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The Russell Wilson rumors are getting old. Maybe everyone can put them to bed after listening to Howie Roseman’s latest comments. The Philadelphia Eagles general manager recently sat down for a one-on-one interview where he seemed to drop a definitive answer to the Wilson question.
Roseman was detailing his overall strategy for the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine when the topic turned to cap space and draft picks. The savvy front-office executive outlined a generic plan, devoid of names and positions, but he did make sure to say that the Eagles wouldn’t do anything “so short term” that it would “hamstring them going forward.”
Reading between the lines, the quote would seem to nix any thoughts of a Wilson trade. The 33-year-old quarterback would be the ultimate short-term plan.
“We don’t want to be in a situation where we do something so short-term right now that it really hamstrings us going forward,” Roseman told team reporter Dave Spadaro on February 28. “Especially as you talk about as some of those young players come up — some of those young players that we don’t want to leave here, we want them to have a chance to finish their career here, so we got to make sure that we’re balancing those things.”
The Eagles possess three first-round picks in April’s draft and all of them would likely be headed to Seattle in a Wilson deal. Some believe Philly would need to sweeten the pot further by adding Jalen Hurts and/or Darius Slay, plus a second-rounder. According to Roseman, a trade of that magnitude seems out of bounds. It would cloud the future by robbing the franchise of young players and draft picks.
“For us, we just want to make sure that any move we’re making fits with our plan not only in 2022 but in 2023,” Roseman said. “I’m not looking at 2025, that’s hard. And I’m not saying that I don’t care about the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025 because I do, and that’s our obligation to make sure this is in a good place going forward.”
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Roseman Discusses Losing Key Staffers
The Eagles’ front office has turned into a farm team for aspiring front-office executives after losing two key personnel men. Ian Cunningham bolted for the Chicago Bears, then Brandon Brown left for the New York Giants.
And Philadelphia may lose Andy Weidl to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the coming weeks. t’s a compliment to Roseman and the amount of respect the league has for his direct reports. Of course, no one ever wants to lose top talent.
Roseman joked that he wasn’t “happy” with either Cunningham or Brown for leaving but he applauded them for their service to the Eagles’ organization. He wished them well in their next endeavors, adding that “we have their reports, we still have their minds.” He was referring to all the hard work those two men had put in on scouting this year’s draft and free-agent class.
Eagles ‘Never Satisfied’ with 53-Man Roster
Roseman admitted that winning a Super Bowl is “really hard” and there are no cheat codes to the top of the mountain. He remains committed to his philosophy of building the Eagles by identifying players that fit the “scheme and culture.”
He values guys who possess the mental fortitude to play in the City of Brotherly Love. Personality and character trump drafting for a specific position.
“Let’s make sure we keep our strengths the strength and we don’t have too big of weakness anywhere,” Roseman said. “At the same time, it’s natural to go, ‘I really want this player to be good because we really need that position.’ We got to fight that urge and we got to make sure that if we keep adding good players and good people who fit our schemes, who fit our culture, who fit this city, then we’re going to end up being really good.”
The 90-man roster heading into training camp should be filled with 53 potential starters, guys who push each other at every position. Talent always wins out.
“We’re never satisfied,” Roseman said. “And until we have a roster where all 90 guys are 53-caliber players and all 53 guys are starting-caliber players, we’re always going to be looking, we’re always going to try to find guys who are really good players and that’s a year-long process.”
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