After what legitimately may have been the craziest two weeks in NFL history in terms of blockbuster transactions (and who knows if we are even done), the offseason is in full blast. Despite all of the action recently, the Eagles are one of few teams that have honestly been pretty quiet. Still, there are a few moves to talk about, so let’s hand out arbitrary grades for what the Eagles have done now that we are past the more chaotic stages of free agency.
Eagles sign Haason Reddick to 3 year, $45 million contract with $30 million guaranteed.
I admittedly did not expect the Eagles to swing big on a free agent pass-rusher and instead thought they would invest draft capital into younger options there. If they were going to make a splash here, though, Reddick was one of the only guys who made sense. Reddick was the 13th overall pick by the Cardinals in 2017. Through three years, he was looking like one of the bigger busts of the class, producing only 7.5 sacks in 48 games (20 starts), and the Cardinals rightfully did not pick up his fifth-year option. However, he turned it around in his contract year with 12.5 sacks, including 5 in one game against the Giants. Reddick signed a one year prove-it deal with the Panthers last offseason worth $6 million, and he showed that his 2020 season was not a fluke, putting up 11 sacks which included two on consecutive plays against Jordan Mailata. Now, he gets to cash in with his hometown team (he grew up in Camden County and went to college at Temple) and fills arguably the biggest need on the Eagles roster.
Still just 27, Reddick is a bendy explosive guy off the edge who was one of the top pass-rushers to hit the open market. The Eagles are planning on using him as a SAM (strong side) linebacker, which is the role Genard Avery failed miserably in over the past couple seasons. The major upgrade at this spot should allow Jonathan Gannon to get more creative with his pass-rushing fronts and just have the position be utilized more in general. Reddick, Brandon Graham, and Josh Sweat off the edge with Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Milton Williams on the interior is a pretty lethal collection of pass rushers in the short-term, in my opinion. Considering other lucrative contracts that were handed out to other, and in my view lesser, players at the same/similar positions (i.e. Randy Gregory and Emmanuel Ogbah), this Reddick contract is arguably a bargain. After not being able to splash in past offseasons due to a complete lack of cap space, the Eagles got good value here that is pretty hard to criticize.
Grade: A-
Eagles Sign Zach Pascal to 1 year, $1.5 million contract
Howie Roseman tried really hard to get a big name at wide-receiver. They were about to get Calvin Ridley in a trade with the Falcons before he got suspended for gambling, they tried trading for Robert Woods as well, and they were supposedly in on DJ Chark, Allen Robinson, and Christian Kirk before they each chose different teams. Thus, the Eagles were essentially stuck with Plan F, which was to bring in a cheap, usable player that Nick Sirianni is very familiar with from their time together in Indianapolis. Pascal is not a player that I have personally ever really been impressed with, as he has never averaged 3 catches or 40 yards per game despite ample playing time on the Colts. Still, it is hard to be pressed over what is essentially a veteran minimum contract, and he is supposedly one of the best blocking receivers in the league, which will come in handy for the Eagles’ run-oriented offense. He has a great relationship with the head coach and, given the current state of Eagles receivers, is still very likely the third-best player at that position on the team. Entering the draft with only Pascal added at receiver would be slightly disappointing, but it is certainly not from a lack of effort from Roseman, so I can’t knock him too hard.
Grade: B-
Eagles do a bunch of nonsense with Fletcher Cox but ultimately give him a 1 year, $14,946,820 million contract
I am not going to pretend that I fully understand what is going on with Fletcher Cox and his extremely complex contract, but I believe they ultimately saved a few million dollars in cap space by releasing him and bringing him back on an alternative deal. There has been some speculation that the Eagles would have been better off moving on from Cox in favor of younger talent. Personally, I am not of the notion that Cox is washed or a complete shell of himself. He was more disruptive as the season progressed and the Eagles became more competitive, and I think his presence was helping free up Hargrave and Sweat for more one on one matchups. Obviously, he is regressing, but I think bringing him back for one more year is justifiable, especially since they have recently passed on multiple opportunities to trade him.
Grade: B-
Eagles bring back several of their own guys on small, one-year deals
Andre Chachere was an exclusive rights free agent, so his return was a given. I thought them not tendering Boston Scott or Greg Ward could have meant that they were planning on moving on from both of them, but they both signed cheap one-year deals early in free agency. Scott’s return perhaps means the Eagles are not going to draft a running back next month with him, Miles Sanders, Kenny Gainwell and Jason Huntley all under contract. The more surprising move in my view was bringing back Anthony Harris (money not yet known). Harris was serviceable, but I was expecting the Eagles to find a younger and/or better option there, though in their defense safeties were getting paid a pretty penny on the open market. To be determined if they bring back Rodney McLeod as well, since they can still use another starter at safety. Overall, nothing to balk at here, but perhaps people were hoping for a little more outside help in the early stages of free agency.
Grade: C
Overall
The Eagles did not do anything dumb, so their grade will not be too harsh, because inactivity is better than bad activity. Still, their total haul during the heart of free agency was certainly a little disappointing. I think it proved more challenging than Roseman was expecting. Perhaps this was because of his still-relative lack of funds (which is from his own prior wrongdoings) or, from the wide receiver perspective, hesitance to sign with such a run-heavy offense and a quarterback who is a little ducks for cover lacking in arm talent. Roseman certainly did not go down without a fight, and the Reddick move was very good, so overall I am content with how he handled the month of March given the team’s standing.
Final Grade: B-
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