The Philadelphia Eagles season came to an end Sunday night in a 17-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card game. The Eagles lost Carson Wentz in the first quarter after Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney knocked Wentz out of the game.
Lincoln Financial Field became silent once Wentz went into the medical tent and finally to the locker room and was never seen again for the rest of the night.
Backup quarterback Josh McCown came into the game and did all he could do. This was McCown’s first playoff game in his seventeen-year career. He retired after the 2018 season and became a head coach at a high school in Charlotte and also became an NFL analyst for ESPN.
With the season now over, it’s time to look ahead to what will be a busy offseason for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have twenty-one pending free agents set to hit the open market. Some might return if a deal is right; others simply must be let go.
Here are the names of the Eagles players who will be free agents:
Nigel Bradham OLB 30
Rodney McLeod FS 30
Ronald Darby CB 26
Jason Peters LT 38
Nate Sudfeld QB 26
Nelson Agholor WR 27
Vinny Curry DE 32
Josh McCown QB 41
Timmy Jernigan DT 27
Darren Sproles RB 37
Richard Rodgers TE 28
Hassan Ridgeway DT 25
Jordan Howard RB 25
Shelton Gibson WR 25
Halapoulivaati Vaitai G 27
Kamu Grugier-Hill OLB 26
Jalen Mills S 26
Craig James CB 24
Deontay Burnett WR 22
Corey Clement RB 25
Cameron Johnston P 28
Out of the twenty-one players on this list, I think some of them will be brought back if the deal is right. The players I would like to see return are Cameron Johnston, Shelton Gibson, Vinny Curry, Nate Sudfeld, Jordan Howard, Deontay Burnett, and Corey Clement.
The other players not on this list are Malcolm Jenkins, who wants a new deal, and Jason Kelce, who might retire. If these two are not with the Eagles next year, then they will need to find a new center for Wentz and more likely draft a replacement for Jenkins.
The other person I would like to see back is Josh McCown, who will likely retire. I would love to see him come back as a coach. He is an excellent motivator for the young players on this team, and his presence would be a great fit for the Eagles. Players and coaches respect him from around the NFL.
Another move the Eagles must make are replacing Mike Groh and Jim Schwartz. Both of these coaches need to go. Doug Peterson needs a new Frank Reich. Someone who is not afraid to change up a play when he sees it is not going to work and lets the quarterback know right away.
There are a couple of people I would like to see become an offensive coordinator. They are Duce Staley and current Ravens quarterback coach James Urban. Urban used to be with the Eagles under Andy Reid and was a quarterback coach from 2009-2010. Urban has worked with Peterson in the past and would be a nice reunion. Urban currently coaches Lamar Jackson, and you see what Jackson has done this year.
If Jim Schwartz does indeed leave the Eagles as he will interview for the Cleveland Browns job, there are other top defensive coordinators who would fit right in. I think the candidates the Eagles could look at are former Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, current Houston Roughnecks defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, and former Bengals coach and Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. Anyone of these guys would be an upgrade over Schwartz.
The areas that the Eagles must improve on through free agency and the draft are the secondary, offensive line, linebackers, and defensive line. The wide receiver position needs minor tweaks. I do think that the Eagles will try and trade Alshon Jeffery and restructure Desean Jackson’s contract. A quick note on Jackson, I do think the Eagles and Jackson will come to a new agreement on his contract. Now on to Alshon Jeffery, who is owed $15.69 million for the 2020 season.
The Eagles are going to have to eat a lot of money and possibly send a draft pick or a player to a team that is willing to take Jeffery’s contract. That money could be used for drafting a wide receiver, signing a wide receiver in free agency since Nelson Agholor is likely gone and sign guys to extensions who have established themselves on the roster like Greg Ward, Robert Davis, bringing back Shelton Gibson, and Deontay Burnett along with last year’s pick J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.
I still think Arcega-Whiteside can bring something to the table. I have a rule of thumb when it comes to drafting players, and that’s three years. He just wrapped up his rookie year and was targeted twenty-two times, catching ten passes for 169-yards and one touchdown, let’s see how he does in year two. A quick note on the tight ends, I think the Eagles should bring back Josh Perkins as the third-string tight end with Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert.
The other question going into the offseason is what do they do at the running back position. Currently, Jordan Howard will be an unrestricted free agent, and Corey Clement will be a restricted free agent. Who do you bring back? Miles Sanders and Boston Scott have emerged as a one-two punch at running back.
I think Howard will look for a big contract even though he missed six games. If he takes a “prove it deal,” which usually is one year, then I think he should come back. Cory Clement, I think, will return unless the Eagles feel is no longer needed, and they can pursue someone else in the draft or free agency.
The last question going into the offseason is who will be the backup to Carson Wentz? Carson Wentz took a big hit against the Seahawks and didn’t return. Wentz has had a lot of injuries in his short career. The Eagles need to sign at least three quarterbacks. Nate Sudfeld was to be the backup to Wentz until he got injured in the preseason.
There will be other quality backup quarterbacks available this offseason like Case Keenum. I would also pay attention to the XFL as there will be other good quarterbacks like Cardale Jones of the DC Defenders, Landry Jones of the Dallas Renegades, former Temple quarterback Phillip Walker of the Houston Roughnecks, and Aaron Murray of the Tampa Bay Vipers playing this year.
Once the XFL season is over and if they prove themselves out there, the Eagles should immediately pick these guys up. If Wentz were to miss any games next year, one of these guys could step right on it just like what Nick Foles did for the last couple of years. The XFL will be interesting to watch, not only for quarterbacks but other skill-position players.
If the Eagles make some of these moves and stay healthy for next season, they could be in a better position to make a run and possibly play in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. The eagle symbolizes strength and they know how to make their strengths work for them. Now they just have to do the work to build the team for next season.
