‘Two To Tango’

As the reigning NFC champions, the Philadelphia Eagles will likely see teams around the NFL poaching their players and coaches.

On the latest “Inside The Birds” podcast, Adam Caplan and Geoff Mosher previewed the offseason and discussed the team’s 20 free agents.

The Philadelphia Eagles will have major decisions to make with key defensive linemen set to hit free agency

Jalen Hurts

Adam Caplan: “It takes two to tango. The Eagles want this done as soon as they can get it done. Hurts and his agent, Nicole Lynn, have to make a decision on what their timeline is, if they want to get it done, and what they want in a contract. From the Eagles standpoint, there’s no question they want to get this done. If I’m Nicole Lynn, I want to know if Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow get their deals done, because that will be the ceiling. Let’s say they get $52-55 million per season. If I’m Hurts, I’m probably not going to take less than $48 million, maybe I want $50 million. I want to know what the landscape is.”

Geoff Mosher: “Then it becomes a race to who signs first and then they want to get more than that person. At the end of the day, it will all be around the same. The Eagles with quarterbacks, they always try to get it done now because it becomes team friendly when you can do it in year three, but they don’t necessarily screw around either and try to nickel and dime.” 

Nick Rallis    

Mosher: “Jonathan Gannon really liked Nick Rallis, and what’s not to like? They were connected when Gannon got here from their Minnesota days. I remember you and I doing shows saying this was so odd because he was really young and you had a lot of rookie free agents or undrafted guys [at linebacker]. He did a great job. What we didn’t know was how Nick Rallis was going to Arizona and get a higher job, because we didn’t really see defensive coordinator for a guy who’s still pretty young.”

Caplan: “No matter what his title was with the Vikings, I was told he was basically a quality control coach on defense. To go from that to a linebackers coach for the Eagles and now the defensive coordinator for the Cardinals, holy smokes.”

Isaac Seumalo

Mosher: “We reported at the Super Bowl that we had heard that a team had Seumalo ranked pretty high as their top guard going to free agency. I spoke to another team that considered him their top guard/center in free agency. We can’t forget that the Eagles at one point projected Suemalo at center. If for whatever reason there’s a team that needs a starting center, this makes it harder for the Eagles to bring him back because he’s valuable to teams at more than one position.”

Caplan: “His position versatility helps. He’s been so cost effective for the Eagles. He got a very team friendly extension. He’s been a good story of development after a very slow start. Isaac, at least on a couple of free agent boards, is right up there, so that could price him out for the Eagles.” 

Defensive Tackles

Mosher: “I think Javon Hargrave is going to get a really big deal. We know Fletcher Cox came back because he wanted to stay in Philly, but the Eagles still paid him like a top tier defensive tackle. They didn’t get a discount. Are they really going to spend all of that money to bring both of those guys back? I don’t see it. I’m speculating, but this might have been Fletcher’s swan song. Maybe even both.”

Caplan: “Jordan Davis has to start. We understood the weight issue and then the high ankle sprain, no more excuses. He has to have a great offseason. I don’t get the feeling they see Milton Williams as a starter, he’s a really good three. If Cox and Hargrave both walk, they’re going to have to make a fairly significant addition.”

Safeties

Caplan: “C.J. Gardner-Johnson is not going anywhere. They’ll tag him if they don’t think they can get a deal done. I get the sense they love Reed Blankenship at the third safety role, spot starter if you need him, I don’t know if they see him as a full-time starter.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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