Eagles and Dallas Goedert finally got things figured out on Sunday.

Re-signing Goedert was the smart move. It adds a quality TE to the roster. Just as importantly, it saves the Eagles from taking a big cap hit of dead money.

Let’s talk about Goedert the player. He went 60-591-11 last year as a receiver. He was outstanding in the red zone. For all of Kevin Patullo’s faults, red zone creativity wasn’t one of them. Goedert stayed healthy for the most part, playing in 15 games. He was still an effective receiver on intermediate routes even though we didn’t seem to see as many of them. The one area where Goedert struggled was blocking. He took a major step back. It felt like the season was one big “business decision” for him, not wanting to get hurt as he headed to free agency. The film is not pretty. There were more than a few plays where his effort was an issue and that is a major red flag for me. Hopefully that will go away this season.

The Eagles now have a solid group of TEs.

Dallas Goedert
Johnny Mundt
Grant Calcaterra
Cam Latu
EJ Jenkins

Goedert is still a good receiver. He will now have Mundt to act as the primary blocking TE. That will help the run game and seeing him block could rub off on the other TEs. Calcaterra is back, but I don’t think he’s guaranteed a roster spot. I still expect the Eagles to draft a TE. That player could easily steal Calcaterra’s spot. Latu should primarily fill the role of FB and play on STs. Jenkins is a handy guy to have on your practice squad.

Max Klare is a draft prospect I like quite a bit. Good receiver. Good athlete. Good effort as a blocker. He was at Ohio State last season, but most of his receptions came during his time at Purdue.

Fun prospect to watch. I think he would be a good fit for Sean Mannion’s offense. He should go in the second or third round.

Getting Goedert re-signed will now give the Eagles a better idea of their cap situation. That will help them to figure out how to handle the AJ Brown situation. It will also let them know what they can spend on free agents to fill the holes still on the roster. There is still work to be done.

This is good news and should help the upcoming week to be more interesting. Moves can be made.

_