Now for Something Completely Different: Eagles Free-Agent Predictions – Part I
Alas, Eagles fans, the nightmare that is the disastrous 2020 season has come to an end.
Like me, many of us went into Week 1 against Washington with a song in our hearts, looking forward to a great year of Eagles football after the craptastic year 2020 has been up to that point, potentially lifting our spirits for the back-quarter of one of the worst years in recent history.
That obviously didn’t happen.
And now we are left floundering in a sea of countless questions and very few answers. Are Howie and Doug’s jobs actually safe? Should they be safe? Will Jeff Lurie wield a bit of power and force Doug to hire a true Offensive Coordinator? Will Howie have to give up draft-day duties after whiffing on so many picks the last 3 years? Is this the end of Zach Ertz, Jason Kelce, and more of that old guard of players, the ones who captained that incredible 2017 season?
What on earth are they going to do about the starting quarterback? And how in Gods-Kelly-Green-Hell are we going to get out of this abysmal cap situation?
And make no mistake, the other fantastic bloggers at PHLEaglesNation and I will keep the content on our takes, analysis, and responses to news coming throughout this long, cold, bleak offseason.
There will be enough of that, so let’s talk about something else instead!
As I mentioned in my article last week (shameless plug), the Eagles have 14 players coming up as free agents at the end of the league year in March (Note, this is a list of unrestricted FAs). Those players are T Jason Peters; S/CB Jalen Mills; QB Nate Sudfeld; CB Nickel Robey-Coleman; DE Vinny Curry; DT Hassan Ridgeway; CB Cre’von LeBlanc; TE Richard Rodgers; DT T. Y. McGill; LB Duke Riley; RB Corey Clement; TE Josh Perkins; LB Nate Gerry; and S Rudy Ford.
Many of these players are coming up on the ends of their initial rookie deals or have exhausted their 1-2 year “show me” deals, and well, there’s been a hell of a lot more “show” than “tell” with many of these guys with their tenures here. Many of these players played significant snaps or were full-blown starters this season with very little to show for it, ranging from underwhelming (LeBlanc, Riley) to downright dreadful (Peters, Robey-Coleman, Clement).
Most of them probably won’t be back, especially the defensive FAs with the surprise departure of DC Jim Schwartz, and many still probably don’t deserve to be back. Regardless, the Eagles will have to make a decision with each of them, some easier than others.
Below is Part 1 of my summary of these players’ 2020 season and what the Eagles should do with them heading into 2021.
Jason Peters, Tackle // Age: 39
2020 season: 8 games, 8 games started; 8 sacks allowed (T-3rd NFL)
Photo: KATE FRESE/PHILLYVOICE
Jason Peters is LONG past overdue to be out of Philadelphia. The 38-year-old has never been the same player since tearing his ACL in 2017 and was barely his former All-Pro self even then. His constant in-and-out of the lineup has played havoc with the Eagles offensive line development and kept promising players like Andre Dillard and Jordan Mailata waiting in the wings. That’s not to mention his offseason antics this summer, agreeing to come back to play Left Guard after the loss of Brandon Brooks only to throw a fit and demand more money when the team asked him to return to LT after the loss of Dillard. Then he went ahead and missed half of the season anyway with various injuries and breaking up the continuity along the line and the momentum that Mailata was generating as a starter.
Jason Peters is an Eagles legend through and through, being the former 6-Time All-Pro stalwart franchise left tackle for much of the last 12 years, and with him only being back on a one-year deal, I can’t see the Eagles champing the bit to bring him back yet again. It can really be said that his presence on this team hurt the Eagles far more than it helped.
Verdict: Gone/Retire
Jalen Mills, S/CB // Age: 26
2020 Season: 15 games/15 games started; 74 tackles; 4 TFL; 3 PDs; 1 INT.
Mills is an interesting player for a number of reasons. For one, he is probably the best young leader on the team besides maybe S Rodney Mcleod (emphasis on young) and really stepped up well in relief after the departure of Malcolm Jenkins from that perspective. However, he didn’t take much of a leap production-wise from his cornerback days after the position change. Despite being a versatile player around the defense, he never really solidified where he was playing.
His saving grace might be the fact that Mcleod might not be ready for the 2021 season, and they will want a bit of continuity in the back-end to go with promising 2nd-year man K’Von Wallace, but whoever comes in next at DC might want to cut ties completely. I can’t say I would blame them.
Verdict: Gone
Nate Sudfeld, QB // Age: 27
2020 Season: 1 game/0 games started; 5/12 for 32 yards, 0/1 TD/Int; 2 sacks
The Eagles really did Suds dirty this year, immediately anointing Jalen Hurts the backup QB role despite the lack of any offseason prep for the rookie and relegating him to the bench yet again. Sudfeld has dutifully stood in the wings for 4 years now, and while I have no doubt of his mind for the game, he’s wasting his time in Philadelphia.
At his age, he’s either looking to quietly fade out of the NFL or find himself on a team where there’s at least a shred of competition. With the incoming full-blown QB controversy incoming, that place will most likely not be Philly.
Verdict: Gone
Nickel Robey-Coleman, NCB // Age: 28
2020 Season: 15 games/7 games started; 44 tackles; 0 INTs; 1 FF; 1 PD
Exciting signing in the offseason, but mediocre-to-bad holding down the slot corner spot all year and really just got in the way of Cre’von LeBlanc.
Hardly the worst player on the defense, but certainly not worth another contract.
Verdict: Gone
Vinny Curry, DE // Age: 32
2020 Season: 11 games/3 games started; 16 tackles; 3 TFL, 3 sacks
Ah, good old Vinny Curry.
Drafted the same year as Fletcher Cox, he has been a consistent and welcome sight on the Eagles defensive line, and his reaction to the Eagles’ first Super Bowl will always remain an iconic one from that incredible night.
But the years and the mileage have taken their toll, and the long-time Eagle and Eagles fan has probably seen his last days at the Linc, especially with the new incoming defense. All isn’t lost, though; he still has his newly minted Master’s degree from his alma mater.
Verdict: Gone
Hassan Ridgeway, DT // Age: 26
2020 Season: 7 games/0 games started; 11 tackles; 2 TFL, 1 sack)
My first “stay” prediction, I actually like Ridgeway a lot. Despite ending the season on IR with a bicep injury, he played at a high level previously as the 4th DT with Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, and Javon Hargraves.
With Jackson most likely gone after this year for cap reasons, if Ridgeway makes waves during his biceps recovery, he could be well placed to push the promising-yet-underwhelming Hargraves in the 2021 defense.
Verdict: Resigned, 1-year deal
Cre’von LeBlanc, SCB // Age: 26
2020 Season: 9 games/1 game started; 22 tackles; 1 TFL; 1 Sack; 2 PDs
2 in a row here, I think LeBlanc has a good chance of making his way to the Eagles 2021 training camp, though not initially. While he is limited to just playing slot corner and also ended the season on IR, he played better in limited time than NRC did and is 2 years younger.
LeBlanc has a good nose for the ball and has made some seriously awesome plays for the Eagles in the 2 years he’s been here.
He might not survive the shift to a new defense initially due to his lack of versatility and injury history. Still, if he floats in the NFL aether for a while, I’d expect him to be brought back, if nothing else, as a familiar training camp body.
Verdict: Leaves but Re-signs this summer.
Featured Image: KATE FRESE/PHILLYVOICE
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