After the Philadelphia Eagles won their second Super Bowl in franchise history, they had a lot of key defensive players leaving for free agency. Edge Josh Sweat who had always been a solid Philly starter had a career game in the Super Bowl. Sweat finished with 6 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 2 tackles for loss. That cemented himself as a top 3 free agent heading into the offseason. Another defensive loss is tackle Milton Williams who also had a great game in the Superbowl posting 4 tackles, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble. Eagles also lost star corner Darius Slay who is 24 years old but helped the Eagles make the Super Bowl with a key interception against the Packers in their first playoff game.
Sweat signed a 4-year $76 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals, Milton Williams signed a 4-year $106 million deal and Darius Slay signed a 1-year $10 million deal with the Steelers. The Eagles traded safety, C.J. Gardner Johnson, away for Guard Kenyon Green. Also, the Eagles lost legend Brandon Graham today due to retirement, so they have a lot of holes in their Super Bowl-winning defense. Long-time coordinator Vic Fangio will have a lot of work to do to get his defense back to the top of the league. Thankfully for the Eagles they have a lot of young players that played key roles in 2024.
At the corner position, they will have one side locked up with second-year player Quinyon Mitchell, but the other side will be a battle between ex-Georgia players Kalee Ringo, Lewis Cine, Eli Ricks, and Giants, Adoree Jackson. At the edge spot, Nolan Smith will be the featured player getting significant production in 2024 but other guys like Jalyx Hunt and Moro Ojomo showing significant production at times. They will also need help from veterans Bryce Huff and Azeez Ojulri who were brought in to replace Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham. Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter should hold up the interior with Ojomo, Byron Young, and Thomas Booker being thrust into bigger roles this season. The loss of CJ Gardner Johnson was a big shock for Eagles fans, but they must be ready for guys like Tristen McCollum, Lewis Cine, Sydney Brown, and Cooper DeJean to be in the mix for that starting safety spot alongside Reed Blankenship.
With the uncertainty of the Draft, the Eagles might be able to snag star talent in James Pierce, Malakai Starks, or Walter Nolan without having to move up too far or stay where they are at and get a guy like Nic Scourton, there is a lot of Edge and D line talent in the late first round that they Eagles could hopefully get to continue to dominate the trenches. Overall, the Eagles are in a great spot in 2025 coming off a Super Bowl victory with a lot of questions at important positions with a lot of options and still a lot of cap room. The Eagles could continue to dominate the defensive side of the ball for as long as their young guys continue to produce, and Vic Fangio stays in charge of their defense.
