2025 NFL Offseason Primer: Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

Projected Cap Space: $17 million

Draft Picks: 7

• 1st (No. 31)
• 2nd (No. 63)
• 3rd (No. 95)
• 4th (No. 129, DET)
• 5th (No. 162, HOU)
• 5th (No. 166, WAS)
• 5th (No. 168)

Notable Free Agents: 

• LB Zack Baun
• DE Josh Sweat
• DT Milton Williams
• OL Mekhi Becton
• DE Brandon Graham
• CB Isaiah Rodgers (RFA)
• RB Kenneth Gainwell
• CB Avonte Maddox
• G Fred Johnson
• TE C.J. Uzomah
• LS Rick Lovato

Top Three Needs

1 – Defensive Line

The Eagles won the Super Bowl on the back of a dominant performance from their defensive line. Philadelphia didn’t blitz once in the first half and still recorded pressure on more than half of Kansas City’s pass attempts. Keeping that strength strong has been Eagles GM Howie Roseman‘s top priority throughout his tenure and that won’t change in 2025. 

There will be challenges, though. Because of the way the Eagles structure their contracts, what you see is what you get with their current salary cap picture. There aren’t levers to pull like restructures or cuts to get more space, the Eagles are nearly maxed out with their spending. The exception is a few potential June 1 cuts, but that’s not money that will help during free agency in March to keep players like Williams and Sweat who have put themselves in position for massive raises. 

Fortunately the Eagles have guys in the pipeline behind them. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis should keep defensive tackle a strength with Williams gone, and at defensive end the Eagles have Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt who look primed to step into bigger roles if Sweat leaves and Graham retires as expected. Philadelphia also has big 2024 free agent signing Bryce Huff under contract, though he was a healthy scratch in the Super Bowl and did not make much of an impact all year. 

Reloading the room behind those guys will be one of Roseman’s top goals. More attention is needed at edge rusher than defensive tackle, as the Eagles like to use a rotation and would be thin with just Smith, Hunt and Huff. It would not be surprising to see Roseman try to cut his losses and trade Huff even though he’s owed $16.75 million guaranteed. It’s clear Huff isn’t a fit for what DC Vic Fangio is looking for from his edge rushers. 

2 – Offensive Tackle

A mark of Roseman’s brilliance has been how he consistently sets the Eagles up to be able to look forward at positions of need and have answers already on the roster. It’s a luxury that comes from having a quality hit rate on other moves. The Eagles had young defensive linemen ready to step up over the past few years and had a replacement for C Jason Kelce in Cameron Jurgens ready to go when Kelce retired. 

Now they can look ahead at offensive tackle. Elite RT Lane Johnson has said he plans to play in 2025 but after that things are up in the air. The six-time Pro Bowler turns 35 in May and plays a grueling position. Getting a player in the building that the Eagles can groom to take over for Johnson, whether it’s in a year or two or three, would be an ideal scenario. 

3 – Linebacker

Linebacker has traditionally been an area the Eagles have skimped on in order to be able to maximize resource allocation to both lines of scrimmage. Philadelphia cycles through low-cost free agents and draft picks, usually with a maximum of third-round capital, and has let plenty of players walk once they’ve outplayed what they’re willing to spend to keep them. Baun looks like the latest after he signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal as a free agent in 2024 and ended up having a truly outstanding season. The Eagles still have Nakobe Dean and were excited to land Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in the fifth round this past year, but a couple more dart throws are needed to try and find another Baun, as he was an under-the-radar reason Fangio’s defense was so successful. 

One Big Question

Have the Eagles learned to beat the post-Super Bowl hangover?

The Eagles won the first Super Bowl in franchise history after the 2017 season, toppling the Patriots with the help of the classic “Philly Special” trick play. The following season, they slipped to 9-7 and were knocked out in the divisional round, and that year proved to be the beginning of the end for then-HC Doug Pederson and QB Carson Wentz.

In 2022, Philadelphia lost the Super Bowl to the Chiefs. The next season started off hot at 10-1, but the Eagles dropped six of their final seven, including an uninspired loss to the Buccaneers in the wildcard round. It nearly cost HC Nick Sirianni his job. 

Sirianni wasn’t around in 2018 but Roseman was, and the two have surely learned some lessons to try and counteract the natural attrition that meets successful teams. The NFL is designed to pull bad teams up and drag good teams down. The Eagles will lose key free agents and coaches, and most of the rest of the league has had two weeks to a month to get a head start on preparing for 2025. But while the Eagles won’t be able to run things back with the same squad, they should still have plenty of firepower to make a run at going back-to-back.