Eagles News: Philadelphia among NFL offseason “winners”

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Eagles News: Philadelphia among NFL offseason "winners”

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 6/30/24.

By Brandon Lee Gowton@BrandonGowton  Jul 1, 2024, 8:23am EDT 

 

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

NFL offseason winners and losers: Bears, Lions bolster NFC North; did Bills or Cowboys improve? - The Athletic
WINNERS: Philadelphia Eagles. A highly productive draft — highlighted by steals of defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean — followed a strong free-agent shopping period that featured the signings of running back Saquon Barkley and defensive playmakers C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Bryce Huff and Devin White. The Eagles also worked out extensions with the dynamic pass-catching duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Howie Roseman’s squad took a bit of a slide backward in 2023 after losing in the Super Bowl the season prior, but the GM has Philadelphia poised to rebound in 2024. [...] LOSERS: Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones took a frugal approach to the offseason. The Cowboys’ most notable free-agent signings were the return of Ezekiel Elliott and addition of linebacker Eric Kendricks (both on bargain-basement deals). Meanwhile, the Cowboys lost Tyron Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Tony Pollard and Dorance Armstrong, and failed to draft a running back. It’s hard to see Dallas defending the NFC East after Philadelphia’s active offseason.

Darius Slay highlights communication issues during Eagles 2023 slide - BGN
We are deep into the offseason, and as Eagles players and coaches enjoy their down time before training camp, Darius Slay called in to Chris Long’s "Green Light” podcast and talked about the 2023 Eagles, what he sees from some of the young defensive players, and Vic Fangio. Slay doubled down on comments he made earlier this offseason, noting that the reason he returned to Philly in 2023 was in no small part due to Big Dom. The CB said that he planned to follow former Eagles DB coach Dennard Wilson to Baltimore, but then Dom called Slay up and the rest is history. He admitted that Philly is a great place to be, but at the time, they weren’t willing to pay him the way the Ravens were.

In Roob’s Eagles Observations: The real issue with Jalen Hurts isn’t leadership - NBCSP
1. Leadership isn’t the problem with Jalen Hurts. Nobody was complaining about leadership when he won five of his last six starts in 2021 or when he went 14-1 with a couple postseason wins in 2022 or when he had the Eagles 10-1 going into December last year. Then the whole thing fell apart and now all of a sudden Hurts isn’t a very good leader. Hurts was a good enough leader to go 29-3 from the middle of 2021 through the middle of 2023. Hurts played lousy down the stretch last year, just like almost everybody else on the team. The problem wasn’t leadership, it was turnovers. If Hurts didn’t commit six turnovers in the Eagles’ last five games they probably would have gone 13-4 and won the division and we wouldn’t be having these conversations. Could Hurts have given a better answer to the question about Nick Sirianni and the offense? Of course. One thing we’ve seen with Hurts since he got here is that he likes to raise more questions than he answers in interviews. He likes being vague, and he likes leaving people guessing. That’s just his personality and it doesn’t win or lose football games. As long as his teammates respect him – which they clearly do – leadership is not an issue. But Hurts finished last year with 19 turnovers, third-most among all NFL quarterbacks last year, seven more than he had in 2022 and most by any Eagles QB since Randall Cunningham had 19 in 1992. Solve that issue and the other issue doesn’t exist. My guess is that playing in a more dynamic and less predictable offense will solve the turnover problem. If you’re uncomfortable with the play calling and unsure what the plan is, you’re going to make mistakes, and that’s what we saw last year. If Hurts cuts his turnovers in half, I guarantee you nobody will be questioning his leadership.

2024 NFL offensive line rankings: Lions take top spot, led by Penei Sewell and Frank Ragnow - PFF
2. Philadelphia Eagles. While the Eagles fielded the NFL’s best offensive line over the past couple of years, there are questions about the unit’s cohesiveness following center Jason Kelce‘s retirement. Cam Jurgens, Kelce’s replacement, has played only 45 NFL snaps at center so far. Jurgens is being replaced at right guard by Tyler Steen, who played just 71 snaps on offense as a rookie and was not overly impressive.

Cowboys’ Micah Parsons rebuts Malik Hooker’s critique of his podcasting habits - NFL.com
Malik Hooker took to a podcast to question Micah Parsons’ proclivity for podcasting. The Cowboys safety spoke for nearly an hour on a Thursday episode of All Facts No Brakes with Keyshawn Johnson about a myriad of Dallas topics, but the take that got the most attention — including from his edge-rushing teammate — had to do with his belief that Parsons must be careful to ensure he remains locked in during the season. "My advice for Micah would be just make sure we’re alright and being where you’re feet are,” Hooker said. "Because if we’re at work and, you know, the run game’s terrible but you’re doing a podcast every week and you know the run game is terrible then what are you really caring about? Are you caring about the crowd that was watching the podcast or are you caring about the success of our team and the Super Bowl that we’re trying to reach?” Parsons took note of the critique, and he responded in a since-deleted post on social media.

2 offensive players who could take on surprisingly larger roles for the Cowboys in 2024 - Blogging The Boys
This year: Jalen Brooks. After being taken in the seventh round of last year’s draft, there weren’t many expectations placed on the wide receiver from South Carolina. Buried behind Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Michael Gallup, Jalen Tolbert, and KaVontae Turpin, where would the rookie get any opportunities to see the field? But with no real receiving standing out after the big two, the Cowboys spread the love and the rookie Brooks got a small taste of action. He caught all six of his targets last year and at least got our attention. This season the team is without Gallup so the WR3 spot is up for the taking. While everyone expects Tolbert to slide into that role, don’t be surprised if it’s the other Jalen who takes the larger step forward. Brooks is a utility knife guy as he does a little bit of everything. With value as a blocker and on special teams, he has that Noah Brown feel to him, but if he starts earning Dak Prescott’s trust, we could see him become more involved as a receiver as well. We’re all rooting for Tolbert to be that guy, but don’t sleep on Brooks.

DT Rakeem Nuñez-Roches needs to give Giants more in 2024 - Big Blue View
That is not the usage pattern he had in Tampa Bay — one that led the Giants to give him $5.465 million guaranteed on a three-year, $12 million contract. Part of that, of course, was due to the Giants’ commitment to Dexter Lawrence at nose tackle. Still, the 6-foot-2, 305-pound Nuñez-Roches’ was asked to play farther away from the ball on a more consistent basis. Perhaps, and this is only speculation, that was part of the reason for the missed tackles and overall lack of impact as a run defender. It will be interesting to see if Nuñez-Roches’ usage and production change with Bowen designing the defense.

The 5 O’Clock Club: Commanders contract watch - Sam Cosmi & Jonathan Allen - Hogs Haven
One of the few veteran players on the team playing on a big-dollar extension is DT Jonathan Allen, who has scheduled cap hits of $21.4 and $23m in 2024 and 2025, respectively. His status for this season seems secure, but the team could save $17m in ‘25 by cutting or trading him after the end of the 2024 regular season. Allen has been a leader on the team since being drafted, but struggled on the field in 2023, and frustration boiled over into his public comments during the season. Many fans have suggested that the team’s best move could be to trade Allen ahead of 2025 (the acquiring team would only be on the hook for $17m in cap hit for the season).

The verdict on Travis Hunter: Will the Colorado star be a better NFL WR or CB? - SB Nation
When the 2025 NFL draft rolls around, teams will have to make one fascinating decision regarding Colorado’s Travis Hunter. Will he be better as a receiver or as a cornerback at the next level? What we saw from Hunter’s first major college season in 2023 was quite a revelation. Hunter was a legitimate two-way star – not a guy who played mostly on one side of the ball, and barely on the other. Hunter was a legitimate both-sides star for the Buffaloes. As a receiver, the 6’1, 185-pound Hunter caught 57 passes on 73 targets for 721 yards and five touchdowns. Per Pro Football Focus, the Jackson State transfer had seven receptions of 20 or more air yards on 14 targets for 275 yards and a touchdown. As a cornerback, Hunter allowed 30 catches on 53 targets for 414 yards, 175 yards after the catch, five touchdowns, three interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 89.7.

Report: Sixers will sign Paul George to four-year max deal - Liberty Ballers
It appears James Harden did not scare away the Sixers’ "Plan A.” Paul George will be a Sixer. The nine-time All-Star is leaving the Clippers and plans to sign with Philly for a four-year, $212 million max deal. ESPN’S Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news. The fourth and final year of the contract is a player option, per Woj.

https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2024/7/1/24189793/eagles-news-philadelphia-nfl-offseason-winners-howie-roseman-dallas-cowboys-athletic-roster-moves