Three free agents who make sense for the Eagles, version 3.0

NFL free agency is just around the corner, and while the Philadelphia Eagles may not be strong candidates to go on a splashy shopping spree, they'll have more ability to spend than they did a year ago, when players left in droves. Here are three free agents who make sense.

Version 1.0 | Version 2.0

Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (26), S, Lions (5'11, 208)

In August of 2022, the Eagles traded a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick for Gardner-Johnson and a 2025 seventh-round pick. Gardner-Johnson proceeded to quickly become a fan favorite, leading the NFL in interceptions that season, with six, despite missing five games with a lacerated kidney.

Gardner-Johnson played out the final year of his rookie contract in 2022, and entered free agency hopeful land a monster contract. Instead, the safety market league-wide was surprisingly soft. The Eagles had strong interest in re-signing Gardner-Johnson early in free agency, however, they pivoted to keeping James Bradberry and Darius Slay in house when Gardner-Johnson turned down the Eagles' offers.

Gardner-Johnson would eventually sign a contract with the Lions that was less than what the Eagles had offered. He suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the Lions' Week 2 loss to the Seahawks, and missed the next 14 games. He returned in January for the Lions' final regular season game, and played well, collecting 4 tackles, an INT and a pass breakups. He also picked off Baker Mayfield in the Lions' divisional round win over the Buccaneers.

The Eagles missed Gardner-Johnson in 2023, as they were depleted at times both at safety and at slot corner. In 2022, Gardner-Johnson played both positions for the Eagles at a high level, and he did so with swagger and confidence, which the Eagles' defense was also missing at times last season.

Would Gardner-Johnson return to Philly after contract negotiations did not go the way that he had hoped? He expressed that there was "no bad blood" between himself and the organization, and it's worth noting that the Eagles were willing to pay Gardner-Johnson more than anyone else was in free agency a year ago. They have also brought back players who previously had messy divorces from the team, like DeSean Jackson and Jeremiah Trotter.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling (29), WR, Chiefs (6'4, 206)

Eagles fans probably know Valdes-Scantling as the guy who dropped a sure TD in the Birds' win over the Chiefs in Kansas City last season.

However, he is a also a legit NFL deep threat at 6'4 with 4.37 speed who has averaged over 15 yards per reception in every season of his career, including a league-leading 20.9 yards per catch with the Packers in 2020.

He also had significant contributions in the playoffs for the Chiefs, making two explosive plays against the Bills in the divisional round, and catching a TD pass in the Super Bowl. He also had a monster game against the Bengals in the AFC Conference Championship Game in 2022, when he caught 6 passes for 116 yards and a TD.

The No. 3 receiver isn't going to see a lot of opportunities in the Eagles' offense, as the passing game is going to go through A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and to a lesser degree, Dallas Goedert. Valdez-Scantling is a guy who isn't going to require a lot of targets, but who can stretch the field for that trio, and he has proven that he can make big plays in big games.

Josey Jewell (29), LB, Broncos (6'2, 236)

Jewell played for Vic Fangio in Denver from 2019 to 2021, initially as a backup before becoming a starter in 2020 and 2021. He only played in two games for the Broncos in 2021, before he was lost for the season with a pectoral injury. In 2020, his only year as a starter from start to finish under Fangio, Jewell had 113 tackles, 2 sacks, and 4 pass breakups.

Over the last two seasons in Denver, Jewell had 236 tackles, 2 INTs, 5.5 sacks, and 4 forced fumbles. 

Jewell is a solid all-around starting linebacker who doesn't possess great speed but is a decent enough athlete otherwise. The bones Eagles' defensive scheme won't look vastly different under Fangio than they did under Sean Desai and Jonathan Gannon, but as we have seen in the past, incoming defensive coordinators like to bring in guys they formerly coached who can help with some of the finer details of the defense. Jewell wouldn't exactly be the splashiest signing, but he does make sense as a player who would bring a floor competency to the position, which the Eagles did not get from most of their linebackers in 2023.