With about 2 weeks gone since the start of the new league year and a month until the draft, this offseason has been a frenzy of picks and pro bowlers flying all over the place with 9 figure price tags attached. It seems we cannot go two days without a new blockbuster trade. In this historic offseason, what moves have the rebuilding Eagles made? Probably not as many as we anticipated.
Signed EDGE Haason Reddick to a 3 year $45 million contract.
Haason Reddick was a guy who I had the birds signing in my perfect offseason article, and what do you know! Haason Reddick is coming off the two most productive seasons of his NFL career on prove it deals, and he finally is given the bag he deserves. With 23.5 of his 31 career sacks coming in these past two years, Reddick comes to Philly to most likely fill in the Genard Avery role. His conversion of speed to power and arsenal of speed rush moves will allow him to be even more productive than the less athletic Avery was. This by far was the birds’ biggest splash, and Reddick will be an instant contributor to an already scary Eagles D line
Grade: A
Resigned S Andre Chachere, RB Boston Scott, S Anthony Harris, WR Greg Ward to 1-year deals.
I decided to throw all these cheap deals together because to me they are all relatively the same. These veterans all made some solid contributions this season. Boston Scott and Chachare were both musts to bring back to me, so I am happy with their deals. I do wish we could have signed Scott to a bigger deal just because of how well he fit this offense, but I am happy he is still on the team. As for Harris and Ward, we probably could have done without bringing either back and been fine. Harris was a middle-of-the-road safety who had a single pick with us last year on an inaccurate Tom Brady pass. At 31 years old, the duration is right but we definitely could’ve spent a little more on an upgrade. Safety is still a need despite signing Harris. The Greg Ward signing is seemingly obsolete with a later signing (which I will get into later), and he was barely used. The 3 touchdowns are solid production on 7 catches, but he simply was not used outside of the red zone. He got lost in the already thin depth Eagles WR depth chart, and to me is a great story but did not necessarily deserve to be brought back.
Grade: C+
Retained C Jason Kelce and DT Fletcher Cox for one more year
Two Eagles legends return for 2021! Kelce is still a top center in the league, and hopefully has enough in the tank to help lead this Philly O-line in 2022. Even if not, he is a veteran presence that can mentor his potential replacement. Isaac Seumalo, Landon Dickerson, Jack Driscoll, and newly tendered RFA Nate Herbig will continue to benefit from his leadership in the locker room. After losing one solid veteran in Brandon Brooks this offseason, it was key for the Eagles to bring back Kelce. Cox on the other hand was released and resigned, giving Eagles fans a collective heart attack. While Cox has been on the decline, he still will draw double teams due to his ferocious athleticism for his size. He has been a backbone for this defense for many years and will also serve as a mentor for one more year. While both of their deals are rich, as long as we do not cut or trade them mid-year the Eagles will not have to worry about the cap hit.
Grade: A+
Signed WR Zach Pascal to a 1-year deal
Did we need a big-bodied wide receiver? Yes. Did we need more firepower for Jalen Hurts? Yes. At 6’2″, Zach Pascal’s most productive years came when he was working with Nick Sirianni in Indy. Over three years with Sirianni as his OC, Pascal had 1,504 yards and 12 TDs while primarily being a blocking and red zone receiver. Essentially, he is a better version of what the Eagles have in JJ Arcega-Whiteside. By no means is that a bad thing, but after re-signing Greg Ward who also only got red zone snaps, the signing is confusing. I am sure he will get a bigger role in Philly as a jump ball kind of guy, but this for sure means JJAW is gone. Pascal will be the big-bodied man on the perimeter, Quez Watkins will stretch the field and Devonta Smith will be the star. Not bad, but could still be better.
Grade: B
Resigned DE Derek Barnett to a 2-year extension
Many fans are upset about this, and I get it. Barnett just could not keep his cool when it mattered in crucial moments of games. Some people on Twitter even said they would prefer Tarron Jackson over Barnett. I am not as upset as other fans. Barnett has still been productive with the snaps he has seen. His 46 tackles were a career-high in 2021. His role on this team is not as big as anticipated, but when Josh Sweat or Brandon Graham need breaks, I am comfortable seeing Barnett on the field.
Grade: B-
Signed LB Kyzir White to a 1 year, $5 Million deal
This is a steal. While I am skeptical of Howie signing “under-the-radar LBs” in the offseason, Kyzir White seems different. Unlike LJ Fort, Zach Brown, Paul Worrilow, Jatavius Brown, and Eric Wilson, Kyzir White is coming off of a monster breakout year. While he is a little undersized, with 144 tackles and 2 INTs, he spearheaded an otherwise underwhelming Chargers LB corps. Bobby Wagner would probably be too expensive, so I will gladly accept the LB who finished 8th in the league in tackles for only 5 million dollars.
Grade: A-
Grade so far: B+
We brought back some solid vets, but with the big names that have been moving, I can’t help but wish we had one of them. All of our signings fit, which is good. But now it is time for Howie to WAKE UP! Tyrann Mathieu, Jarvis Landry, and Stephon Gilmore are all available and would be huge additions to this team. We have a chance to take a leap still. With 3 first-round draft picks in a month, this offseason is far from over, but we are on the right track.
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Jish Sokolsky is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Jish, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
