How are the former Eagles playing this season?
The Eagles saw a lot of roster moves between the end of their Super Bowl run and the start of the 2023 season. Teams typically return between 50 and 70% of last year’s roster, and entering this season, Philly only had about 15 significant changes to its 53-man postseason roster (around 28%).
Howie Roseman has had a number of really good offseasons over the last few years and it’s probably a little early to criticize his decisions from a few months ago. But the Eagles have a bye week and it’s just halfway through the NFL season. Why not take a look at the players he and the front office let walk? Did he understand her correctly?
Miles Sanders, RB (Panthers)
Sanders signed a four-year, $25 million contract with Carolina, which was clearly too rich for Philly’s blood as they refused to sign a second contract. Philadelphia has one of the best running games in football, led by D’Andre Swift – who they traded for essentially nothing. Sanders has missed a few games due to injury and has only 229 yards, one touchdown and a mediocre 3.3 yards per carry average.
✅ You did it right.
Gardner Minshew, QB (Colts)
This game isn’t as clear-cut as Sanders, with Minshew signed to Indianapolis and Anthony Richardson opted out for the season. The Eagles have not yet had to use their backup Marcus Mariota. Former Eagle Minshew has been successful in five starts 63.6 percent of his passes for 1,527 yards. He has 8 TD and 5 INT and the Colts are 2-3 in his starts.
🤷♂️ Be determined.
Trey Sermon, RB (Colts)
The sermon followed Shane Sting also for Indy, and was a bench running back who received eight carries this season. He was essentially replaced on the Eagles roster by Rashaad Penny, a more talented player.
✅ You did it right.
Zach Pascal, WR (Cardinals)
Pascal followed the other outgoing coordinator after last season and played for Jonathan Gannon in Arizona. He has four catches on 10 targets. His successor in the Philly squad Olamide Zacchaeus has surpassed him.
✅ You did it right.
Isaac Seumalo, LG (Steelers)
Seumalo has a Super Bowl ring from 2018 but was allowed to hit free agency at age 30 after 2022 due to the Eagles’ depth on offense and his contract demands. Cam Jürgens, on the other hand, was a very good player back then healthyAnd Sua Opeta was useful with Jürgens injured. Seumalo has played every snap in Pittsburgh and appears to be worth the three-year, $24 million contract they also signed him to. It looks like both teams made good decisions here.
🤷♂️ Could go either way.
TJ Edwards, LB (Bears)
Edwards is one of the few bright spots for the Bears this season – he has the second-most combined tackles in the NFL with exactly 100. His 57 solo tackles are the third most. Meanwhile, the Eagles aren’t exactly having an easy time at linebacker, as Nakobe Dean is injured again and they’ve put together a unit now led by Zack Cunningham and Nick Morrow. Was $19.5 million for three years really too rich for Philadelphia?
🙅♂️ You misunderstood it.
Kyzir White, LB (Cardinals)
White is playing reasonably well for Gannon in Arizona, but the Eagles were trying to avoid the $10 million two-season fee he was signed for. He has 76 tackles and two sacks. He also has nine tackles for loss, two pass deflections and would have provided depth and leadership at linebacker.
🙅♂️ You misunderstood it.
Javon Hargrave, DT (49ers)
Last year’s interior D-line star has three sacks and only seven QB pressures so far in San Francisco. Seems like the Eagles dodged a bullet – the Niners signed him to a four-year, $81 million deal with $40 million guaranteed. Meanwhile, Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter are doing just fine.
✅ You did it right.
Linval Joseph, DT (invoices)
Like last season, Joseph joined a contending team late this year. He has played one game with the Bills so far. He’s 34 and the Eagles don’t need him, nor do they need Ndamukong Suh or Robert Quinn, neither of whom has played yet in 2023.
✅ You did it right.
Marcus Epps, S (Raiders)
The Eagles retained both starting safeties for 2022 this offseason. We’ll start with Epps, who went to Las Vegas and earned $12 million in two seasons. He did well with a pretty poor defense, starting all nine games and totaling 40 tackles. The safety question is difficult to answer, as the Eagles’ lack of depth and talent led Roseman to make a trade for All-Pro Kevin Byard – a trade that didn’t cost Philly all that much. It’s hard to imagine they would be better off with Epps as the starter, even if they have injury issues at the position. Worth mentioning is Reed Blankenship, who has made great strides.
✅ You did it right.
CJ Gardner-Johnson, S (Lions)
After leading the NFL in interceptions last season, it was shocking to see the Eagles let him walk for just $8 million and one year, which is what he got in Detroit. But he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2 and is unlikely to return this season. It’s hard to gauge whether it would have been worth keeping him in Philly – there were certainly some baggage issues – but based on his season-ending injury, one has to suspect the Eagles dodged a bullet anyway.
✅ You did it right.
Follow Evan on Twitter: @evan_macy
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
