Although the entertaining Sixers and Phillies have dominated the Philadelphia sports conversation over the past month or so, the Eagles have been making some monumental free agency acquisitions that could have them poised for another Super Bowl run.
Let’s start with who they DIDN’T acquire/re-sign. Although Nick Foles holds such a special place in my and many other Philadelphians’ hearts, Howie did the right thing by letting him sign that massive deal with the Jaguars to be their franchise quarterback. Howie did a great job (unlike the Giants’ front office) of not being beholden to any players by letting Golden Tate, Jordan Matthews, Jordan Hicks, and Michael Bennett go to avoid resigning them to budget crippling salaries.
Instead, he made smart, conservative moves that maintained the defensive core of the Eagles with the resigning of Brandon Graham while also restructuring the contracts of Chris Long, Nigel Bradham, and Fletcher Cox. Along with this, Howie did pursue gaps in the roster by signing L.J. Fort, a promising yet under-utilized linebacker from Pittsburgh, along with veteran safety Andrew Sendejo to bulk up a struggling Eagles’ pass coverage. Finally, to sustain the Eagles defensive identity as one of the best no-blitz pass rushes in the NFL, they signed a guy who is quick and can get to the quarterback in Malik Jackson.
On the other side of the ball, the front office added offensive talent in DeSean Jackson to help Carson Wentz over the top and to add another tenured presence to the locker room for a relatively cheap contract while resigning Jason Peters to keep the formidable offensive line unit in tact.
Overall, the Eagles did themselves plenty of favors this free agency period and have surrounded Carson Wentz with a squad that should boost them to at least an NFC East title next season. We at JTP are excited for the future.
Just The Phacts 