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The Philadelphia Eagles were handing out contracts left and right in the middle of the season. They wanted to make sure their key young players were locked up for life. Which they successfully did.
The Eagles inked Josh Sweat, Dallas Goedert, Avonte Maddox, T.J. Edwards, and Jordan Mailata to lucrative extensions. But the man writing those checks has yet to receive the same form of financial job security. General manager Howie Roseman will enter the final year of the four-year extension he signed with the franchise in 2018.
That’s right, Roseman is a lame-duck heading into 2022. Details of his salary were never disclosed, but the Eagles sent a press release out on August 5, 2018, announcing Roseman’s extension along with one for Doug Pederson. It hasn’t been talked about again.
“Doug and Howie are committed to the success of our franchise by ensuring that we remain competitive, both in the short and long term,” team owner Jeffrey Lurie said at the time. “That unified vision for the future of our team is what gives us the best chance to win moving forward.”
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Twitter Celebrates Carson Wentz Trade
Twitter was fawning with tributes to Roseman on Friday for the way he unloaded Carson Wentz prior to the 2021 season. He fleeced the Indianapolis Colts and received what turned out to be a first-rounder and third-rounder for the broken quarterback. Friday (February 18) marked the one-year anniversary of the robbery.
Now Roseman is set to enter a franchise-changing offseason, armed with three first-rounders and a young team that overachieved in Year 1 under Nick Sirianni. SportsRadio 94WIP’s Joe Giglio called it the “most significant” offseason since the Dallas Cowboys in 1991. They had three picks in the Top-20 that year; the Eagles have three in the Top-19 in 2022. Giglio thinks Roseman deserves an extension.
“I believe it would be a significant mistake for the Philadelphia Eagles to allow Howie Roseman to be a lame duck in this offseason,” Giglio said. “So what I’m getting at is pretty simple: the Eagles need to extend Howie Roseman’s contract now.”
Eagles Fans Love to Chant ‘Fire Howie’
We can debate the pros and cons of Roseman all day. It’s true last year’s unofficial rebuild grew roots faster than anyone anticipated. The Eagles were able to rid themselves of Wentz because they had already drafted his replacement in Jalen Hurts. Of course, the jury’s still out on that move. It looks like a win for the time being, although the calls to “Fire Howie” won’t stop.
Meanwhile, Roseman was able to restructure the contracts of key veterans to create ample cap space to dole out extensions to his young core. Those moves were under-the-radar strokes of genius. However, you could argue that Roseman’s poor drafting over the years has hindered the team from winning multiple Super Bowls. Joey Bosa and Jalen Ramsey were sitting there in the 2016 NFL draft when they chose Wentz with the No. 2 overall pick. Then again, the Eagles don’t win the Super Bowl without Wentz.
To Roseman’s credit, he quickly rectified that mistake. It’s the other first-round gaffes that stand out: Danny Watkins, Marcus Smith, Derek Barnett, Andre Dillard, Jalen Reagor. His refusal to address linebacker has been another point of contention — Fred Warner, Logan Wilson, Micah Parsons, Kyle Van Noy come to mind. And the constant whiffs at wide receiver have turned DK Metcalf and Justin Jefferson into permanent memes in Philadelphia. And let’s not forget the obsession with Riley Cooper.
So, does Roseman deserve a contract extension? I’d make him sweat it out and wait to see how his 2022 draft board pans out. If those three first-round picks are thriving at the midway point — and the Eagles are in prime playoff position — then you have to reward the architect. He earned it. But if the team is flailing and proving the common belief that 2021 was fool’s gold, you dump him.
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