A season that once had so much promise is over. They may have started 10-1, but the Eagles lost 6 of their last 7, including the wild card game vs the Bucs, to end their 2023 season with a resounding splat. The Eagles’ defense collapsed late in the season, while their offense sputtered. And so begins the post-mortem. What needs to change, who needs to go, who is worth keeping around?
Decisions will need to be made. Free Agency is about a month away, and they have their work cut out for them fixing this roster. And that goes double for a defense that struggled for most of the season, before completely imploding late in the year.
The Eagles’ defense finished 31st in passing yards allowed, and 30th in points allowed. Their rushing defense appeared solid at 103.4 yards per game. But that is buoyed by them being 1st in the NFL over the first 9 weeks. Since then they allowed over 130 rushing yards per game. So pretty much everything was a mess. And a mid-season change at defensive coordinator only made things worse for them. But while the defensive coordinators, Sean Desai and Matt Patricia, certainly did not do a good job, the problem starts with the roster. There just was not enough talent to field a competitive defense.
The cornerbacks were too old and too slow. And they went too cheap and inexperienced at linebacker and safety. And even the D-Line saw its production fall off when the lack of depth was exposed.
See our thoughts on who should stay or go from the offense below:
Is anything from this defense salvageable though? Let’s go through the Eagles’ defense to see who should stay, and who needs to go:
Haason Reddick- Stay
Reddick took a step back, but he is still an elite pass rusher. What hurt him most was 1) how little help he had, and 2) being poorly used. Matt Patricia thought it was a good idea to start dropping the only pass rusher still getting to the QB back in coverage more.
But now because Howie Roseman likes to play games, there is a chance Reddick is gone. He has told Reddick to go shop around with other teams, hoping he will come back not hearing big numbers. Either way, I still think Reddick is back. Will it be with a massive new deal, or just a slight pay bump? We will find out. But there is little to gain by trading him, and a lot to lose. So whatever happens, I think the Eagles hold onto him.
Josh Sweat- Stay
It was a down year for Sweat, but there is still a lot to like about him. And if they had run their D-Line rotation like they did in 2022, maybe he would have stayed fresh and kept playing like he did early in the season. But Sweat is a piece to build around on this defense. The D-Line has the talent, they just need to be used better. And they need help from the secondary, so they actually have time to get to the QB.
Brandon Graham- Go
Graham is an Eagles legend. He has played more games in an Eagles jersey than anyone else in franchise history. And he will always be the guy who forced a sack to help seal the first Super Bowl in Eagles history. But it feels like his time here is done. He is 35 and played like it this year. Thank you for everything BG.
Nolan Smith- Stay
Smith did not make much of a difference in his rookie year. He flashed his talent in the playoff game, but otherwise was mostly quiet. In hindsight, they should have drafted someone who could help them win now. He was a luxury pick, and now we see they did not have the luxury. But there is nothing you can do about that now. We just have to hope whoever the next DC is can unlock his massive potential.
Patrick Johnson- Stay
Johnson rarely sees the field on defense, but he is a Special Teams ace for them. Special Teams is one of the few parts of this team that are playing well. So there is no reason to move on from him.
Fletcher Cox- Go
Like Graham, Cox is an Eagles legend. He is a borderline Hall of Famer. And to his credit, he played very well this year. He was one of the few defenders who played well against the Bucs in the final game. But we have seen relying on aging veterans eventually hurts you. So unless he comes back for cheap, they need to work on getting younger. Thank you Cox for everything you did for this team and this City. Sorry it had to end like this.
Jalen Carter- Stay
Obviously, Carter is staying. He is a tremendous talent. But the Eagles need to work on keeping him fresh throughout the full season. He was fantastic in the first half. Then he got tired and was a no show in the 2nd half of the season. Find a way to produce like he did across a full season, and he will be an All-Pro.
Jordan Davis- Stay
Everything said about Carter applies to Davis too. Davis was why the Eagles had the best rush defense in the NFL through 8 weeks. But after playing twice as many snaps as he ever had in his career, he hit a wall. And since then they have had no answer against the run. But we saw the type of player he can be. The Eagles just have to be more careful with how they use him.
Milton Williams- Stay
Williams has played well when he sees the field. There was one drive against the Bucs where he single-handedly got the Eagles off the field. They just haven’t used him that much. Last year the Eagles had a heavy rotation at DT, but this year the plan seemed to be to run their main guys into the ground. Williams is going into the final year of his rookie deal, and will still be part of the team for at least one more year.
Marlon Tuipulotu- Stay
Everything we said about Williams, is also true about Tuipulotu. He deserves more playing time. Maybe in the final year of his rookie year he will get it.
Moro Ojomo- Stay
At the very least, Ojomo will be in camp. Will he have a roster spot? We haven’t seen enough of him to know if he is good enough to deserve it. But they will give him a chance to win one.
Nakobe Dean- Stay
Dean will stay. He is maybe the only LB who will be back. And while we would love it if the Eagles actually went in and invested in LB, and brought in people so they would not be relying on Dean, we know they won’t. They will make more cheap signings and hope things go better next year.
Zach Cunningham- Go
Cunningham has been alright compared to some of the other LBs. But he was still not good enough that you bring him back. They need different LBs. Will those LBs be better? We will find out. But there is no way they can run back the same crew.
Nicholas Morrow- Go
Morrow has got to go. He had one of the worst games I have ever seen from an LB against the 49ers. Will his replacement be anyone who gets us excited? No. It will probably be the same type of move. A cheap one-year deal for someone who isn’t getting what they want in free agency. It worked with Kyzir White, and it didn’t work with Morrow. But if you think they will learn a lesson from the failure with Morrow, you don’t know the Eagles very well.
Shaq Leonard- Go
It is clear Leonard doesn’t have it anymore. In his prime, he was maybe the best LB in the game. But he is not that guy anymore. This may be his final season period. But he won’t be back with the Eagles.
Shaun Bradley- Go
Bradley is a great Special Teams player. But this is now two straight seasons he missed because of injury. I have a hard time seeing him get a chance at a 3rd.
Darius Slay- Stay
Slay has actually not been bad this year. And we saw just how bad they are without him at the end of the season. They went from being bad to not being able to get a single stop as soon as he got hurt. So he will be back because he is the one decent CB on the roster right now.
James Bradberry- Go
It will be a decent dead cap hit to get rid of him, but they have to do it. Bradberry was terrible this season. They need to get younger and faster at outside corner. So Bradberry is the odd man out.
Avonte Maddox- Stay
I flirted with saying go. He has been too injury-prone, and they need someone they can rely on at Slot Corner. But it would be hard to cut both Bradberry and him, and then still have the space to replace both of them.
Bradley Roby- Go
Roby started off well but just hasn’t been good enough as they got later into the season. They have no commitment past this season to him, so it is easier just to say goodbye and bring in someone else.
Kelee Ringo- Stay
Ringo has potential. He needs to work on technique, but he has the physical traits to be an NFL CB. And he is one of the few guys on the Eagles you can say that about.
Eli Ricks- Stay
The Eagles have two young undrafted corners. Jobe and Ricks. Neither has played well enough. Both will be back in camp. I don’t know if they both will make the team again though. Maybe one does, but certainly not both. In this case, I picked Ricks to stay, but it could go the other way.
Josh Jobe- Go
If Ricks stays, Jobe goes. You can’t go into next year once again relying on two undrafted corners. Both will be in camp. I can’t see both making the team again.
Reed Blankenship- Stay
Reed Blankenship has been bad. Of late, it feels like he is constantly looking at the back of WR’s jerseys. With that said, he will be back. Will he be back as a starter? I hope not, but I won’t put it past Howie. But at the very least he will be back as a backup.
Kevin Byard- Go
If they keep Byard, it will be a $14 million cap hit. If they cut him, it is a $ 711k cap hit. He won’t be back, at least not on that deal. Maybe they work something out and lower his cap hit. But there is zero chance they keep him at that price. Not with how he has played this season.
Sydney Brown- Stay
With a torn ACL, he will miss the start of the season. But once he is healthy he will be back. It has been an uneven rookie year, but he has enough traits to be willing to see what he can grow into. We just have to hope they don’t go into the year relying on him to be a starter.Isaiah Rodgers- Stay
A lot of people have probably forgotten they acquired Rodgers. They brought him in during the pre-season, but he had to sit out the season after being suspended for gambling. But he is an intriguing prospect. He will certainly bring much-needed speed to the position. It is at the very least worth seeing what he has to offer.
