Getty Bijan Robinson on the field for the Longhorns in 2022.
The Bijan Robinson truthers had a sizeable army of support backing them in Philadelphia. From draft experts to casual fans, it was hard to ignore how much the dynamic running back could take Nick Sirianni’s offense to new heights. The word “unstoppable” was thrown around on more than one occasion.
Would the Philadelphia Eagles take him at No. 10 in Round 1? Well, general manager Howie Roseman never had to make that tough decision since Robinson was already off the board. The Atlanta Falcons took him two picks earlier at No. 8. Roseman surely could have traded up two spots and grabbed the Texas standout if he really wanted him. He didn’t. Instead, the Eagles went up one spot and grabbed Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter to further establish the PhilaGeorgia BullEagles.
Water under the bridge, right? Maybe, although the question still begged to be asked: Would the Eagles have selected Robinson at No. 10 if he was there? SportsRadio 94WIP’s Jon Ritchie and Joe DeCamara posed the question to Roseman during a live radio appearance on May 2. Predictably, the answer left a lot to interpretation.
“I think at the end of the day, we got the right guys,” Roseman said, “and there is no what if here, there is what is. I just made that line up.”
Robinson was gone and the Eagles grabbed Carter at No. 9. The 6-foot-3, 314-pounder had been high on their draft board from the jump despite all the character concerns stemming from legal troubles and reports of him clashing with coaches. Roseman isn’t worried.
“We feel like we have a lot of good people in this building, on and off the field. That doesn’t guarantee anything but that doesn’t guarantee anything for anyone you are going to draft,” Roseman told SportsRadio 94WIP. “And we felt like throughout the process, getting to know Jalen, getting to know his family, getting to know our structure and the people we have around here, we thought that he’s got a chance for success.
“Obviously, incredibly talented guy who had a really, really rough spring, and when you look at his total body of work at the University of Georgia. The on-field stuff is unbelievable and we gotta work with him to make sure he’s in a position to be the best version of himself that he possibly can be.”
Roseman Addresses Jalen Hurts’ Contract
Roseman touched on a bevy of topics during his almost 30-minute interview on SportsRadio 94WIP, including Jalen Hurts’ bank-breaking contract extension. The $255 million deal made him the highest-paid player in NFL history for a minute, that is until Lamar Jackson got $260 million. But, looking at the yearly cap hits, Hurts seemed to (maybe?) take one for the team.
“I don’t want to speak for Jalen. That’s not fair,” Roseman said. “We know what kind of person Jalen Hurts is. We know how much he cares about winning. We know how much he cares about the team, and he understands the most important thing is having a team. This is not a one-man show. The National Football League is the ultimate team sport. We need to build a team, and that was always important to him throughout the process.”
Howie Roseman with @JoeDeCamara and @RitchieJon on signing Jalen Hurts.
Then, Roseman sent a message to all the people that wanted him fired in 2020. He learned from his mistakes (see: Jalen Reagor) and got better from them. He also made a point to block out all the outside noise at the time.
“For me, all I try to do is to learn from the things that I don’t do right and try and continue to make good decisions so we can have a lot of fun in the fall,” Roseman said. “I’m not going to be perfect, but I promise you I’m going to do the best I can.”
Eagles are paying Hurts $157.304M for the next 4 years, but his cap numbers over that time are $5.7M, $13.7M, $22.4M and $33.0M. That leaves $83M in cash to be accounted for on the cap in ’27, ’28 and ’29. If they cut Hurts after ’26, $49.8M in dead money hits their cap.
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“I will never get over that Super Bowl game.”
Howie Roseman when asked about the Cardinals tampering with Jonathan Gannon and the condition of the field in the Super Bowl.
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