Two For The Show

While NFL teams put a bow on the 2025 NFL Draft over the weekend, their evaluation period essentially kicks into overdrive, as the next phase of the offseason process will be assessing how each prospect and free-agent addition fits the puzzle.

For the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, roster spots could be at a premium.

It’s relatively easy, at least on the surface, to forecast how the rookies fit into the roster equation. The same can be said for the team’s extensive crop of free agents who signed one-year, prove-it deals.

But the reality is that not every offseason addition will survive the late summer roster parsing, shining a spotlight on the fringes of the roster that are often neglected.

Like mostly every other team, the Eagles also have a number of returning players primed to elevate into more prominent roles following the free-agent exodus of players in key positions. As such, I’ve decided to take a look at two holdovers who could return to relevancy with a big summer.

Under-discussed and under the radar, here are two depth pieces – one on each side of the ball – who are in line to occupy key roles for the 2025 Eagles:

GETTY IMAGES: Second-year OG Trevor Keegan will have plenty of competition to earn a backup OL spot.

OL Trevor Keegan

When the Eagles used a 2024 fifth-round pick on Keegan, who started all 15 games in 2023 during Michigan’s national championship season, it was conceivable to think he’d serve an invaluable game day function as a do-it-all interior lineman.

The 6-foot-5, 306-pound Keegan, after all, offered the ability to play either guard spot and even repped at center during Senior Bowl practices. But the Michigan product was unable to climb in the pecking order, rendering him inactive in all but one regular season last season – the finale against the Giants – in which he accounted for 35 offensive snaps and another five on special teams.

With the dawn of a new season on the horizon, however, Keegan is positioned to carve out a role as a prominent depth piece. For one, the opportunity figures to favor Keegan in his second season, with veterans Mekhi Becton and Nick Gates no longer in the picture.

Third-year pro Tyler Steen, last season a vital reserve at both guard spots, becomes the favorite to start at right guard, creating a vacancy for the role he previously held in 2024. Will Keegan, who plays with sound technique and an unrelenting mean streak, do enough this summer to stave off Kenyon Green, Matt Pryor and rookie Drew Kendall for a roster spot and/or game day function to become this year’s Steen?

He’ll certainly be afforded every opportunity. And given the amount of snaps Steen played last season, Keegan should be a player to monitor.

GETTY IMAGES: Can third-year CB Eli Ricks seize a roster spot again after the departures of Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers?

CB Eli Ricks

A favorite cornerback prospect of mine from recent draft cycles – in addition to bearing the distinction of being my initial “Rookie Diary” subject – I periodically made it a point last season to keep tabs on Ricks’ progress. The 23-year-old Ricks appeared in only seven games in 2024 after appearing in 16 games and a postseason appearance as a rookie.

For perspective, Ricks, an outside corner by trade, took his lumps aligning inside in 2023, compiling 301 defensive snaps while adding another 212 on special teams. He again made the 53-man roster last summer but was used sparingly, logging 14 defensive snaps and 51 on special teams.

In spite of the season-long roster toggling last season, it’s worth noting that Ricks’ roster standing remained unaffected, as the second-year cornerback remained safely stashed away – perhaps for an opportunity such as this. This observation, of course, is strengthened due to the free agent departures of fellow cornerbacks Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers.

A lengthy boundary cornerback with solid instincts, plus-ball skills, competitive edge and an afforable contract, Ricks would appear to fit the mold of the young, playmaking backend defender the team has doubled down on. Perhaps Ricks undertakes the role previously held by Rodgers as the team’s primary backup outside corner on game day. Executive vice president/general manager Howie Roseman echoed the sentiment of leaning on younger players, and the seldom-discussed Ricks will be in that mix.

– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.