Free agency in 2024 was a huge success for the Philadelphia Eagles. Saquon Barkley, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Zack Baun, and Mekhi Becton were all signed and played somewhere between āthe best everā to āreally goodā throughout the season. They were so good that it absolutely canceled out how terrible the Bryce Huff signing and Kenny Pickett trade were.Ā
2025 free agency starts on March 12. That means thereās less than a month for Howie Roseman to wipe the blood off his forehead and once again show why no other general manager in the NFL can match up to him.
The Eagles are set to lose a handful of key players this offseason and for a couple of different reasons. Mekhi Becton, Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Zack Baun, Isaiah Rodgers, Darius Slay, and Brandon Graham are all either entering free agency, potentially getting cut, or potentially retiring.
The last two options there are really just for Slay and Graham. Slay could be a salary cap casualty or like Graham., his future with football is still up in the air.Ā
Regardless, thatās a lot of important pieces that could be leaving the team before too long. For this, weāre going to pretend that Howie Roseman isnāt able to re-sign any of those guys and the Eagles will have to hit the free-agent market to fill their roster spots.Ā
Weāre looking at the best-case free agent signings for right guard, edge rusher, defensive tackle, linebacker, and cornerback. Itās going to be tough because this isn't exactly the best free-agent class that weāve seen in recent history.
5. Asante Samuel Jr., Cornerback, Los Angeles Chargers
This would be fun. In 2008, the Eagles signed 27-year-old Asante Samuel Sr. in free agency. He spent four seasons in Philadelphia and was a three-time pro bowler, a 2009 All-Pro, and the 2009 NFL interceptions leader.Ā
Itād be fun to give it a ride with his son, not just because of nepotism, but because heās a good player⦠nepotism is a pretty big part of it though.
Heās going into his fifth season in the NFL, and heās only 25 years old. If he just signed a one-year deal, thatās fine, but if he stuck around for three or four years he would only be 28 or 29 years old at the end of it. That means the Eagles' defense would remain young while adding veteran talent.
NFL.com has him as 23 in their top 101 free agents. Gregg Rosenthal says, āKnocked for his poor tackling and inability to play press coverage, Samuel is a playmaker who steadily improved in his Chargers tenure. Heād be a big asset in the right system.ā
Put him in a room with Vic Fangio and defensive backs coach Christian Parker and let them work their magic on him. Samuel Jr.ās got talent, he just needs someone to get the best out of him, and thatās exactly what his coaches would do.
4. Will Fries, Right Guard, Indianapolis Colts
Trey Smith is the best right guard whoās going to be a free agent, but heās not going to be on this list. This is about ādream free agent signingsā and if your dream free agent signing is a guy that the Eagles just beat up and down the field for a full 60 minutes in the Super Bowl, you need to see a therapist because thatās a sadistic dream.
Will Fries is the next best guy that will be available. Heās another young guy, where if he works out, he can stick around for a while.
Rosenthal says, āOne of the most improved young guards in football, Fries broke his tibia in Week 5 of 2024. Heās likely to get paid plenty despite that injury.ā
A broken tibia sounds truly agonizing, but it also sounds like a guy whoās going to be fresh after heās had time to heal. With Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens both having surgery in the offseason, in theory, that means Jeff Stoutland would have more time to spend specifically with Fries during OTAs.
3. Levi Onwuzurike, Defensive Tackle, Detroit Lions
The problem with losing Milton Williams in free agency is that heās the best free-agent defensive tackle by kind of a lot. The next best guy is Osa Odighizuwa, but heās coming from Dallas and ex-Cowboys donāt play well in Philadelphia.Ā
After that, itās Javon Hargrave, who is 32 years old now. Whereās the time gone? In 2023, he inked an $84 million deal with the 49ers after his 11-sack season with the Eagles in 2022. Turns out the salary cap is real, and theyāre going to have to cut him because they need to pay their quarterback.Ā
Itās not really fun to think about bringing back an older player because of how good he was a couple of years ago, and also heās coming off of a torn triceps. So that leaves us Levi Onwuzurikeā¦
Heās 33 on NFL.comās list, āPlagued with back injuries for much of his career, Onwuzurike finally improved his durability and consistency in 2024, becoming a favorite of Dan Campbellās in the process. A good, young rotational lineman.ā
He did miss the entirety of the 2022 season with a back injury that needed spinal fusion surgery and then missed some more time in the middle of the 2023 season from something different.
Typically, youād want a free agent signing to not be a guy with a tough injury history, but he did play a career-high number of snaps in 2024. To be fair, thatās the only season (excluding his rookie season) where he didnāt have a debilitating injury.
2. Malcolm Koonce, Edge, Las Vegas Raiders
Itās not quite as extreme as with Milton Williams, but Josh Sweat is the best free-agent edge rusher to hit the market this season by a decent amount. The difference is that good edge rushers get paid more than good tackles, which makes sense because edge rushers are probably the second most important position on an entire team.Ā
Last week, I wrote about five Josh Sweat replacements. Those were realistic replacements, that included trading for Myles Garrett or Maxx Crosby, signing Haason Reddick or Khalil Mack, or trading up to draft Abdul Carter.Ā
The dream would be getting Garrett. The second best would be signing Reddick again, but only if he performs how he did in 2023 (thereās no way he gets back to his 2022 level).
Malcolm Koonce deserves to be in the conversation too, and it's purely because of his upside⦠which, to be fair, is the reason behind signing Bryce Huff.
Koonce was out all of last season after he tore his ACL three days before their Week 1 game. That really stinks, especially since he was coming off of a 2023 season where he had eight sacks and three forced fumbles.
Now, in reality, five of those sacks came on Daniel Jones (who slipped and was just touched down), Zach Wilson, Easton Stick, and Jared Stidham, and the three fumbles were on Wilson and Stick. On the other hand, he sacked Patrick Mahomes three times in one game. So, Heās good, but the numbers are gaudy for a reason.
At 25 on the top 101 list, Rosenthal says, āItās always difficult to price a rising young talent who missed most (or all) of his contract season due to injury. Thatās what happened to Koonce in 2024: A knee issue sidelined him just when his career as a quality edge was taking off.ā
So yeah, is he worth a huge contract? Maybe, but the Eagles have been burned on that recently. Heās going to turn 27 years old in June, and getting a guy whoās entering his prime would be worth it.Ā
Another thing worth noting is that Bryce Huff went undrafted and Koonce was drafted in the third round. A lot of times, undrafted guys eventually show why they went undrafted, and thatās exactly what happened with Huff in 2024. Howie Rosemanās too good at his job to get scared off of making signings like this just because he made a real stinker once.Ā
1. Ernest Jones IV, Linebacker, Seattle Seahawks
Vic Fangio and linebackers coach Bobby King have shown that they can do wonders with linebackers. They turned Zack Baun into a first-team All-Pro, put Nakobe Dean in a spot where he had a great year, and set Oren Burks up to be an actual weapon (rather than just a replacement) after Dean went down with an injury.Ā
If the Eagles are cool with letting Baun sign with another team (which they shouldnāt be) and want to give it another go by turning another linebacker into an absolute stud, Ernest Jones is a good place to start.
By no means is he the best linebacker available. Nick Bolton and Dre Greenlaw are also free agents. However, Bolton was a Chief for the past four seasons (and famously returned Jalen Hurtsā fumble in Super Bowl LVII for a touchdown) and Greenlaw got "Big Dom" DiSandro kicked off the sidelines in 2023. Those two guys would be terrible for vibes.
Jones is 27 on the top 101 by Rosenthal, āNo oneās value fluctuated more last season. Jones was dumped in trades by the Rams and the Titans, but his intelligence and tackling eventually helped turn the Seahawks' season around. He showed again he can be a difference-maker.ā
A good place to start with turning a linebacker into an All-Pro is by starting with the tools and athleticism he already has. Being smart and tackling well are a hell of a place to start.