“I don’t think I ever talked this long during questions,” Howie Roseman said.
The general manager grinned at Nick Sirianni. The head coach shrugged.
“Nice chewing of the clock,” Sirianni muttered.
“Thank you,” Roseman replied.
Roseman returned to his rambling, his two-minute, 40-second response to a question in which he partly defined the dynamic of his team-building philosophy. The Philadelphia Eagles hold the No. 22 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and there’s a surplus of premier offensive tackles. Well, how do they balance the idea of using that selection on a tackle when two-time first-team All-Pro Lane Johnson is under contract through 2026 and Jordan Mailata just signed a three-year, $66 million extension through 2028?
Roseman began by saying Johnson is “still one of the best players in the league,” an apparent dissuasion from any discussion of whether Johnson, who turns 34 in May, is considering retiring anytime soon. Retirement talk can’t be helped. Not after franchise pillars Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox recently said their goodbyes. Not when Brandon Graham is entering a self-described “farewell tour.” But the Eagles leverage such leadership before it leaves the building. It’s baked into the calculus of the team’s draft-day decisions.
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Consider how coaches develop players, Sirianni says. How do they get players to learn? “We let them study the greats,” he said. They dig out tapes of Hall of Famers, throw the film up on the screen and show the youngsters, reel after reel, what excellence looks like. But what if a team already has one of the greats on the roster? Wouldn’t that be a reasonable resource? Consider how, in 2022, the Eagles spent a second-round pick on Cam Jurgens — who only played center at Nebraska — although Kelce was still under contract, Roseman says. Consider how the Eagles traded up for defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter in each of the last two drafts while Cox was still expected to be (and wound up being) the team’s primary starter.
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“You have two options, right?” Roseman said. “You can kind of tell people stories about work ethic and how guys played or how they led, or you can have them watch that. So, for us, when we drafted Cam, we were still always trying to recruit Jason to keep playing for as long as he felt comfortable playing. But, at the same time, having him be able to study how Jason practices, how Jason leads, how Jason takes notes, instead of saying, ‘Man, Cam. You should’ve seen how Jason led, how he practiced, how he takes notes.’
“We think that gives him the best potential to reach the ability that he can do (it). And the same for Jordan and Jalen. There’s benefits to that. In the short term, you can say, ‘Well, you know, Cam sat for a year, really. So maybe you could’ve gotten some bigger bang for your buck with that second-round pick in the short term.’ But we think over the long term. And we’re trying to do things that are best for this team long term that it makes sense for these guys to be around these great players.”
It’s little wonder why Roseman’s reply was wordy. It’s a question that struck at the core of how the Eagles operate. Roseman, first an intern with the franchise in 2000, became the general manager beginning in 2010 and calls himself a “caretaker of this organization,” a steward whose ultimate responsibility involves preventing the roster from falling into the sort of disastrous disrepair that requires a rebuild.
The Eagles have long avoided such a roster reconstruction. A team consistently stocked with skill won Super Bowl LII, lost Super Bowl LVII and fielded just five losing seasons since 2000 — only once in back-to-back years. The central idea, Roseman said, has been to “get out in front of problems,” and, even when liberally applied, the idea explains the thinking behind every major decision he’s made this offseason.
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It’s fitting that only an hour before Roseman and Sirianni met with reporters for their pre-draft news conference at the NovaCare Complex, DeVonta Smith sat behind the same podium and spoke about his contract extension. The Eagles picked up their 2021 first-round pick’s fifth-year option, then tacked on another three-year, $75 million extension that will keep Smith under contract through the 2028 season. Mailata (2018 seventh-round pick) and left guard Landon Dickerson (2021 second-rounder) also signed lucrative extensions through 2028, collectively representing the second of the team’s apparent three-step team-building plan under Roseman:
- Build your roster through the draft.
- Retain your best players by entering extension talks early, and reaching affordable long-term deals when the ever-increasing salary cap rises.
- Prepare for the mid- and long-term future by drafting players who can develop behind those you awarded long-term extensions.
Before the Eagles drafted Smith No. 10 overall, they spent several seasons failing to supply their quarterbacks with pass catchers who were even passable. Then, by packaging a 2022 first-round pick with a third-round selection to acquire A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans, and immediately signing him to a four-year, $100 million extension, Roseman solidified star power at the position by effectively combining Steps 1 and 2 in one acquisition.
The Eagles believe the more they stick to this three-step process, the more it benefits the team’s culture. They value the mutual respect that comes with retention, the institutional knowledge that builds when players spend their entire careers with one team. Eight of the Eagles’ projected 22 offensive and defensive starters are former draft picks now playing on contract extensions. Five others are still playing within their rookie deals.
“Being a team starts with your relationship with each other,” Smith said. “Everybody is comfortable pushing you to the limits that are uncomfortable.”
Roseman is accepting a risk within his strategy. He often secures extensions with players by guaranteeing them substantial percentages of the contract’s total value (Smith’s deal includes $51 million guaranteed). Roseman also spreads out the cap hits associated with those guarantees across voidable years (Smith’s deal has four) in which players are still on the books long after their time with the team has technically expired.
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The Eagles have 17 players who will be paid a combined $409.6 million in bonuses during voidable years alone, according to Over the Cap. Those guarantees must eventually be paid, even during regression, injury or retirement. Kelce, who had four voidable years included in his contract, will be a $16.4 million cap hit in 2025. Although, by then, he won’t have played a snap in two seasons. But in the era of an ever-growing salary cap (which increased by $30 million this offseason), Roseman believes the money is well spent.
“It really gives you tremendous flexibility as you build your team going forward,” he said. “It’s a great success story for us to be able to draft guys and sign them to extensions. I think it’s a great message to our team that if you come here and do the right thing, you don’t have to leave. Obviously, unfortunately, we lost two players, two of the greatest Eagles in the history of our franchise have retired, but they played with one franchise. We’re very optimistic that two of our other guys will wind up doing that. I think that’s legacy to be able to have players who are able to do that. And when other players see that, I think that’s a good part of building culture.”
So, back to the original question: Could the Eagles spend the No. 22 overall pick on a tackle? Could they effectively cross out “Step 3” by trading up to acquire a versatile prospect like Washington’s Troy Fautanu? This, of course, Roseman wouldn’t relent. His lecture may suggest they could very well pick an offensive tackle. But that rationale could just as easily be applied if the Eagles draft a cornerback behind 33-year-old Darius Slay, or a wide receiver who can develop behind Brown and Smith, or another edge rusher who can learn from Graham.
The Eagles don’t intend to reach for the sake of drafting a specific position. Their roster-building strategy has long afforded them the luxury of choice.
(Photo of Howie Roseman: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
