Don’t look now, but Howie Roseman has been absolutely dominating the NFL offseason.
Many Eagles fans were fearful Roseman’s return as the Head Decision Maker would be at worst an unmitigated disaster (and at best a yawn-inducing mediocrity). While no games have been played since Howie’s reinstatement, it’s hard not to be impressed with the first initial flurry of moves for Roseman Round Two.
Wait a second; Howie Roseman has been doing a good job?
Yes, he actually is. In the span of a week, the Eagles dumped a number of salary cap-killing contracts (Byron Maxwell and DeMarco Murray) and scooped up a series of up-and-coming players right off their rookie deals (most notably, Rodney McLeod and Brandon Brooks). This followed a series of extensions for guys fans want to keep around; Vinny Curry, Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, and Brent Celek (who will now become the first Eagles draft pick that will get to retire with the team in a generation). In short, Roseman kept the guys he needed to keep, ditched the guys who were hurting the salary cap, and plugged a number of holes with on-the-rise players.
If you’re into reading those “Offseason Report Cards” every national pundit feels obligated to write, then this is the year for you. Roseman’s March Maneuvering is sure to get some high scores across the board.
Okay yeah Murray and Maxwell weren’t great. But this whole thing was about getting rid of Chip Kelly guys, right?
Yes and no. This wasn’t about getting rid of Chip Kelly’s guys, per se. It was more about getting rid of Chip Kelly’s mistakes. A five year deal for a running back who slides? That’s a mistake. A six year deal for a cornerback that allegedly can’t do a push-up? That’s a mistake. By trading Maxwell and Murray, Roseman got value out of two very bad deals that were only going to get worse. Essentially, Howie exited the hot tub the first time he heard a fart, which is smart, ‘cause the tub was likely to get a whole lot gassier.
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Now, trading Kiko Alonso, that sorta feels like spite. And hey, we’ve all been there; plenty of good sweatshirts have been thrown out ‘cause they were a gift from an ex-girlfriend. But Alonso’s contract was pretty team friendly, and it’s perfectly plausible to imagine he has a bounce-back year in 2016. Of course, it’s equally plausible the guy is just Stewart Bradley Reincarnate. If Kiko reverts back to the player he was in Buffalo, however, this trade may not look as fantastic down the road. For now, Roseman can get away with being spiteful.
Oh, and trading Mark Sanchez to the Broncos (as opposed to Chip Kelly’s 49ers who likely had a higher draft pick to give and reportedly had interest), that was 100% out of spite. For sure.
So the Eagles spent a lot of money in free agency last year then traded those guys away. Now they’re back in free agency spending a lot of money on guys again. That sounds pretty dumb.
Very fair. After all, the team that “wins the offseason” rarely seems to compete during the regular season (For example, the 2011 Vince Young Dream Team, or every Washington Football Team from the 2000’s).
However you’ve got to look at the quality of guys Roseman brought in. The two biggest acquisitions, McLeod and Brooks, feel like the sorta dudes you can buy a jersey of. McLeod is 25. Brooks is 26. In theory, their best years are ahead of them. Even if Joe Banner was still around to send them packing the second they hit thirty, that’s still a big chunk of time spent in midnight green.
Of course, these types of deals don’t always work out. For example, Cary “Scones” Williams was 28 when the Birds signed him. So, too, was Stacy “Shawn’s Brother” Andrews. They were both dumpster liquid. Free agency is a roll of the dice, and Eagles fans know that as well as anyone. However all of the moves Howie made last week, on paper at least, are hard to poop on.
And really, the big coup of the entire offseason is that the Eagles are off the hook for paying Maxwell and Murray beyond 2016. That fact is ridiculous; I can only assume the Miami and Tennessee organizations are run by talking plant life. That, or Ruben Amaro.
Well what’s this I hear about the Chase Daniel contract, and Sam Bradford being traded?
The Bradford-Being-Traded rumor was started when ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio posted a story about if the Birds wanted to trade Sammy, how they would go about doing it. I’m not going to link to it here, because it’s such a stomach-churning example of clickbait, it makes me want to stick my own head in Ryan Mathews armpit (which, presumably, Howie would trade for a 6th-round pick).
Trading Bradford would be incredibly stupid. Forget the on-field product, an argument that will have to continue into the 2016 season; you can’t sign a guy two days before he hits free agency and then trade him a week later. That’s just bad business.
Did the Eagles overpay for a backup quarterback? Sure, but who cares? The reality is the Chase Daniel contract isn’t going to prevent the front office from extending someone like Fletcher Cox. What they’re paying Daniel is almost as irrelevant as to what they’re paying Swoop.
Sure, Daniel could outplay Bradford this summer and end up the starter at some point. The Eagles could also draft somebody, have him sit behind Bradford/Daniel for a year, and take over down the road. No one knows right now; not even the guys inside the Eagles organization. The plan is to let this thing play out, and Daniel is merely another one of the options (albeit the least likely).
In short, the Eagles are in an Open Relationship with their quarterback scenario.
However going back a step: if you’re worrying about the Chase Daniel contract, you probably need to get a hobby.
So what should Eagles fans be worried about?
I mean, tons of things. Bradford’s probably going to get hurt (remember, Sanchez had to start a couple games last season), and Daniel has thrown a grand total of 77 NFL passes. It was all good fun laughing at the Romo-less Cowboys last season, but the Iggles seem a high-probability bet to be on a similar course for 2016. Be nervous about that.
Meanwhile, the knock on McLeod is that he’s a bit undersized. For a guy who takes pride in his physicality, that may not correlate with long-term longevity. Plus, the Eagles safety position will continue to be cursed until Joe Banner shows up at The Linc wearing a kelly-green Brian Dawkins jersey. That’s just a fact.
Beyond McLeod and Brooks, the Eagles loaded up on “Jim Schwartz Guys,” former Buffalo Bills defenders who played under the Birds new defensive coordinator when he was in upstate New York. While Schwartz is likely the most qualified guy to call defensive plays in Philly since Jim Johnson passed, it’s worth noting he was out of coaching all of last year. He’s not exactly the league’s hottest commodity.
Schwartz comes from the Jim Washburn Wide-9 school of thinking, which wasn’t exactly a huge success here last go-round, either. There are definitely reasons for optimism, but there’s also plenty of cause for concern. Also, let's not forget, Schwartz seems like a bit of a jerk. At least Juan Castillo was friendly!
If you’re really looking for something to be nervous about, however, the NFL draft starts on April 28th.
Right! And Howie Roseman stinks at drafting! Remember Marcus Smith!
Yes, Howie did take the responsibility (blame) for drafting Marcus Smith. He should probably take (or at least share) the blame for the drafting of Danny Watkins and Jaiquawn Jarrett as well. Those guys were just full-blown garbage balls.
However, it’s worth noting Roseman was also the GM who drafted Lane and Ertz and Cox. When it comes to the draft room, Roseman hasn’t been phenomenal, but he’s not the septic tank he’s often described as being, either. Additionally, he seems to do better when he’s drafting for talent as opposed to need.
Ideally, the Eagles draft room has a Hollis Thomas-sized sign in it that says “Draft for Talent, Not Need,” because that is when Roseman and Co. tend to be the most successful. Take, for example, last years pick of Jordan Hicks. On paper, the drafting of Hicks made ZERO sense; the Birds had just restructured the deals of DeMeco Ryans and Connor Barwin, they’d extended Mychael Kendricks, and they traded for Kiko Alonso. The linebacker position, in theory, was set.
They drafted Hicks in the third round anyway. Now he’s the teams starting middle linebacker. If the guys are talented enough, the team is going to find a place for them. Hopefully, Howie has learned his lesson here, and he goes into the 2016 draft with a plan to stick to the board.
So what’s next?
Free agency isn’t over. Look for Howie to go bargain-shopping this week once the market settles a bit more (ideally for more secondary and O-line help). Remember, that’s exactly how they got Barwin back in 2013. Keep an eye out.
From a long term perspective, the Eagles need the wide receiving corp to grow up, more youth and depth on the offensive line, and a fresh pair of legs in the backfield. Most important, of course, they need a quarterback, though again, they’ve given themselves another year and change to determine whether Bradford can be that guy.
For those Iggles fans trying to live in the moment, things are feeling warm and fuzzy right now. The Eagles have had as good of an offseason as any team in the NFL, and find themselves in a far better position than they were when Chip Kelly was fired. The credit for that reality should go fully to the much-maligned Roseman.
Whether the offseason success will result in victories come September is another story entirely. For now, though, Eagles fans can feel good.