1 hour ago, ManuManu said:

Fowler also says the Eagles are taking calls on Carter. I think this goes beyond "we’ll listen on anyone.”

Come on man, this is peak misinformation season

38 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

I want none of the Packers trash WRs. Reed would be great but he is always injured. Christian Watson is a playmaker who also drops balls and is always injured. The rest are complete trash. 0 interest.

Bateman is serviceable but Nailor is just as good and wont cost anything in a trade.

Quentin Johnston would be interesting as a good #2.

But this is a deep, deep WR draft. I wouldnt trade for anyone till you see how the draft plays out.

I would swipe Golden from GB if possible

2 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

From a GM and 30,000’ perspective, I just don’t think there is any good reason to give Philips good money to stay here. Left to his own devices, I really don’t think Howie would do it (and I don’t think he should).

Phillips is a massive ongoing injury risk. He was an edge setter here, but not a pass rusher. He’s just not going to torture QBs or disrupt the passing game…both Nolan Smith and Hunt have more pass rush upside at this point.

But Phillips sets the edge, is a very balanced edge…and Vic likes him. They almost lost Vic to retirement, so I’m sure promising to keep Phillips on board was a major overture from Lurie/Howie to Vic in the offseason.

All things being equal, I’m happy to have Phillips on the roster. But at what cost? Ignore the dollar figure. Let’s talk personnel. The 4 players I want extended are Davis (done), Carter (looking more uncertain than ever) and Mitchell/Dejean (can’t do it yet but need to plan for it). If re-signing Phillips risks one of them, it’s not even remotely worth it.

If Carter is moved that's not a problem anymore

I’m going to unleash an old fashioned negative post. If you don’t like it, just read on. I think Howie has done nothing but make good decisions here. It’s negative because all teams have a life cycle, not because they are incompetent. And there are just so many signs pointing to the Eagles being at an irreversible decline in their life cycle.

The 3 best players on offense are Barkley, AJ Brown, and Lane Johnson. Lane has been left for dead. Barkley is universally accepted as over-mileaged with the need to be in a rotation. AJ Brown, also over the hill, is associated with trade rumors.

The best player on the SB defense, Jalen Carter, is now associated with trade rumors.

They are doing a 180 on offense with a scheme that every casual observer thinks is not a fit for Hurts…but they are making the change because they clearly need to do something drastic to pull the offense out of the cellar.

This is not shaping up to be a good team next year…

4 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

From a GM and 30,000’ perspective, I just don’t think there is any good reason to give Philips good money to stay here. Left to his own devices, I really don’t think Howie would do it (and I don’t think he should).

Phillips is a massive ongoing injury risk. He was an edge setter here, but not a pass rusher. He’s just not going to torture QBs or disrupt the passing game…both Nolan Smith and Hunt have more pass rush upside at this point.

But Phillips sets the edge, is a very balanced edge…and Vic likes him. They almost lost Vic to retirement, so I’m sure promising to keep Phillips on board was a major overture from Lurie/Howie to Vic in the offseason.

All things being equal, I’m happy to have Phillips on the roster. But at what cost? Ignore the dollar figure. Let’s talk personnel. The 4 players I want extended are Davis (done), Carter (looking more uncertain than ever) and Mitchell/Dejean (can’t do it yet but need to plan for it). If re-signing Phillips risks one of them, it’s not even remotely worth it.

Vic likes Phillips and brough him to the Eagles. Your point on the Vic factor is valid on keeping Phillips around. Since Vic may be on the last leg of his career, contract for Phillips should be 1-2 years at most.

4 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

If Carter is moved that's not a problem anymore

Well do we want Carter to be moved…?

I was very critical of Carter last year and don’t want him to get a mega deal this offseason…but the Eagles are clearly better off with Carter in the fold and playing like it’s 2024 (long term) than they are trading him for any amount of draft compensation. This was supposed to be the best, most disruptive player on a defense on a team completely built around being carried by the defense.

You aren’t getting anyone or anything in the draft with Carter compensation that is better than what he, at his best, can bring. Unless….and not to unearth a nasty QB debate…you are trying to accumulate draft capital to go after a top QB in the next year or 2.

3 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I’m going to unleash an old fashioned negative post. If you don’t like it, just read on. I think Howie has done nothing but make good decisions here. It’s negative because all teams have a life cycle, not because they are incompetent. And there are just so many signs pointing to the Eagles being at an irreversible decline in their life cycle.

The 3 best players on offense are Barkley, AJ Brown, and Lane Johnson. Lane has been left for dead. Barkley is universally accepted as over-mileaged with the need to be in a rotation. AJ Brown, also over the hill, is associated with trade rumors.

The best player on the SB defense, Jalen Carter, is now associated with trade rumors.

They are doing a 180 on offense with a scheme that every casual observer thinks is not a fit for Hurts…but they are making the change because they clearly need to do something drastic to pull the offense out of the cellar.

This is not shaping up to be a good team next year…

Major questions to be answered. As players cycle out, its not insignificant to consider which players cycle back in. If those guys are replaced adequately, theres no big decline for the team.

There could be a decline, but at least we know with Howie, its never very steep, and its never very long.

Also, I remember there being no hope for the team after the 2023 collapse. No reason to think anything would be any different with the same coach, QB, and largely the same players. Then, they win the super bowl.

You never know...

Just now, HazletonEagle said:

Major questions to be answered. As players cycle out, its not insignificant to consider which players cycle back in. If those guys are replaced adequately, theres no big decline for the team.

There could be a decline, but at least we know with Howie, its never very steep, and its never very long.

Also, I remember there being no hope for the team after the 2023 collapse. No reason to think anything would be any different with the same coach, QB, and largely the same players. Then, they win the super bowl.

You never know...

Yep the team was essentially dead after 4 games in 2024. People thought Vic was a has been then too. You just never know. I get it there are definitely negative scnearios that could play out tho I do think barring injuries the defense will be good regardless.

7 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I’m going to unleash an old fashioned negative post. If you don’t like it, just read on. I think Howie has done nothing but make good decisions here. It’s negative because all teams have a life cycle, not because they are incompetent. And there are just so many signs pointing to the Eagles being at an irreversible decline in their life cycle.

The 3 best players on offense are Barkley, AJ Brown, and Lane Johnson. Lane has been left for dead. Barkley is universally accepted as over-mileaged with the need to be in a rotation. AJ Brown, also over the hill, is associated with trade rumors.

The best player on the SB defense, Jalen Carter, is now associated with trade rumors.

They are doing a 180 on offense with a scheme that every casual observer thinks is not a fit for Hurts…but they are making the change because they clearly need to do something drastic to pull the offense out of the cellar.

This is not shaping up to be a good team next year…

Still remains to be seen because free agency hasn't even started, but for the first time in several years I think the potential is there for them to flat out suck next season. If they lose out on Jaelan Phillips and trade AJ Brown I think this team is headed for 7 win territory very quickly. They made a lot of changes to the offense and staff. If they start losing key talent too, things can fall off very quickly. And I don't even look at 2025 as an 11 win team. They won that many games, but eye test to me was they played like an 8 or 9 win team. And I can't remember the last time a team made such drastic changes to an offensive system without changing the head coach. They are going to be relying on a lot of unknowns to work and usually at least half of those things don't go well.

But too early to say. They definitely could be great next season if things go right, but I think the potential for the first time in years is there before the season for them to really not be good. And if so that falls on Howie. He had a terrible offseason last year. You can get away with one, but when you start stacking them, they add up, and it starts to close your championship window quickly.

28 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

hey cap guys @vikas83 @LeanMeanGM

Whats the word on the impact of a Jalen Carter trade? Free up any cap this season? Also, whats the impact on future seasons where suddenly you dont have to give him that 100M dollar contract? Which season were you projecting his extension to kick in and how much more cap do we have there if we trade him?

It would give $3.7M in cap space this year.

Future seasons is a different animal. If the Eagles exercise his 5th year option he’s $27M against the cap in 2027 but he’ll never play a snap at that number. He would be traded or extended. Assuming he’s extended and Howie does what he usually does the significant cap hits wouldn’t be until 2029 probably. The bigger impact would be a trade would save major cash.

As I see it, offseasons can almost never feel negative. We are either building super bowl contenders, or in an exciting period of change.

In all my years REALLY following this team (I remember nothing before Rhodes, and REALLY became old enough to truly pay attention in the Reid era), theres never been a period of prolonged downfall and terrible football.

Yeah Im lucky that this period of success has filled my entire life as a football fan. But, its still the reality. I dont fear a prolonged period of despair for this team. So a decline to me is just a temporary, and exciting period of change to load up for the next big run.

1 minute ago, LeanMeanGM said:

It would give $3.7M in cap space this year.

Future seasons is a different animal. If the Eagles exercise his 5th year option he’s $27M against the cap in 2027 but he’ll never play a snap at that number. He would be traded or extended. Assuming he’s extended and Howie does what he usually does the significant cap hits wouldn’t be until 2029 probably. The bigger impact would be a trade would save major cash.

The trade impact on future seasons is what Im asking about.

If the eagles trade Jalen Carter this season, Id imagine it can completely change how aggressive they can be in free agency. Though it may only give them a few extra million this year, next year could be a different animal, couldnt it?

Couldnt we probably keep Phillips, Dean, Blankenship, and Mann without blinking an eye this year and probably still have decent cap available next year as well?

The only way trading Jalen Carter makes sense is if Howie thinks Jalen Hurts is cooked and wants to position himself to trade up for a top QB in a loaded 2027 QB class.

It doesn't from an "Omg we worry about giving him a long-term deal!!" perspective. He's too talented, and NFL contracts are not hard to get out of anyway if something goes wrong. In terms of pure talent he's a top 3 most talented Eagles defensive player ever.

1 hour ago, ManuManu said:

Fowler also says the Eagles are taking calls on Carter. I think this goes beyond "we’ll listen on anyone.”

I agree, there's smoke here. I don't want to do it, but if looking at it from the GM's standpoint, I can understand. He will be paid a ton, you already have a ton of others to pay coming up that will be top end of the market for their positions, he has some history with attitude, now injured shoulders that is a bit of a mystery on what caused it and if it can even be fixed and he will cost the most out of anyone with a mega contract.

You should be able to start the conversations at two 1st's. If you just let him walk in FA getting back a 3rd rounder is not ideal and that's not a guarantee either.

You can't sign everyone, I could see trying to get a massive haul now for him. I still hope he can be extended, but Howie has to be ahead of the curve and make tough decisions and Carter would bring a haul back. You can spread that money around to many other areas. It would suck to trade him, he's an absolute game wrecker when he is on and you are not able to replace him. Very tough decisions this off-season.

Let’s put it this way… if they trade Carter I’m not sure what that means both for the now nor for the future. On the one hand it’s definitely saying this team is not trying to win now. On the other he’s a young player with so much talent so it’s hardly a move for the future.

13 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

Still remains to be seen because free agency hasn't even started, but for the first time in several years I think the potential is there for them to flat out suck next season. If they lose out on Jaelan Phillips and trade AJ Brown I think this team is headed for 7 win territory very quickly. They made a lot of changes to the offense and staff. If they start losing key talent too, things can fall off very quickly. And I don't even look at 2025 as an 11 win team. They won that many games, but eye test to me was they played like an 8 or 9 win team. And I can't remember the last time a team made such drastic changes to an offensive system without changing the head coach. They are going to be relying on a lot of unknowns to work and usually at least half of those things don't go well.

But too early to say. They definitely could be great next season if things go right, but I think the potential for the first time in years is there before the season for them to really not be good. And if so that falls on Howie. He had a terrible offseason last year. You can get away with one, but when you start stacking them, they add up, and it starts to close your championship window quickly.

16 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

Yep the team was essentially dead after 4 games in 2024. People thought Vic was a has been then too. You just never know. I get it there are definitely negative scnearios that could play out tho I do think barring injuries the defense will be good regardless.

18 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

Major questions to be answered. As players cycle out, its not insignificant to consider which players cycle back in. If those guys are replaced adequately, theres no big decline for the team.

There could be a decline, but at least we know with Howie, its never very steep, and its never very long.

Also, I remember there being no hope for the team after the 2023 collapse. No reason to think anything would be any different with the same coach, QB, and largely the same players. Then, they win the super bowl.

You never know...

To be clear, I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that the Eagles are going to suck next year.

After the 2023 season, the arrow was unquestionably pointed down. Things were worse than they are now. And then MULTIPLE miracles happened in one offseason. Lane stayed healthy (and he was practically left for dead back then too). They added Barkley, who gave them a historic HOF, MVP quality season and boost. They had 2 rookie draft picks (Mitchell and Dejean) that played at a pro-bowl level as rookies. And 2 defenders, Carter and Nolan Smith, really came on in the back stretch and playoffs while providing a massive boost over the 2023 team. Last, and certainly not least, the change at DC was night and day…it flipped a switch on for the defense.

Things were worse in 2023…but the amount of things that went right that offseason were INCREDIBLE.

So the arrow is again pointed down. And they could have another offseason like that, but I think we all know it isn’t likely. Barkley isn’t going to repeat 2024. Lane isn’t going to play all year. I don’t think Campbell and Mukuba are going to be a huge second year boost to make the defense better. And I don’t think the new offensive coaching staff are going to magically flip things as effectively as Vic did for the defense in 2024. And….it’s a huge ask for the 2026 draft to produce the same immediate boost that the 2024 draft did. That’s nearly impossible.

4 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Let’s put it this way… if they trade Carter I’m not sure what that means both for the now nor for the future. On the one hand it’s definitely saying this team is not trying to win now. On the other he’s a young player with so much talent so it’s hardly a move for the future.

First of all, the Carter trade stuff is just a feint puff of barely appreciable smoke simply because they just extended Davis. We are just hearing of it. It could be BS. Or, of course, it could be real.

If real, it can only mean one of 3 things:

1. They want capital for a new QB

2. They are more frustrated and defeated by his attitude and immaturity than anyone thought.

3. Their cap situation is worse than anyone thought and they want to recoup what they can.

11 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

The trade impact on future seasons is what Im asking about.

If the eagles trade Jalen Carter this season, Id imagine it can completely change how aggressive they can be in free agency. Though it may only give them a few extra million this year, next year could be a different animal, couldnt it?

Couldnt we probably keep Phillips, Dean, Blankenship, and Mann without blinking an eye this year and probably still have decent cap available next year as well?

It’s a nuanced question. From a cash perspective, yes trading Carter would help retain all those guys. From a cap perspective it’s almost irrelevant because extending Carter would lower his future cap hits which also helps retain more guys.

Like I said before his 5th year option is $27M cap space but he’s not going to play on that ever. So an assumption trading him clears $27M is misleading. It’s more like saving $6M to $8M in cap space next year. The bigger impact is saving all the cash you would have to pay him.

2 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

First of all, the Carter trade stuff is just a feint puff of barely appreciable smoke simply because they just extended Davis. We are just hearing of it. It could be BS. Or, of course, it could be real.

If real, it can only mean one of 3 things:

1. They want capital for a new QB

2. They are more frustrated and defeated by his attitude and immaturity than anyone thought.

3. Their cap situation is worse than anyone thought and they want to recoup what they can.

#3 is never possible under Howie so it must be one of the first ones.

Just now, Khani1 said:

#3 is never possible under Howie so it must be one of the first ones.

Of course it’s possible. Howie does a great job, but he can’t defy the salary cap. You think he wouldn’t like to have Milton Williams and Josh Sweat on this team?

It could be a simple reality that they cannot extend Davis, Carter, Mitchell, and Dejean. If Carter is the most expensive and most immature of all of them, then he could be the one that has to go.

7 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

First of all, the Carter trade stuff is just a feint puff of barely appreciable smoke simply because they just extended Davis. We are just hearing of it. It could be BS. Or, of course, it could be real.

If real, it can only mean one of 3 things:

1. They want capital for a new QB

2. They are more frustrated and defeated by his attitude and immaturity than anyone thought.

3. Their cap situation is worse than anyone thought and they want to recoup what they can.

Last season Micah Parsons said Carter was involved in a potential deal for him. It’s been around, but it’s getting a lot noisier.

14 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

First of all, the Carter trade stuff is just a feint puff of barely appreciable smoke simply because they just extended Davis. We are just hearing of it. It could be BS. Or, of course, it could be real.

If real, it can only mean one of 3 things:

1. They want capital for a new QB

2. They are more frustrated and defeated by his attitude and immaturity than anyone thought.

3. Their cap situation is worse than anyone thought and they want to recoup what they can.

4. His health (shoulders) as a long term issue

15 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Let’s put it this way… if they trade Carter I’m not sure what that means both for the now nor for the future. On the one hand it’s definitely saying this team is not trying to win now. On the other he’s a young player with so much talent so it’s hardly a move for the future.

Losing Carter, AJ, Goedert, Dean, Stout all in one off-season, that certainly seems that we are slipping back into mediocrity, contenders still, but not at the top of the heap that we have been used too. Stout and Carter specifically are unique advantages the other 31 teams did not have, that stings to not have them. Howie would have to do some major out of the box work to get us back to the top, but he needs to be near perfect with draft selections and FA signings. Last year he did not hit like the year before and Huff was a bust of a signing, he's not perfect and no one is with these things.

2 hours ago, ManuManu said:

Fowler also says the Eagles are taking calls on Carter. I think this goes beyond "we’ll listen on anyone.”

It’s Lyin’ season. No one does misdirection better than the Birds.