December 31, 2022

Eagles GM Howie Roseman won the year in Philly sports

By Shamus Clancy
PhillyVoice Staff

When I started my role as the deputy sports editor at PhillyVoice back in late February, I wanted to start a recurring feature or two that could be a hallmark of the work I create here. I came up with a simple idea: crowning someone as the "winner" in the past week in Philadelphia sports. I did so every Monday, picking a figure that accomplished the most in the previous seven days, all the way up until now.

I kept a running tally of who "won" a particular week at the bottom of every article and it formed a leaderboard. The person who won the most weeks in 2022? Eagles executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman, who took home six of those awards. If not for a late season injury, Jalen Hurts and his five nods could've snuck up and stole the mantle from Roseman.

But, hey, hats off to Roseman for constructing a Super Bowl-caliber roster from the ashes of the last team he oversaw that lifted the Lombardi Trophy. He is as to blame as anyone for the previous Super Bowl window slamming shut, but he's more responsible than anyone for building a roster that should contend for a championship in 2022, 2023 and perhaps beyond that (2017 taught us that the future is all but guaranteed in the NFL, of course).

Much like in the 2017 offseason for Roseman, where veteran free agent signings Chris Long, LeGarrette Blount, Torrey Smith, Alshon Jeffery, Patrick Robinson, and, yes, Nick Foles, all played integral roles in bringing a parade down Broad Street, Roseman's 2022 offseason moves were bullseye after bullseye.

A.J. Brown? He's been everything Eagles fans could've hoped for and more. The Terrell Owens comparisons were immediate and proved true. In 15 games as an Eagle, Brown has 80 catches for 1,304 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 14 regular season games for the 2004 Birds, Owens had 77 catches for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Haason Reddick? The Camden native and former Temple walk-on returned to Lincoln Financial Field and is putting up an All-Pro-worthy year. His 14 sacks are third most in the NFL and he is tied for the league lead in forced fumbles. He's a game-wrecker to the max. The Cardinals and Panthers are such donkey idiot franchises for letting a pass-rusher like Reddick get away. Bad organizations stay bad and good organizations don't stay bad for long. After a rough one-year blip in 2020, Roseman immediately went back to stacking this roster.

James Bradberry? He's actually been better than Darius Slay! He may be out of the Eagles' price range come 2023, but he's been worth well more than his 7.25 million contract for 2022. Remember that line about bad organizations staying bad? That's the Giants for fumbling their cap situation and allowing Bradberry to walk to a divisional rival.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson? He's made the last few games due to injury, but he's still tied for the NFL lead in interceptions. Roseman got him for measly fifth- and sixth-round picks. When will the Saints stop trading with Roseman? Eagles fans don't want that gravy train to end.

Speaking of New Orleans, the Eagles hold the Saints' juicy first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. That's currently slated to be the 10th-overall pick, but if the Eagles can knock off NOLA on Sunday, that pick is gonna be dropping to a single-digit number. Imagine plopping someone like Jalen Carter or Kelee Ringo or Paris Johnson Jr. onto the defending Super Bowl champs' roster. This is a situation fans dream of: contending for a title while also getting caught up in the hype and fun of the top prospects in the draft. It's the best of both worlds.

I don't know if Roseman will win this extremely prestigious honor come 2023, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone he brought to Philly, like Brown or Hurts, did. Roseman built a foundation and it's up to him to keep that house of cards that any NFL roster is from falling over.

Won the Week 2022 Tally:

Howie Roseman: 6

Jalen Hurts: 5

Bryce Harper: 4

Rhys Hoskins: 4

Haason Reddick: 2

Rob Thomson: 2

J.T. Realmuto: 1

Phillies: 1

Eagles fans: 1

A.J. Brown: 1

Nick Sirianni: 1