Eagles: 3 Things we should gather from Howie Roseman
Don’t expect any real info on personnel from Howie Roseman prior to March.
You have to love Howie Roseman (sort of). For those that don’t know, he’s been the Philadelphia Eagles‘ executive vice president of football operations. He makes fans very angry sometimes. He makes them stand up and cheer sometimes. One thing’s certain. You have to pay attention to him, both because he’s the man in charge and because he’s so entertaining.
During the era of former head coach Chip Kelly, Roseman was the forgotten man. That’s how Kelly wanted it, and to appease his head coach, owner Jeffrey Lurie chose to abide by his wishes. Now, Kelly’s been fired from his second NFL franchise in two years, the Eagles have found their quarterback of the future and Roseman is free to build this franchise without question from anyone.
Well, hold off on that last one for a second.
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Don’t expect the questions not to fly with the Philadelphia media around. Also, the Eagles are followed by one of the most intelligent and passionate fan bases in all of sports.
Last off-season, the Eagles gave out a ton of money. Truthfully, we aren’t sure if the decisions he made have paid off yet (defensive end Vinny Curry for instance). Yes, there are times when you’re going to love Roseman. There are times he’s going to make you scratch your head, but overall, he’s probably the right guy for the position.
Here are three things we’ve learned since the final gun went off against the Dallas Cowboys:
1. The only thing we’re certain of is both starting tackles, Jason Peters and Lane Johnson, aren’t going anywhere.
There’s been concern about whether Peters should stay. He’s aging, he’s had injury concerns and Johnson’s got a pretty hefty salary for a right tackle. Some say moving Johnson to left tackle may be the logical first step in reshuffling the offensive line. Roseman has insisted, as recently as this week, that he sees Peters as an NFL Hall of Fame inductee when his career concludes. He also acknowledges the importance of Johnson’s presence and seems confident that another suspension isn’t coming. If Roseman has the final say, both will be on this team.
2. We won’t get any real info on a possible return to Philly by DeSean Jackson until March.
Free agency in the NFL begins on March 9th. Roseman isn’t really allowed to give any real information until then and probably won’t give any really good clues about what the team is thinking. You’ll have to wait until then to see if the Eagles reunite with Jackson. We’re not going to get a lot of info on any of the Eagles’ nine potential free agents before then either.
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3. Expect a lot to change between now and the draft in April.
Last year, the Eagles didn’t have a second-round or a fourth-round draft selection. Two trades moved them from picking in the middle of the first round to picking second. The Eagles currently have very little to spend in free agency and eight picks in the 2017 draft. History has shown us that things will change quite a bit between now and then. If there’s a way to free up some money, he’ll find it. If moves can be made in the draft, they’ll be made. No one will ever accuse him of being anything other than proactive.
On another note:
By the way, did you notice he even took time to take one last jab at Chip Kelly? Click here if you missed his press conference from earlier in the week. “It seems like, a long time ago, we were leading the National Football League in 20-yard-plus plays… I don’t have a DeLorean Time Machine to go back in time and get some of those guys back.” In other words, running back LeSean McCoy and wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson are all gone. You definitely can’t blame Roseman for any of that.