The Eagles are young, potentially still ascending, and should remain mostly intact for years to come

At 53-man cutdowns this season, the Philadelphia Eagles had the sixth-youngest roster in the NFL, at an average age of 25.6 years. They are young, they are talented, and they still have some room to grow. And yet, they're in the NFC Championship Game with a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

Their core players are also mostly under contract for years to come. Let's go position-by-position:

Quarterback

Notes: Depending on your view, the Eagles either have Hurts locked up until 2028, or they're stuck with him through at least 2026. They also have a pair of capable backups on cheap deals through next season.

Running back

Notes: We'll see if / how Barkley's game falls off in subsequent seasons after his heavy usage in 2024, but obvious he is already one of the Eagles' best free agent signings in franchise history, and he's still under contract for two more years.

Wide receiver

Notes: The two important names above are Brown and Smith, of course, and they are both under contract for at least the next four seasons.

Tight end

Notes: Goedert has had durability issues, but he is a very good player when he's on the field and has had two good games to begin the playoffs. The tight end position is likely to be addressed in the 2025 draft, which is deep and talented at the position. I wouldn't rule out a short Goedert extension this offseason if he's willing to take a team-friendly deal.

Offensive tackle

Notes: Johnson had one of his best seasons in 2024 at the age of 34, and he has said that he feels better this season at this time of year than he has in past years. He will almost certainly come back in 2025, and seems interested in playing even beyond that.

Mailata has developed into a star player, and he's under contract for four more years.

Guard

Notes: Like Mailata above, Dickerson is under contract for four more years. The left side of the Eagles' line is going to have outstanding continuity for the next half decade.

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Becton is a free agent this offseason. Could he return? Sure! He had a rough four years with the Jets before excelling with a much better organization. My guess? He'll get an attractive offer from some other o-line desperate team, the Eagles will decide he is out of their price range, and Becton will move on. We'll see.

If Becton does indeed move on, the Eagles have Steen in house, or if they don't like the way that he is progressing, they've shown the last two years that they have been able to fill guys in at RG get good play out of them.

Center

Notes: Spoiler: Jurgens will very likely get a contract extension this offseason that will end sometime around 2029 or 2030.

Edge defenders

Notes: This is easily the most interesting positional group on the Eagles' roster this offseason.

The Eagles signed Huff to a three-year deal worth $51 million ($17 million per year) last offseason, and he has been a bust who doesn't even have a role at all in the regular defense anymore. The silver lining is that Smith has improved greatly and become a plus starter.

Sweat's offseason should be interesting. He'll want to test free agency after the Eagles forced him to take a pay cut this year. He may or may not find big money on the free agent market, and if not, he could return to the Eagles on a fair deal. He's still only 27.

Graham has said this will be his last year, but also hasn't ruled out a return after his season was halted due to a triceps injury. It'll also be interesting to see if the Eagles advance to the Super Bowl if he is able to return for that game. If so, then you can probably rule out a return in 2025.

Hunt has become a part of the Eagles' three-man rotation on the edge, and is a promising rookie.

Interior defensive line

Notes: Carter is already one of the best defensive players in the NFL at the young age of 23, and Ojomo has developed into a quality rotational guy. The Eagles can feel really good about those two players for the foreseeable future.

Williams is likely to attract a lot of attention this offseason from around the league. The Eagles absolutely want him back, but what will the cost be?

Davis is a good run stuffer, but he plays a small number of snaps and has not been the impact player the Eagles hoped he'd be. They'll have a decision to make on his fifth-year option this offseason.

Linebacker

Notes: This is the one positional group that the Eagles cannot screw up this offseason.

Dean suffered a devastating injury in the Wild Card Round against the Packers. He may not return in 2025, which is also the final year of his rookie contract. His likely absence next season is all the more reason for the Eagles to make sure they re-sign Baun, who was the leading All-Pro vote getter at linebacker this season.

The Eagles will hope that Trotter can develop into a quality player like Dean eventually did, but I image they'll be shopping for a vet in free agency as well.

Cornerback

Notes: Slay has said that he isn't going to be playing too much longer. We'll see if he wants to play again in 2025. He had a good 2024 season, but got banged up quite a bit with minor injuries throughout the season.

Mitchell and DeJean were outstanding value picks in the 2024 draft, and are probably the two best rookie corners in the NFL. They have a bright future playing together in the Eagles' secondary.

Ringo is an interesting player to watch. Do the Eagles think he can eventually take one of the starting outside corner spots? He's actually younger than Mitchell, and has already carved out a role as a quality special teamer.

Rodgers is a good backup who the Eagles could try to re-sign.

Safety

Notes: Like Jurgens above, Blankenship is a player with a year left on his contract who the Eagles could try to sign to a long contract extension this offseason. If so, they'll have Blankenship, CJGJ, and Brown all under contract for at least the next two years at safety.

Specialists

Notes: Elliott has struggled this season. He also struggled in 2020, but bounced back. He'll get a chance to bounce back again in 2025.

Overview

Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Lane Johnson, Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Chauncey-Gardner-Johnson are all under contract for at least the next two seasons. That is a core group of players for the front office to be very proud of.

This offseason, the Eagles have four players who are poised to make good money this offseason, whether that's from the Eagles or other teams around the league. They are Zack Baun, Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, and Mekhi Becton.

It is imperative that they keep Baun, and they would surely like to retain the other three at the right price. But this offseason won't be like in 2023, when the Eagles had a far longer list of potentially outgoing free agents. That offseason they had decisions to make on Jason Kelce, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Javon Hargrave, James Bradberry, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Isaac Seumalo, T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White, and Marcus Epps.

They won't suffer losses as bad as they did that offseason.

And then even looking ahead to the 2026 offseason, the only current starters scheduled to be free agents that offseason are Dallas Goedert, Cam Jurgens, Nakobe Dean, Darius Slay, and Reed Blankenship, two of whom (Jurgens and Blankenship) are likely to get extended this offseason.

Howie Roseman has a better track record of building great roster than maintaining them, but he has an enviable core group of players, more than a few young up-and-coming players, and the luxury of selecting the "best players available" in the draft because the team won't have any glaring, flashing red light needs this offseason, you know, barring the loss of Baun.

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