After their wild 2019-20 campaign came to an end following a 17-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the Wildcard Round, the Philadelphia Eagles look to fix what went wrong this season. The season was filled with lots of ups and downs, most notably due to inconsistent play and lots, (lots!) of injuries.
The Birds entered Wildcard Weekend following four straight divisional victories, narrowly winning the NFC East title over the Dallas Cowboys. However, their luck did not continue into playoffs. Going into the game, the offensive line lacked its two most valuable starters, right tackle Lane Johnson and right guard Brandon Brooks. Also, all three of the Eagles’ wide receivers were injured, and their star tight end was playing with broken ribs. If that wasn’t enough, following just two quick drives, starting quarterback, Carson Wentz, exited due to a concussion after receiving what many believed to be a dirty hit. Deprived, the Birds couldn’t get it done, missing their aspirations of a second championship in three years. With this loss looming, the Eagles have lots of questions moving into the 2020 offseason, which is looking to be quite busy.
Watch live as Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman meet with the media. https://t.co/a7xoxXOQjX
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 8, 2020
The largest focal point for revamping the Eagles starts with restructuring the front office and coaching staff. Following their disappointing playoff loss, general manager Howie Roseman took the blame in his Wednesday press conference stating, “When you have a disappointing season, it’s not just on our players and coaches, it’s on our front office. And I’m sorry to our fans.”
After building a great Eagles’ Super Bowl team just three years ago, Roseman has been inconsistent ever since, missing out on pivotal draft picks, including wide receiver D.K. Metcalf, who caught 7 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown against the Birds in the Wildcard, and making some questionable free agency decisions. Going into this offseason Roseman has lots of work to do.
Although the Eagles have retained a lot of their personnel and coaches from three years ago in the Superbowl, Roseman made it clear that lots of changes are to come. A common theme in the past has been injuries causing players to miss games. Roseman explicitly stated that there needs to be more youth added to the team since they can “grow and gain some experience” and are less injury-prone compared to some of the current veterans on the team. Roseman also added that the team hired a new chief medical officer moving forward.
With Roseman’s comments about desiring younger players, this year’s draft will be crucial to building the Eagles team of the future. Arguably the position in the biggest need of a star player, the Eagles will be looking to upgrade their wide receiver core. Luckily for the Birds, this year’s draft class is one of the strongest in the receiver position in years. With the 21 pick, Eagles fans should keep their eye out for Tee Higgins. Having just played in the college football championship, the 6-foot-4, 200 pound 21-year-old junior out of Clemson caught 59 passes for 1,167 yards and 13 touchdowns. Higgins’ strong style of play makes him a big physical threat like Alshon Jeffery, but he isn’t afraid to show off his speed, something the Eagles haven’t had since DeSean Jackson’s first go-around with the team. Higgins is within the top group of receivers in this year’s class, so if Roseman does decide to go the receiver route in the first round, don’t be surprised if you see Higgins’ name.
As far as the coaching staff, the Eagles fired offensive coordinator Mike Groh and wide receivers coach Carson Walch. The offense has performed below average, in the past two seasons under Groh, especially when compared to their Super Bowl year under the former head coach Frank Reich. Questionable gameplans and an unbelievably high number of drops this past season have put Groh and Walch out of jobs as the Eagles now look for their replacements.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 9, 2020
Head coach Doug Pederson released a statement the next morning that said: “I apologize for any confusion that I created during yesterday’s press conference, including my comments on Coach Schwartz.” Pederson was referring to the fact that he told the media that both Groh and Walch would be staying, and he gave an unclear answer as to whether or not defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz would be back.
Aside from the draft and free agency, the Eagles have a number of important players on expiring contracts themselves. It is likely that many will not be on the team next year. Specifically, defensive star Malcolm Jenkins made it clear that he will not play in 2020 with his current contract. Jenkins has proven time and time again to be a pivotal player on both defense and special teams and is one of the Eagle’s main leaders. At 32 years old, Jenkins has not missed a snap for two seasons in a row, and deservedly is looking for a better contract. Roseman is likely to restructure his contract although nothing is set.
This offseason is likely to be very busy and action-packed, and it all starts February 19.
