Did Howie go too far this time?
March 17, 2025
No general manager in Philadelphia sports history has been more adept at learning from his mistakes than Howie Roseman.
If you’re not sure about that statement, just Google the name Danny Watkins, a first-round draft pick whose first love was fighting fires. Blocking defensive linemen, not so much. It’s a safe bet that Watkins has preserved the safety of many people in peril over the years. Unfortunately, none of them were quarterbacks.
The point is, Roseman is hardly infallible. And that’s why I’m having a big problem with him right now because of his course correction after his second Super Bowl win that seems too radical so soon after a championship parade.
He made it clear in late February, two weeks before free agency began, that he would not do what he did seven years ago and bring back many of the older players out of loyalty to a championship team.
“Some of the moves that we may have to make here may not be what are necessarily on other people’s minds,” Roseman said. “It’s probably not going to look like maybe the conventional wisdom thinks it should look. I would just ask our fans to just have patience throughout the offseason.”
My first thought was, maybe that beer can he took off his head at the parade caused temporary insanity. Preaching patience to Eagles fans is akin to suggesting they not drink beer during games. Patience is not in the DNA of most sports fans in Philly. Howie knows that.
So far, the Eagles have lost a dozen contributors to the remarkable 2024-25 season, including a couple who are not as replaceable as Howie seems to believe.
Here’s my analysis of who’s leaving, and whether it makes sense. Keep in mind the Eagles are still well under the salary cap. They did not need to lose all of these pieces of their championship team.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson
Trading their starting safety for a bucket of nothing was not just a head-scratcher to me. This deal had me pulling out my hair.
Didn’t Howie learn from the first time he unloaded the talented and controversial ballhawk in the middle of his defense? Johnson played two seasons for the Eagles (‘22 and ‘24), and they made it to the Super Bowl both times. This is not a coincidence.
Gardner-Johnson is a major pain in the ass. That is not a secret. He wore a dopey sweatshirt at the parade that said: “Swifties can LIX my balls.” This is not the image the Eagles would like to project, obviously.
His interviews are equally outrageous, littered with profanities and gutter talk that is beneath a star athlete in Philadelphia.
But Gardner-Johnson brought more than just a game-breaking style on the field. He also helped to create the take-no-prisoners approach that smothered Kansas City and all other playoff opponents on the road to the championship.
The Eagles will miss Chauncey Gardner-Johnson – far more than Howie realizes right now.
Mekhi Becton
Even more illogical than losing Gardner-Johnson is the departure of this bust-turned-champion first-round pick who left for San Diego after one brilliant season under Eagles OL coach Jeff Stoutland.
I blame Becton for this one. He couldn’t block a breeze during his three lost years with the Jets. He comes to Philly, moves from left tackle to right guard, and blows holes open for a historic season by Saquon Barkley.
Then Becton leaves for a few bucks? Really? Is it possible he got concussed during his one good season in the NFL?
The Chargers paid him $20 million over two years, with only half of that amount guaranteed. That sounds like a lot until you consider that all four of his fellow offensive linemen on the Eagles will be making more than that next season.
I am comfortable predicting that Becton will revert to his bust status away from Philadelphia. Too bad for him. What I also fear, though, is that Barkley will find fewer holes, and smaller ones, to run through with Becton 3,000 miles away.
Becton will regret this decision.
And so will the Eagles.
Josh Sweat
The decision actually made me laugh out loud, for two reasons.
First, I’m willing to bet Sweat will be invisible again now that he’s not standing near double-team magnet Jalen Carter on the defensive line. And second, the head coach entrusted in finding a way for Arizona to get its money’s worth (a $76-million deal with more than half guaranteed) is . . . wait for it. . . . Jonathan Gannon.
Ha, ha.
Sweat was part of the infamous Gannon defense that fell apart in the second half of Super Bowl 57, and the big galoot still signed up for another round of failure with the same knucklehead coach.
Don’t these players realize the Eagles made them so much better than they actually are?
Milton Williams
Even more than Sweat, Williams benefitted from Carter in the middle of the Eagles defensive line. Before Carter, Milton was a fringe player. Now that he has signed with New England on a totally insane four-year deal worth $26 million a year, will he become fringe again?
Duh.
Man, are the New England Patriots stupid!
Darius Slay
At 34, Slay was clearly past his Big Play Slay years, but he will be missed both on and off the field. Like Barkley, he gave the defense a swagger that we can only hope will be transferred to the players he mentored, Cooper DeJean and Quinyan Mitchell. Pittsburgh is lucky to have Slay, even at his advanced age.
Oren Burks
This is an under-the-radar loss that will Howie will soon regret. It is the latest example of Roseman undervaluing the linebacker position. After Nakobe Dean went down with another injury, Burks filled the hole throughout the run to the big Super Bowl win.
Based on his performance and his age (29), Burks was worth the puny $5-million deal he got with the Bengals. When Dean (inevitably) goes down again next year, who will be there to do what Burks did?
Kenneth Gainwell
Whenever I saw him on the field during the championship run, my first thought was, “Where’s Saquon?” But Gainwell was a decent replacement for the best running back in the NFL. He got less than $2 million from the Steelers. Stability in the backfield wasn’t worth that to Howie?
The rest of the lost soldiers of ’24-’25 were less impactful, at least to me. Kenny Pickett? I like the other back-up QB (Tanner McKee) more. Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers? Meh. Defensive back James Bradberry? I actually forgot he was still on the roster.
Among the new faces, pass rusher Joshua Uche, cornerback Adoree Jackson, and running back A.J. Dillon are all prospective reclamation projects for Roseman. They are the prizes from a month of extreme bargain-hunting.
And then there’s Kenyon Green, a first-round bust in Houston who was ranked last among NFL offensive lineman this past season. Obviously, Howie thinks Stoutland can work the same miracles he did with Becton. Good luck with that.
The bottom line is, Howie didn’t want to make the same mistake he did seven years ago, so he put aside sentiment and said goodbye to a dozen champions.
I have a feeling he will consider this radical approach a mistake, too. I hope I’m wrong.