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After a long and winding road of ups, downs, and adversity, the Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl Champions once more.
They beat some of the best teams in the NFL, proved they can win in a number of different ways, and now sit pretty as the cream of the league's crop, forever known as the team that ruined the Kansas City Chiefs' three-peat aspirations.
And yet, in order to defend their title and prove they, too, are capable of a dynasty, Philadelphia will have to make some serious decisions about his impending free agents, with multiple Super Bowl starters now set to test the open market unless Howie Roseman steps in to prevent that from happening.
Will the Eagles keep Josh Sweat and Milton Williams, who each brought Patrick Mahomes down in the Super Bowl? Unfortunately, that feels unlikely, as they will both demand massive extensions that Philadelphia may not be willing to pay, what with their current depth and long-term cap constraints. How about Mekhi Becton? Maybe, but you'd have to think some team will offer him a big contract to join their squad with a chance to play tackle potentially on the table.
Will it be disappointing to see these players leave if that ends up being the play? Sure, all three played a massive role in Super Bowl 59 and will be heroes forever as a result. With that being said, there are multiple players who Philly will undoubtedly try to bring back, including the Eagles' 2024 defensive MVP.
1. Zack Baun
If the Eagles don't re-sign Zack Baun, we riot.
Okay, maybe that's a bit extreme, as no one wants to see a Mavericks situation break out in the City of Brotherly Love, but to say Baun has been anything but a revelation at inside linebacker for the Eagles would be putting it mildly, as he's probably the best interior linebacker the team has employed since… Chuck Bednarik?
Pro Bowl? Check. First-Team All-Pro? Check. 100 tackle season? Goodness, Baun had that mark before Thanksgiving and added an additional 51 on top of it for good measure to give all-time franchise single-season combined tackles leader T.J. Edwards a run for his money.
And the best part? He did it all for less than $2 million dollars on his barely over league minimum contract.
After largely filling a special teams/reserve rusher role in New Orleans after being drafted in the third round out of Wisconsin, likely because of his impressive size, Baun became a certified force for the Eagles, feasting on easy tackles set up by Fangio's defensive line, while looking natural as both a coverage player and a standup rusher. Though he did get beat on occasion in both the passing and running game, few could expect a player to take to a new position as quickly and successfully as Baun, essentially on the fly.
Currently projected to earn a contract with an average valuation of $17.6 million, according to Over The Cap – which feels high, but who really knows – could Baun be the first linebacker Roseman opted to keep since Nigel Bradham, with a series of quality players like Edwards allowed to leave in free agency because the executive didn't value the position? Well, considering how well he played in the Super Bowl and how well his coach gave Patrick Mahomes one of the worst days of his professional career, it's safe to assume at least one man will be banging the table at the NovaCare Center to get a deal done.
For Fangio's sake, let's hope Baun isn't a one-and-done; otherwise, he'll have to spend his time off looking for the next misplaced future All-Pro stashed away on the bottom of some team's roster ahead of free agency.
2. Isaiah Rodgers
While Isaiah Rodgers made headlines more for his post-Super Bowl social media captioning than his on-the-field contributions, when his number has been called by Philadelphia in 2024, he's played some really good football.
Initially joining the Indianapolis Colts as a sixth-round pick out of Massachusetts, Rodgers was famously suspended for the entire 2023 NFL season for betting on games, which caused his original team to release him from his contract despite developing into a key member of their secondary.
Despite only starting three games for the Birds in 2024, Rodgers appeared in 15 regular season contests and logged 36 percent of the Eagles' defensive snaps, largely due to a series of minor injuries suffered by Darius Slay. With Slay expected to retire in 2025, a declaration he may opt to amend now that he's become a Super Bowl Champion, the Eagles do need to find an heir apparent to “Big Play” sooner rather than later, even if Quinyon Mitchell will almost certainly fill the role of CB1 for the team moving forward.
Could that player end up Kelee Ringo, one of the Philly Dawgs who has excellent size and speed for the position but lacks polish? Maybe so, but if Rodgers is willing to return on a not-so-expensive second contract with Philadelphia, he could end up locking up a long-term spot at CB2 opposite Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, who played nearly every snap for the Eagles down the stretch despite being a “subpackage” player. Considering his speed, savvy, and tenacity at the position, Rodgers could likely take that opportunity and run with it if given a chance to be Slay's heir.
3. Khari Blasingame, Nicholas Morrow
What? No Sweat, no Milton, and no Becton, but Khari Blasingame and Nicholas Morrow? What the heck?
While yes, Sweat, Milton, or Becton each contributed more than Blasingame and Morrow combined, they will almost certainly each cost more than the duo combined as well to retain, potentially in multitudes, depending on the contract offers each receives from opposing front offices.
That really won't be the case, however, for Blasingame and Morrow, who Philadelphia plucked out of obscurity – read: NFL practice squads – before turning them into Super Bowl Champions.
For Blasingame, his addition came when fan favorite Ben VanSumeren saw his season come to an end last fall, ending what many considered a neo-classical fullback renaissance in South Philadelphia. While Blasingame didn't get much fanfare, the Eagles clearly liked him enough to activate him from the practice squad during the playoffs and had him in on multiple offensive plays in the Super Bowl, where he helped to lead the way for Barkley. While he isn't guaranteed a roster spot and could see Philly draft a fullback come April if expected offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo wants to keep the role, considering VanSumeren might not be ready to go right out of the gates, keeping competition at the position is a wise idea.
And as for Morrow, well, he was signed when Nakobe Dean went down with his own injury and helped to fill Oren Burks' spot on special teams when he got bumped up to starting linebacker. With Dean's status for 2025 still unclear, Morrow and Burks, too, if he doesn't receive a more significant offer elsewhere, could be a reliable reserve option who could fill a starting role if need be or stick around as the first linebacker off the bench if the Georgia Bulldog is ready to go for Week 1.
While neither player might make the roster in Week 1, they could stick around on the practice squad in 2025 and be an injury, illness, or infraction away from being right back on the field in a key role for the reigning and defensive Super Bowl Champions, which is an opportunity no other team can offer in free agency.