Biggest questions facing Eagles as they enter 2026 offseason

Here are three of the biggest questions the Eagles are facing as they enter the 2026 offseason.

By Dave Zangaro • Published January 15, 2026

The Eagles’ season ended in disappointing fashion with a wild-card round exit, so the offseason came a little early this year.

And it’s an important offseason.

As the Eagles desperately try to get back to the top of the mountain, it’ll be up to the decision-makers to face some difficult questions this offseason. That began earlier this week when the Eagles decided to move on from Kevin Patullo as offensive coordinator.

Here are the three biggest questions facing the Eagles entering this offseason:

1. Who should they hire as OC?

The offensive coordinator carousel will continue to turn this offseason after the team decided to move on from Patullo after just one season. That was the easy part of the decision because the Eagles’ offense underperformed all season and continued to underperform in the playoff game. It’s just not true that Patullo was the only reason the Eagles’ offense struggled this season, but bringing in a new coordinator should really help.

The good news is that the offensive coordinator position in Philadelphia should be an attractive one for potential candidates. After all, the last three outsiders hired as Eagles OC (Frank Reich, Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore) went on to become head coaches.

There are plenty of good candidates out there and we can break them up into three categories:

Experienced former head coaches: Mike McDaniel, Kevin Stefanski, Kliff Kingsbury, Brian Daboll

The Vic Fangio of offense model: Todd Monken, David Shaw, Frank Reich

The up-and-comers: Nate Scheelhaase, Zac Robinson, Mike Kafka, Mike LaFleur, Jerrod Johnson

Over the next few weeks we’ll learn more about the Eagles’ search for a new offensive coordinator but it probably makes sense to swing big. They need someone who can take control on offense and run that side of the ball like Moore did in the 2024 season.

2. What will happen with A.J. Brown?

Without knowing the context, this would seem like a pretty stupid question. A.J. Brown is a 28-year-old receiver who has over 5,000 yards receiving in his first four years in an Eagles uniform. He’s a great player in his prime, under contract for the next few seasons, and Howie Roseman isn’t in the business of trading away great players.

But … there’s obviously more context needed in this situation. Brown was frustrated throughout this season and it’s fair to wonder if a change of scenery for the Pro Bowler might be necessary. Although, it does seem like Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts are in a better place these days.

"A.J. and I have talked,” Hurts said at locker cleanout day. "We’re in a good, great place.”

Brown was not seen Monday as the Eagles cleaned out their lockers and he declined to speak to reporters after the playoff loss the previous day. We haven’t heard from Brown publicly in over a month, so it’s hard to know what he’s thinking.

While the Eagles would probably prefer to keep Brown for the rest of his prime, if things aren’t fixable, trading him isn’t easy either. Trading him before June 1 would mean eating a massive cap hit. Trading him after June 1 (which would basically split up the dead money over two seasons) is more palatable but the Eagles shouldn’t just give him away either.

Here’s a look at the salary ramifications of a Brown trade, via OverTheCap:

Pre-June 1 trade: 2026 dead cap of $43,448,702; adds $20,055,206 to cap

Post-June 1 trade: 2026 dead cap of $16,353,496; saves $7,040,000 on cap

3. How will they handled free agency?

The Eagles had to watch some talented players leave their team after the Super Bowl. Guys like Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Mekhi Becton, Darius Slay and more left after the 2024 season and there are some more interesting decisions to make this offseason.

Here’s a list of the Eagles’ pending free agents:

Offense: TE Dallas Goedert, WR Jahan Dotson, OT Fred Johnson, OL Brett Toth, TE Grant Calcaterra, TE Kylen Granson, OL Matt Pryor, QB Sam Howell, RB A.J. Dillon, FB Ben VanSumeren

Defense: LB Nakobe Dean, OLB Jaelan Phillips, S Reed Blankenship, S Marcus Epps, CB Adoree’ Jackson, OLB Brandon Graham, OLB Joshua Uche, OLB Azeez Ojulari, OLB Ogbo Okornokwo

The toughest decisions from the list are going to be Goedert, Dean, Phillips and Blankenship. The Eagles were eventually able to come to a one-year agreement to keep Goedert on the team in 2025 and maybe that happens again. On defense, Dean has been great but Jihaad Campbell is waiting in the wings. Phillips was good after joining the team at trade deadline, but the Eagles might not have the money to keep him. And it’s curious that Blankenship never got an extension before the 2025 season.

In addition to those pending free agents, there are some Eagles defensive players who are eligible for extensions. Guys like Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Nolan Smith could all be in line to get paid.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/biggest-questions-facing-eagles-as-they-enter-2026-offseason/707388/

So the OC one is very obvious and I guess they kind of need to make that hire before deciding on their pending FAs? Because depending what route they go may impact what they want to do in terms of player personnel on offense.

AJ is a really interesting one. On the one hand I think maybe it’s time he went. I think he has declined physically and we saw that during the season. But that dead cap hit is huge and he’s still a very good player. If he and Hurts have worked things out and he’s actually going to knuckle down and not cause issues next year then bring him back. Unfortunately that seems unlikely given the last 2-3 years.

As for the FAs? They have some huge decisions to make no doubt. What do they do with JD? Dean is a big one as I feel he’s such a tone setter. Phillips started hot but I think went off a little bit so maybe he’s affordable? But no doubt they need a stud DE this off season.

How much cap do they have? Are we in a decent position to resign guys and maybe make a splash or two?

2 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

So the OC one is very obvious and I guess they kind of need to make that hire before deciding on their pending FAs? Because depending what route they go may impact what they want to do in terms of player personnel on offense.

AJ is a really interesting one. On the one hand I think maybe it’s time he went. I think he has declined physically and we saw that during the season. But that dead cap hit is huge and he’s still a very good player. If he and Hurts have worked things out and he’s actually going to knuckle down and not cause issues next year then bring him back. Unfortunately that seems unlikely given the last 2-3 years.

As for the FAs? They have some huge decisions to make no doubt. What do they do with JD? Dean is a big one as I feel he’s such a tone setter. Phillips started hot but I think went off a little bit so maybe he’s affordable? But no doubt they need a stud DE this off season.

How much cap do they have? Are we in a decent position to resign guys and maybe make a splash or two?

According to OTC we have ~$10.5M. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space

Spotrac says ~$15.5M. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cap

Unclear to me why there is a difference there.

2 hours ago, time2rock said:

According to OTC we have ~$10.5M. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space

Spotrac says ~$15.5M. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cap

Unclear to me why there is a difference there.

That’s bad… like really bad? I mean that’s barely enough to sign one of the main defensive guys? I guess that’s pre the cap going up.

4. Will the O-line be an unhealthy, underperforming, pushed around group again in 2026, or will Howie find a way to return the group to dominance?

The OC selection will work itself out. I 'm already sick of the subject since it's been talked, written, about, and speculated about ad nauseum.

AJ Brown. I have a question I hope you can answer. If we trade AJ post June 1 can we get draft picks in this year's draft for him?

Free agency - don't hope for much. We're in the exact same situation as last year. $14 in cap space after our draft class, several key free agents of our own, and a bunch of big ticket signings on the horizon.

On 1/15/2026 at 9:22 AM, time2rock said:

The toughest decisions from the list are going to be Goedert, Dean, Phillips and Blankenship.

My guess - we can sign 2 of them. Then 2 of the Mann, Big Fred, Calcaterra, Toth, Uche group.