Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 2/21/25.
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …
2025 NFL offseason: Projecting bold moves in free agency, draft – ESPN
Trade defensive end Bryce Huff. It seems like everything worked out for the Super Bowl champion Eagles in the 2024 season, but they made one move that didn’t work. They gave a huge free-agent contract to Huff, only to watch the edge rusher fall out of the starting lineup after a few games. He had just 2.5 sacks during the regular season and wasn’t active in Super Bowl LIX. The Eagles aren’t going to have any use for Huff going forward, but someone will despite his off year. So why not trade him instead of cutting him? Let’s find the other teams that were interested in Huff a season ago and the Eagles can try to flip him for draft picks. Atlanta would be an interesting team to start with — the Falcons desperately need pass-rush help and took a look at Huff last year. The Eagles will need to make the trade with a post-June 1 designation because it will give Philadelphia an additional $4.3 million in cap space and $3.3 million in dead money. That’s worth it if the Eagles can get a midround 2026 pick as well.
A.J. Brown is a f***ing champion – BGN
REVIEW: After missing just one game from 2022-2023, Brown missed three games early in the 2024 season due to a hamstring injury. Not rushing him back turned out to be a pretty good decision since he was very effective when he did return to the field. As was the case with Smith, Brown’s receiving production volume took a hit with the Eagles being such a run-heavy offense. But he took advantage of his opportunities and was mostly boringly excellent. The Eagles’ passing game struggles clearly frustrated Brown at one point but any ire did not last long with him and Jalen Hurts quickly getting on the same page. Brown was hampered by an injury that seemingly limited him in the Eagles’ first two playoff games but he looked much more like his usual self in the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LIX. The Eagles ended up going 16-1 in games played by Brown, with the one loss being Week 16 when Hurts suffered a first quarter concussion and was ruled out. Celebrating his inner excellence, Brown delivered a great line during his speech from the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade: “They said I was a diva. They said all I cared about was stats. You can get all of those things wrong about me … but there’s one thing you can get right: I’m a fucking champion!
Ranking the Eagles’ 2025 positional needs: Short-term, free agency edition – PhillyVoice
1) Linebacker. Zack Baun and Oren Burks are scheduled to be free agents, and Nakobe Dean is likely to miss time in 2025 with his torn patellar tendon. Ben VanSumeren also suffered a season-ending knee injury, though he said during the week of the Super Bowl that he’ll be ready for the 2025 season. The only currently healthy Eagles linebacker under contract in 2025 is Jeremiah Trotter, who may or may not be ready for a bigger role in his second season. Baun is going to get a massive raise, and Burks is likely to get a moderate one after his solid play during the playoffs. It feels unlikely that the Eagles will be able to keep both players. If they can, then they’re good to go. If they lose either guy, they will need more veteran depth.
Mo Money – Iggles Blitz
The Eagles knew the cap would go up. I don’t think they anticipated it going up that much, though. It will give them more cap room to work with, which could help them to keep a couple of their free agents. There is no excuse for losing Zack Baun, unless some other team makes him a ridiculous offer. As good as Baun was in 2024, he is an off-ball LB. Those aren’t guys to hand a blank check. You do that for pass rushers, DTs and CBs. Hopefully he and the Eagles can work something out. This could help them to keep Mekhi Becton around. He loved being an Eagle and I’m sure would love to stay. The money just has to make sense. One of the reasons Howie Roseman is so good at his job is that he understands the cap. He knows it will go up and plans accordingly. There is risk in that because the cap has flat-lined in some seasons, but the Eagles front office is adept enough with contracts to get through those years.
Nakobe Dean on Zack Baun: Hopefully what’s best for him is best for Eagles – PFT
Nakobe Dean, who played alongside Baun before tearing his patellar tendon, is hopeful that his “partner in crime” back for another year. “Me more than anybody — especially coming off my injury last year, understands that this is a business,” Dean said, via Jeff Kerr of CBSSports.com. “He gotta do what’s best for him and his family. Hopefully what’s best is the Philadelphia Eagles. Plus, I’m pushing for him to stay for selfish reasons. Whatever he gotta do to make it happen, then he’ll make it happen.”
10 things that made the 2024 Eagles unique among Super Bowl champs – NBCSP
9. They’re just kids: This one is nuts: Eight players league-wide 23 and under had at least one sack this postseason, and four of them – Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt and Moro Ojomo – are Eagles. Carter and Smith had two, Hunt 1 ½ and Ojomo one. Now, the Eagles are the second team with four 23-year-old players with a sack in the postseason. The 2018 Chargers did it with Joey Bosa, Justin Jones, Uchenna Nwosu and Isaac Rochell. But they’re the first team to have three players 23 or younger with 1 ½ sacks. In fact, only the 2017 Patriots (Adam Butler, Deatrich Wise Jr.) and 1982 Raiders (Howie Long, Johnny Robinson) had two. The Eagles got 8 ½ total sacks this postseason from players 23 and under, by far the most ever. The previous high was five by Washington in 1987 (Alvin Walton 3, Kurt Gouveia 1, Clarence Vaughn 1), the 2023 Lions (Aidan Hutchinson 3, Brian Branch 1, Alim McNeill 1) and the Chiefs in 2024 (George Karlaftis III 4, Felix Anudike-Uzomah 1)
Aquarium names baby penguin after Saquon Barkley – NFL.com
What a year it’s been for Saquon Barkley. In the past 11 months, the running back signed a new contract in Philadelphia, rushed for 2,000-plus yards, leaped over a defender backward, won the Offensive Player of the Year award, set the new single-season mark for most rushing yards, including playoffs, and won a Super Bowl — on his birthday. He can add another feather: A baby penguin was named after him. Adventure Aquarium named a baby blue penguin born on Super Bowl Sunday “Saquon” after his Feb. 9 birthday mate.
BREAKING: Saints hire Doug Nussmeier to be their next Offensive Coordinator – Canal Street Chronicles
Since Kellen Moore has become a coach, Nussmeier has been by his side. It was obvious that he would come to the Saints if Moore were hired, and because Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni does not allow his staff to make lateral moves, Nussmeier had to be hired in a promoted role. In 2020, he was named the Dallas Cowboys QB coach, and since then, he has worked with Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, and Jalen Hurts. This is a good history of QBs to work with, and his focus will be on putting the starting QB in the best position to succeed.
The 5 O’Clock Club: Commanders 2025 roster review – quarterback – Hogs Haven
The Commanders have Jayden Daniels and Sam Hartman under contract at the moment. They key question seems to be whether they try to entice Marcus Mariota to return in ‘25, or whether they add a different backup — presumably a moderately-priced veteran free agent — to replace him. Mariota offers some major advantages in that he has a similar skill set to Daniels, he is already familiar with the offense and the team, he reportedly has a very good relationship with JD5, and he played well in (and won) the two games where he was called upon to play significant snaps last season. That said, Mariota has the same pedigree as Daniels (Heismann Trophy winner; 2nd overall pick), and — having played well last season — could be viewed as a legitimate starting option for a QB-needy team. If Mariota heads elsewhere for more money or more opportunity, the Commanders would need to replace him — hopefully without dipping too deeply into the salary cap piggy bank.
Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin will reportedly retire from NFL – Blogging The Boys
With Martin officially retired, the Cowboys will be searching for a new starting right guard, but more importantly a leader in the locker room in Brian Schottenheimer’s first year as head coach. Martin and DeMarcus Lawrence, who also has a questionable future with the team, were the longest-tenured members of the club.
Shedeur or Cam? Daniel Jeremiah says Cam Ward ‘more equipped’ to QB New York Giants – Big Blue View
Jeremiah said that given a choice between the two quarterbacks he would prefer to “chase the up side” provided by Ward. He added that “fit” will be important in how teams evaluate the two quarterbacks. “I think Shedeur is — when you look at the things he does well, the accuracy, anticipation, toughness, he just keeps getting up after taking a beating,” Jeremiah said. “But some of the other things that Cam has, [Sanders] doesn’t have, which is just a little bit more twitch in his body. He [Ward] has a more live arm.” “I think he’s more equipped to play in that division, in that stadium, in that environment that you’re going to get with the weather.”
When it comes to the NFL Combine the hips don’t lie – SB Nation
Much of the Combine’s events are done in a sterile environment, with no stimuli. There’s nobody chasing the players when they run the 40-yard dash, there’s nobody holding a player down when they do the vertical jumps. It’s all meant to make sure that nothing is impeding you from reaching top speed. However, watching how a prospects’ hips move is a great way to judge if a player has the movement skills to be a successful NFL player. Testing their change of direction is like testing an athlete’s response to stimuli, with the direction of their movement being the changing variable. Every player is going to look fast and athletic going in a straight line with no impediments. However, their change of direction could be a much better indicator of overall athleticism, because how quickly you can turn without losing speed or explosiveness affects so many areas in the modern game.
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