“Huge Year For Him”

The Philadelphia Eagles have solidified their offense with moves such as the acquisition of Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Brown and key contract extensions on their offensive line.

On the latest Inside the Birds podcast, Adam Caplan and Geoff Mosher broke down the state of each position on the offense, including contract situations, camp battles and depth.

Jalen Hurts

Geoff Mosher: “This is a really significant season for both his development but also [from] a contract standpoint, because he is in the third year of a four-year deal. He is, by NFL standards, very inexpensive for the Philadelphia Eagles, but that’s only going to last only this year.”

Adam Caplan: “If he is the starter in Year 4, if they don’t get an extension done, I’m sure they make a contract adjustment. It’s a huge year for him. He’s had a very good offseason. What we were told by multiple sources is that his processing – the ability to read from one to two [receivers], he was basically a one-read quarterback last year. He got it to two in the OTAs and, every once in a while, three. Let’s see what happens with the timing when he’s under pass rush.”

Carson Strong

Caplan: “They gave him a good guarantee in his contract. It doesn’t mean he’ll make the team, but if he looks good in training camp and is over the knee issue, my sense is that they would not cut him because [Gardner] Minshew is on the final year of his deal. If he’s healthy, this kid is going to make the team if he looks the part.”

Mosher: “I want to see if he can move around even just a little bit because you can’t play this game if you’re physically unable to move. I’m not saying he’s got to be a scrambler or have fantastic pocket navigation, I just need to see some signs that, like you just mentioned with the knee, that he is not favoring it, not limping, that he can put his plant leg into a throw and release and showcase that arm strength.”

A.J. Brown

Caplan: “It’s a four-year extension. As always, they put two voidable years in the back end to spread out the signing bonus. With A.J. Brown, they can certainly get out of the contract after two years, but there’s so much dead money. It’s basically a very strong two-year deal and then we’ll see… They’re counting on A.J. Brown to take their receiver room to the next level… He is an amazing football player, unbelievably competitive.”

Jalen Reagor

Caplan: “Reagor’s had a very good offseason. He’s not going to get cut. I just wonder if he can get into rotation, because right now he would be the fifth receiver.”

Mosher: “He’ll have an opportunity in training camp. The feedback is he’s had a really well-focused, strong offseason program. We’ve heard that he has come back in great spirits and is doing everything he’s been asked to do. It doesn’t really matter until you get on the field and prove it.”

Dallas Goedert

Caplan: “One thing we did hear is apparently his route-running was really good at OTAs. We’ll see with pads on.”

Mosher: “I thought one of the areas he needed to improve on was beating man coverage. There were more than a couple of times last year where he had trouble shaking that. If route-running from Goedert improved, that should help him in those situations.”

Jordan Mailata 

Caplan: “Sixteen million a year is actually a bargain…He’s come so far so quick in terms of going from learning to play football and now is easily a top 10 left tackle, if not top five. The money starts becoming really rich in Year 3 of the extension, when his cap number goes from just over $7 million in ’23 to over $20 million in ’24.”

Mosher: “Over $20 million – if he’s a Pro Bowl or All Pro tackle, that’s still a bargain for the Eagles. In fact, that contract’s probably getting ripped up if he makes All Pro.”

Andre Dillard

Caplan: “Dillard is in the final year of his rookie deal, fully guaranteed, so they’re not going to cut him. They love having him as a backup left tackle. It’s a shame he won’t play right tackle because it would have such value in a trade. To me, they would be able to get a second round pick if he could play right.”

“We had heard they wanted to cross train him a little bit. I need to check back to see if he got any snaps inside [in the OTAs].

Jason Kelce

Caplan: “It’s real money, $14.25 million fully guaranteed. He’s still elite. He’s arguably the best center at his age in the National Football League. I’ll say this much about the Eagles: they do right by their players…Jason turns 35 in November. They put the ‘poison pill’ in again. He cannot come back with the dummy money in the second year. They would have to redo his contract again. I’ve learned my lesson with this thing. Do not rule out him coming back. It all how he’s feels. If he’s playing elite – sorry Cam Jurgens, you’re going to have to wait.”

Devon Allen

Caplan: “He’s going to have to show he can play, because he hasn’t played meaningful football in six years. He’s older. Just because you can run doesn’t make you a football player. The way I understood it, his tape from so long ago, he did some good things as a football player but he had so many knee injuries. He’s all the way back physically, but he’s going to have to earn it. This will not be a charity case.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com

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