March 14, 2022
NFL free agency will essentially begin later today at noon, when the NFL will open a two-day window during which teams are permitted to contact and negotiate with player agents. The first day of the new league year, which is the "official" start of free agency, is March 16. Moves won't be official until Wednesday, but you'll see a lot of players "agreeing to terms" with teams around league during the two-day window.
We've been covering what we think will happen with the Philadelphia Eagles during free agency here for the last few weeks. Who might they sign? Who might they trade? Who might they trade for? Who might they lose? So let's recap that here, in case you missed any of it.
Over the last few weeks we've posted several articles laying out who we think are good fits for the Eagles. They mostly consisted of wide receivers, edge rushers, linebackers, and safeties. Here I'll rank my top 10, and if interested you can click on each player's name for a more thorough profile:
• WR Zach Pascal, Colts: Pascal is one of Nick Sirianni's favorite players ever. In the past, we've seen Howie Roseman throw his coaches a bone by letting them sign their faves, like they did with Chase Daniel for Doug Pederson or about a half dozen players for Jim Schwartz. Pascal won't require a heavy target share and should be willing to do some of the dirty work in the Eagles' offense.
• S Justin Reid, Texans: The Eagles showed interest in Reid prior to the 2018 draft. He is still only 25 years old, and has very good athleticism, capable of playing deep half in Jonathan Gannon's scheme.
• WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steelers: The Eagles reportedly had interest in JuJu last year, and he makes sense as a big, tough slot.
• Edge Chandler Jones, Cardinals: If the Eagles are to make a splash in free agency, the guess is that they'll do so at edge rusher. Jones is aging (32 years old), but he's still a highly disruptive player who had 10.5 sacks and 6 forced fumbles in 2021.
• WR D.J. Chark, Jaguars: Chark would be the tall receiver the Eagles lack at 6'4, with inside-outside versatility and a connection to former Jags GM Dave Caldwell, who now works for the Eagles.
• Edge Haason Reddick, Panthers: Again, if the Eagles make a splash, it'll likely be on a player who can get to the quarterback. The Eagles would have to be creative with Reddick's usage, likely as a hybrid DE/SAM.
• WR Christian Kirk, Cardinals: Kirk would be a great fit as a slot receiver in the Eagles' offense, but if his reported $15 million price tag is accurate, the Eagles will be priced out of the running.
• S Marcus Maye, Jets: Maye would make sense as a mutually-beneficial one-year rental during which he could rebuild his value on the back end of the Eagles defense, while the Eagles find a short-term upgrade on Anthony Harris.
• SAM Uchenna Nwosu, Chargers: Nwosu would be a potential impact player at the SAM spot, where he would be a major upgrade in coverage, against the run, and as a pass rusher over Genard Avery.
• S Terrell Edmunds, Steelers: Edmunds is a size-athleticism freak who has been a decent starter for the Steelers after they selected him in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. It would have been too expensive for Pittsburgh to exercise their fifth year option both on Edmunds and his safety counterpart in Minkah Fitzpatrick, so Edmunds will be a rare first-round player who has played decent enough to hit the free agent market after just four years.
Again, you can click on each players' names for more depth.
• DT Fletcher Cox: Rumors have really picked up the last few days on the Cox trade front, with the Bills, Steelers and Chargers reportedly having interest. Cox was frustrated with his role in Gannon's defense a year ago, and it is beginning to feel like the Eagles are ready to move on. A third-round pick is probably fair compensation at this stage of Cox's career.
• QB Gardner Minshew: The Colts reportedly have interest, which, I mean, lol.
• LT Andre Dillard: It might take a while for Dillard's market to heat up, as he could be someone else's "Plan B or C," but he doesn't have a starting spot on the Eagles' O-line, and he's not an ideal backup because of his complete lack of versatility. Still, Dillard has value after he showed enough in 2021 in some spot starts to make teams believe that he could start for a bunch of NFL teams at LT.
The Eagles have reportedly had interest this offseason in Deshaun Watson. I would view an Eagles trade for Watson as an extreme longshot.
That said, the Eagles reportedly tried to trade for Falcons WR Calvin Ridley before Ridley was suspended for gambling. While the Eagles aren't rumored to be trying to trade for anyone other than Watson as of Monday morning, Roseman is always looking to wheel and deal.
The Eagles' list of potential outgoing free agents won't make anyone lose any sleep, with the biggest name being Derek Barnett. We covered all those guys and their compensatory pick values last week.
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