The 2025 Free Agency Thread

[prodigy]

gimme tutu atwell in free agency and a late pick for jakobi meyers

 

[SkinsFTW]

Josh Sweat from the eagles is a FA. At minimum AP needs to drive up the price for the eagles to resign him. Hopefully he goes to anyone other than the eagles though. He had a pretty good game in the SB.

 

[philibusters]

I think the Eagles probably let Sweat go. The price of the bad Byrce Huff signing. The Eagles have 4 free agents that will be fairly expensive: Zach Baun, Mekhi Becton, Josh Sweat, and Milton Williams. I think realistically they can only bring one of those four back.

 

[method man]

Josh Sweat from the eagles is a FA. At minimum AP needs to drive up the price for the eagles to resign him. Hopefully he goes to anyone other than the eagles though. He had a pretty good game in the SB.

He is definitely getting paid big bucks by someone. He is the best EDGE under 30 in this FA class. I think he is gone.

I doubt he ends up leaving because he is so essential to their D but I really hope the Eagles have to go pay Baun huge dollars

 

[method man]

I think the Eagles probably let Sweat go. The price of the bad Byrce Huff signing. The Eagles have 4 free agents that will be fairly expensive: Zach Baun, Mekhi Becton, Josh Sweat, and Milton Williams. I think realistically they can only bring one of those four back.

That’s fair and it is probably Baun. Milton is probably getting a $20M+ AAV deal somewhere to start full time and I think they are smart enough not to give a guy like Becton a long term deal

 

[DogofWar1]

Jakobi Meyers for like a 5th or 6th is something I hadn't really thought about but he is an interesting option if LV would part with him. He held down the fort pretty nicely post Adams trade. 1.5 seasons before he hits 30, so reasonably decent timetable to give us a chance to get replacements if other options fall through.

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

Sobering thoughts following the worst Super Bowl I’ve ever watched.

The non-existent difference makers from the top of the last several Ron drafts has created a daunting task for Peters.

The Eagles roster damn near looks illegal with the cap magic alone. But what they do have are several key contributors on cheap contracts because they drafted so well.

We have some money in FA, but I’m not sure how you make up for the lack of production from prior drafts.

Ron’s ineptitude helped us net Jayden, but his criminal drafting also really kills our ability to stack the roster on Jayden’s rookie deal.

 

[Chris]

Sobering thoughts following the worst Super Bowl I’ve ever watched.

The non-existent difference makers from the top of the last several Ron drafts has created a daunting task for Peters.

The Eagles roster damn near looks illegal with the cap magic alone. But what they do have are several key contributors on cheap contracts because they drafted so well.

We have some money in FA, but I’m not sure how you make up for the lack of production from prior drafts.

Ron’s ineptitude helped us net Jayden, but his criminal drafting also really kills our ability to stack the roster on Jayden’s rookie deal.

I agree. Last night’s game didn't offer me the same hope over the next couple of years than it appears to have provided many, if not most, of the posters here. Philadelphia’s roster really has no holes and their defense is quite young in key position groups.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

I agree. Last night’s game didn't offer me the same hope over the next couple of years than it appears to have provided many, if not most, of the posters here. Philadelphia’s roster really has no holes and their defense is quite young in key position groups.

All true. I also worry about defenses in general adapting to Jayden and Kliff. Year-1 is always a surprise.

However, the Chiefs didn't have the advantage of being in the same division, and they clearly did not do their scouting well enough. It appears that Andy did a bit more attempting at dictating than adapting. With the strength of that Eagles defense, you generally have to adapt at least a bit. There is just way too much strength across groups.

One of their weaknesses is with the QB scramble. I think bigger backs can have success against them, but we don't have any anymore. One of the things that I think has affected BRob is having successive OCs tell him he's too big, so he lost a lot of weight and size - this happened with Turner and Bienemy. Now, with Kliff, I think Kliff would have been fine with his old size. It's really too bad. I hope they didn't ruin his career chances, but I think they did.

The thing with the Commanders is they have a solid chance of beating the Eagles because of Jayden and their knowledge of how that team is structured. Those two factors give them a better chance than most, in my opinion. The biggest risk is simple; it is Jayden getting hurt.

The formula to do better against the Eagles is the same generic formula for any team. Keep it simple. Don't focus on the fools gold of skill positions (especially when you have a top-tier QB). Win. The. Trenches.

If they improve their lines, they will 100% be able to compete with and beat any team in the league. That was a way more competitive NFCCG than the score indicated. Some improvement in the lines will help make it easier.

 

[Chris]

All true. I also worry about defenses in general adapting to Jayden and Kliff. Year-1 is always a surprise.

However, the Chiefs didn't have the advantage of being in the same division, and they clearly did not do their scouting well enough. It appears that Andy did a bit more attempting at dictating than adapting. With the strength of that Eagles defense, you generally have to adapt at least a bit. There is just way too much strength across groups.

One of their weaknesses is with the QB scramble. I think bigger backs can have success against them, but we don't have any anymore. One of the things that I think has affected BRob is having successive OCs tell him he's too big, so he lost a lot of weight and size - this happened with Turner and Bienemy. Now, with Kliff, I think Kliff would have been fine with his old size. It's really too bad. I hope they didn't ruin his career chances, but I think they did.

The thing with the Commanders is they have a solid chance of beating the Eagles because of Jayden and their knowledge of how that team is structured. Those two factors give them a better chance than most, in my opinion. The biggest risk is simple; it is Jayden getting hurt.

The formula to do better against the Eagles is the same generic formula for any team. Keep it simple. Don't focus on the fools gold of skill positions (especially when you have a top-tier QB). Win. The. Trenches.

If they improve their lines, they will 100% be able to compete with and beat any team in the league. That was a way more competitive NFCCG than the score indicated. Some improvement in the lines will help make it easier.

I agree with this also. Both lines and the perimeter secondary need talent upgrades. Offensively a home run threat is needed in the backfield. As much as a fancy toy at WR would make fans happy, that falls down the list of priorities for my money.

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

I agree. Last night’s game didn't offer me the same hope over the next couple of years than it appears to have provided many, if not most, of the posters here. Philadelphia’s roster really has no holes and their defense is quite young in key position groups.

Sobering was the best word I could think of.

One part of me was thinking, wow- Jayden was walking the likes of Ertz and Oz down the field often against this defense.

But the other part of me was thinking about how far away our roster is and that money can’t solve all of our problems. If this is our window, Philly has them boarded up.

It all really boils back to just how uniquely awful Ron was at drafting players.

 

[skinsmarydu]

However, the Chiefs didn't have the advantage of being in the same division, and they clearly did not do their scouting well enough. It appears that Andy did a bit more attempting at dictating than adapting.

Exactly what I saw. Reid should have been able to do more than just respond.
But Mahomes should have known to adapt, and he just couldn't. His pocket fell apart, he took sacks he shouldn't have had to. Just a disaster of a game.

Goodell's presser was even depressing, seemed like he was rooting for the Chiefs.

 

[ntotoro]

Last night actually encouraged me a bit.

This team made it on Jayden's shoulders and put up a greater fight in Philly than the refs' favorite team... err... I mean the Chiefs did on neutral turf. The Commanders made critical mistakes and a more seasoned and talented team exposed them (with a little help from Shawn Hochuli... sure... but the game was within reach with limited talent other than mistakes). Adam Peters has a lot of work and I don't expect the same success next season, but it's within reason to fix this in another year or two before Jayden costs $80m a year LOL!

 

[ntotoro]

Exactly what I saw. Reid should have been able to do more than just respond.
But Mahomes should have known to adapt, and he just couldn't. His pocket fell apart, he took sacks he shouldn't have had to. Just a disaster of a game.

Goodell's presser was even depressing, seemed like he was rooting for the Chiefs.

For apparently being lauded as even better than Tom Brady by the (social) media, Mahomes looked pretty mediocre last night and unable to adapt, even when attempting "playground ball."

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Sobering was the best word I could think of.

One part of me was thinking, wow- Jayden was walking the likes of Ertz and Oz down the field often against this defense.

But the other part of me was thinking about how far away our roster is and that money can’t solve all of our problems. If this is our window, Philly has them boarded up.

It all really boils back to just how uniquely awful Ron was at drafting players.

Ron didn't just draft poorly. He was really uniquely bad. He took any organizational strength and very quickly turned it into weakness.

1. Choosing Scott Turner over KOC (Coach of the year). DQ should have been coach of the year, sure (obvious), but KOC had a great year. Giving him coach of the year is almost an indictment of Sam Darnold (you did WHAT with WHOM????? Haha, sorry Sam). Meanwhile, uber-genius RR was picking Scott and sticking to him for 3 years. After being fired, Scott was not picked for a long time until he made a downward move from OC and hasn't gotten an OC job since. I wonder why. Keep in mind; KOC was well-regarded already by the NFL at this time. That is why he was able to jump pretty quickly. RR's blind ineptitude / nepotism nonsense led us horribly here, because reports were KOC wanted to stay.
2. Scouting. We lost a fair amount of scouting talent from my understanding. Meanwhile, he took Hurney and Mayhew. I don't think they were necessarily bad but I think the scouting department lost actually good people, and meanwhile his direction was horrible, and he took a lot of leadership unfortunately rather than delegating.
3. Actual players. A lot of coaches have "their guys" who they just end up liking. Sometimes, it's just cool to see - guys like Bobby Wagner who just get what the coach is doing. Then you have RR. He really liked Troy Apke. He once called him the best special teams player in the league. Yep. Troy. Apke.

RR took an organization that needed a head coach and some intention on the lines, and he put some attention on the DL (I will give him that), but there he overpaid and in almost every other place he got VERY, VERY poor value or straight up garbage. So many of his picks aren't playing right now, and some of them were SUPER high. That's rare badness. Cal must be stupid. I can only assume.

 

[skinsmarydu]

For apparently being lauded as even better than Tom Brady by the (social) media, Mahomes looked pretty mediocre last night and unable to adapt, even when attempting "playground ball."

Much, much, much more mediocre than what we've got going. Jayden settles down, figures things out, and as has been repeated in his "leadership" thread here, has the better mindset. Kid's got it goin' on. We've gotta do everything we possibly can to keep him healthy and upright. Full stop.

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

Ron didn't just draft poorly. He was really uniquely bad. He took any organizational strength and very quickly turned it into weakness.

1. Choosing Scott Turner over KOC (Coach of the year). DQ should have been coach of the year, sure (obvious), but KOC had a great year. Giving him coach of the year is almost an indictment of Sam Darnold (you did WHAT with WHOM????? Haha, sorry Sam). Meanwhile, uber-genius RR was picking Scott and sticking to him for 3 years. After being fired, Scott was not picked for a long time until he made a downward move from OC and hasn't gotten an OC job since. I wonder why. Keep in mind; KOC was well-regarded already by the NFL at this time. That is why he was able to jump pretty quickly. RR's blind ineptitude / nepotism nonsense led us horribly here, because reports were KOC wanted to stay.
2. Scouting. We lost a fair amount of scouting talent from my understanding. Meanwhile, he took Hurney and Mayhew. I don't think they were necessarily bad but I think the scouting department lost actually good people, and meanwhile his direction was horrible, and he took a lot of leadership unfortunately rather than delegating.
3. Actual players. A lot of coaches have "their guys" who they just end up liking. Sometimes, it's just cool to see - guys like Bobby Wagner who just get what the coach is doing. Then you have RR. He really liked Troy Apke. He once called him the best special teams player in the league. Yep. Troy. Apke.

RR took an organization that needed a head coach and some intention on the lines, and he put some attention on the DL (I will give him that), but there he overpaid and in almost every other place he got VERY, VERY poor value or straight up garbage. So many of his picks aren't playing right now, and some of them were SUPER high. That's rare badness. Cal must be stupid. I can only assume.

You tell no lies.

I knew in my gut the moment he said Trent Williams needed to prove himself that we were up poop creek without a paddle.

It’s almost unbelievable just how bad he was all-around.

Just when I focused on his drafting, it made me forget about splashes like William Jackson III and Carson Wentz.

God bless AP, you have your work cut out for you, sir.

 

[Anselmheifer]

I don’t take a lot out of the game last night that we didn’t already know. Philly has a great DL. That’s not news. I will say that Daniels looked better against Philly than Mahommes.

Having watched us play Philly 3 times, I think as a team, not a roster, we can be competitive with them next year if we invest heavily.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

You tell no lies.

I knew in my gut the moment he said Trent Williams needed to prove himself that we were up poop creek without a paddle.

It’s almost unbelievable just how bad he was all-around.

Just when I focused on his drafting, it made me forget about splashes like William Jackson III and Carson Wentz.

God bless AP, you have your work cut out for you, sir.

Wow, I sometimes forget how badly TW was handled. I actually think Bruce probably poisoned Ron, and Ron was too daft and weak to figure it out.

I still give Ron some blame. I think it was pretty obvious what situation we had, even if you were only superficially looking, or even held a recent/brief interest. This team was ANCHORED by TW. He knew it. Anyone with football IQ knew it. Bruce was in a childish war. I actually think there was an avenue where Ron backs up TW and fixes that situation. Ron was going to be Ron though -he towed the company line in his respectable, affable manner - in that "treat them like men" manner, he made yet another monumental screw-up. You're right, that was probably the first major sign.

The main thing AP did in year-1 was exactly what he needed to do. He shored up the scouting and set up process there. That is no small feat considering what RR had done. So, I actually think the scouting is largely fixed in the most important ways. I also think they have an idea of how they want to move forward which is also great.

I think the fans on this board for the most part know, year-1 success may not carry over. That's key to not getting too disappointed next year; the good news is, the scouting really appears to be fixed up in terms of process and personnel. So, the vector should be very good. The best teams KNOW that defenses adapt, so hopefully we will be ready with some new wrinkles. I actually think our success WILL carry over if JD can be healthy. That is the main concern I have; I think there is a pretty reasonable chance he does not stay upright next year. The way to mitigate that would be to aim to not have him be our leading rusher AND/OR improve the OL significantly. They probably need to do both as Chris and I already mentioned.

 

[method man]

Wow, I sometimes forget how badly TW was handled. I actually think Bruce probably poisoned Ron, and Ron was too daft and weak to figure it out.

I still give Ron some blame. I think it was pretty obvious what situation we had, even if you were only superficially looking, or even held a recent/brief interest. This team was ANCHORED by TW. He knew it. Anyone with football IQ knew it. Bruce was in a childish war. I actually think there was an avenue where Ron backs up TW and fixes that situation. Ron was going to be Ron though -he towed the company line in his respectable, affable manner - in that "treat them like men" manner, he made yet another monumental screw-up. You're right, that was probably the first major sign.

The main thing AP did in year-1 was exactly what he needed to do. He shored up the scouting and set up process there. That is no small feat considering what RR had done. So, I actually think the scouting is largely fixed in the most important ways. I also think they have an idea of how they want to move forward which is also great.

I think the fans on this board for the most part know, year-1 success may not carry over. That's key to not getting too disappointed next year; the good news is, the scouting really appears to be fixed up in terms of process and personnel. So, the vector should be very good. The best teams KNOW that defenses adapt, so hopefully we will be ready with some new wrinkles. I actually think our success WILL carry over if JD can be healthy. That is the main concern I have; I think there is a pretty reasonable chance he does not stay upright next year. The way to mitigate that would be to aim to not have him be our leading rusher AND/OR improve the OL significantly. They probably need to do both as Chris and I already mentioned.

AP and DQ had their TW moment this offseason with Jon Allen. Instead of trading him away (in retrospect they should have but not the point here), they got him to buy in, not bitch about a new contract and kept him motivated enough to come back from what would have been a season ending injury under Ron