The Eagles Have A Lot Of In-House Answers For Free Agency

The NFL’s Legal Tampering Period of free agency began on Monday, and the Philadelphia Eagles took some immediate hits to their defense. Javon Hargrave was given a monster contract by the San Francisco 49ers, TJ Edwards was signed by the Chicago Bears, and Marcus Epps is heading to Vegas on a new deal with the Raiders. That’s 3 starters gone in the first 24 hours of free agency, and the birds are poised to lose even more with Fletcher Cox, CJ Gardner-Johnson, James Bradberry, and Kyzir White all still being free agents this offseason. Add in Darius Slay potentially leaving via trade, and that leaves the Eagles’ defense with a chance to be pretty darn thin for the 2023-24 season. Or does it? 

The birds have a lot they need to take care of, but when you look at the players that they lost on the opening day of NFL free agency, you could argue that a solid replacement option for each of them already exists in house. Let’s start with Hargrave; you drafted Jordan Davis in the 1st round last year for a reason. He doesn’t quite rush the passer like Hargrave did this past season, but he is an incredibly talented young interior lineman. As far as TJ Edwards is concerned, Nakobe Dean now looks to slot into that role next season, and the 3rd round pick from last year showed some nice flashes this past season. A couple plays does not equal a season of games started, but Dean came out of Georgia last year as one of the more interesting defensive prospects. Marcus Epps came into last year as a major question mark, and he spent all of 2022-23 showing he had a good answer to those questions. Now, as he takes off for Las Vegas on a new deal, Reed Blankenship could very well get an opportunity to be the next version of Epps. Blankenship played well in relief of the injured Gardner-Johnson last season, so it’s not the most outlandish thought. 

Yes, I know. These are not equal replacements to the players that the Eagles are losing, but it’s better than having no playable options. Each of those 3 players showed flashes of ability this past season, and fit positionally with the players the birds have lost so far. It’s unrealistic to expect them to equal the output of Hargrave, Edwards, or Epps, but with the strength of the Eagles offense, they don’t necessarily have to. The hope, regardless of who the Eagles retain or bring in, is that Jalen Hurts is enough of an elite-level QB to help the offense overcome a retooling of the defense. That being said, though, it doesn’t hurt that the Eagles have a couple of ready replacements already in house as they attempt to make the defensive retooling as smooth as possible.