Eagles free agency news: Reed Blankenship, Nakobe Dean, Jaelan Phillips all sign elsewhere; Birds get four additional draft picks

Beyond the crushing blow of a home playoff loss, Eagles safety Reed Blankenship was feeling the reality of what was to come.

The free-agent safety knew that the locker room would look different for the 2026 season. He knew that the team that signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee in 2022 might not re-sign him.

“Who knows where we all end up?” Blankenship said after the Eagles’ 23-19 loss to San Francisco in January. “That’s just part of the business side of it. They can’t keep us all. I wish they could.”

After four seasons in Philadelphia, inside linebacker Nakobe Dean is headed to the Las Vegas Raiders on a three-year deal, his agent Mike McCartney said in a post shared to X.

According to The NFL Network, the contract is worth $36 million with $20 million guaranteed, good for an average annual value of $12 million. His reported deal is tied for seventh most among inside linebackers on a yearly basis, according to Over The Cap.

Dean, 25, had become a fixture in the middle of the Eagles’ defense, especially over his last two seasons as the starter alongside Zack Baun. But the Eagles extended Baun and selected Jihaad Campbell with the No. 31 overall pick in the draft last year, putting an expiration date on Dean’s tenure with the team.

The Colts gave Alec Pierce, their top receiver, four years and $116 million, the most money any receiver to hit the open market has ever gotten, and far more than Pierce is worth.

In four seasons he has averaged 39.3 catches with a high of 47, 733.5 yards with a high of 1,003, and 4.3 touchdowns with a high of seven. He stretches the field — his yards-per-catch led the league the last two seasons — but, again, we’re looking at a one-trick pony here, and that trick isn’t especially lethal.

To be fair, in his first three seasons, Pierce’s quarterbacks were Matt Ryan, who had one foot in the broadcast booth; Gardner Minshew, who is Gardner Minshew; and Anthony Richardson in his first season as a starter. Pierce had his best year in 2025, when Daniel Jones arrived.

On the flip side of the Eagles’ inactivity in free agency last offseason is their haul of compensatory picks in 2026.

The NFL awarded the Eagles with four 2026 compensatory draft picks on Monday for the departures of Mekhi Becton, Isaiah Rodgers, Josh Sweat, and Milton Williams in free agency last year, which is tied for the most with the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Those four additional draft picks include ...

The Eagles now have nine total selections heading into the draft in April. Four of those picks are in the top 100, including No. 23 overall. With draft capital comes bargaining power, as general manager Howie Roseman could make all of those picks, package some of them to move up in the draft, or use them to acquire veterans via trade.

Jaelen Phillips is a good guy and a good player, but there’s no planet in God’s wide universe on which Phillips is worth $120 million.

The Carolina Panthers on Monday set the free-agent market before legal tampering was even an hour old. They gave Phillips $30 million on average over the next four years, which, objectively, is about $10 million more than he’s worth in any sane market, and about $5 million more than he’s worth if the market had gone just a little bit mad. But $30 million? That’s nuts.

Had the Eagles re-signed Phillips, they likely would have felt a salary-cap pinch that would have made them more reluctant to trade disgruntled receiver A.J. Brown. Now, for the moment, they could more easily absorb the $43.4 million cap hit that would come with trading Brown before June 1, according to OverThe Cap.com. That hit would be $16.3 million after June 1.

In an effort to free up salary-cap space in 2026, defensive back Michael Carter II signed a renegotiated contract with the Eagles, a league source confirmed to The Inquirer on Monday.

Carter, 27, was originally set to have a $10.1 million cap hit this upcoming season, as he had signed a three-year, $30.8 million extension with the New York Jets, his former team, in 2025.

The Eagles acquired Carter from the Jets and a 2027 seventh-round pick ahead of the trade deadline in exchange for wide receiver John Metchie and a 2027 sixth-round pick. While Carter played just 41 defensive snaps with the Eagles through seven games going into the season finale, he provided much-needed insurance at the cornerback position.

Eagles guard Landon Dickerson recently visited BioXcellerator in Medellin, Colombia, to receive stem cell treatment, following teammate Cam Jurgens, who was there last month.

Dickerson has dealt with many injuries since college, and played through multiple injuries last season. He expressed doubt about his future immediately after the Eagles' playoff loss to the 49ers, and used the time after the season to contemplate his future.

But the 27-year old former Pro Bowler plans to return for a sixth season in Philly and has worked toward getting healthy this offseason. BioXcellerator labels itself "a leader in customized cell therapy and research with a focus on alternative methods of healing for individuals who face chronic disorders."

Jaelan Phillips is reportedly on his way out of Philadelphia, agreeing to terms with the Carolina Panthers on a four-year, $120 million deal ($80 million guaranteed), according to ESPN.

Phillips, who turns 27 in May, was set for the biggest payday of the Eagles’ free agents this offseason given his youth, his performance, and his premium position. His $30 million average annual value ranks eighth in the league at the position, according to Over The Cap.

At the combine, Howie Roseman had expressed that it was a priority to re-sign Phillips. Ultimately, the Eagles did not lure him back, making their need to add edge rushers this offseason all the more pressing. Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt are the only two 2025 active-roster players at the position under contract in 2026.

The top free agent wide receiver is no longer on the market.

Alec Pierce told ESPN's Pat McAfee he is re-signing with the Indianapolis Colts. Pierce, drafted by the Colts in 2022, is coming off his first 1,000 yards season with Daniel Jones under center.

How this impacts the potential trade market for Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown remains to be seen, though it removes one option for the New England Patriots, who reportedly had interest in Pierce.

The Dallas Cowboys landed edge rusher pick Rashan Gary in a trade with the Green Bay Packers Monday, according to multiple reports. 

Acquiring the former first-round pick should help bolster the worst passing defense in the league last season, which allowed a league-high 511 points and 60 touchdowns. 

In exchange, the Cowboys are sending the Packers a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NFL draft, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

A year ago, you might’ve snickered at any answer less than 95%. Maybe that’s still the case. Elite talent is the ultimate arbiter in pro sports, and Jalen Carter has more of it than almost any other defender in the NFL.

He is a game-wrecker, the antidote for any offensive scheme. The defensive tackle position has exploded in value because it is the one position that can’t be schemed around. There is no easy solution for a man who can knock a double-team backward or flatten any interior lineman who attempts to handle him one-on-one. Aaron Donald showed everybody this during his prime with the Rams.

That’s the level of dominance that Carter has flashed during his first three years with the Eagles. I mean, the guy single-handedly makes a statistically significant impact on the make percentage of field goals.

As free agency nears, the Eagles need to make a decision on 20 players set to become free agents Wednesday.

Among those is veteran defender Brandon Graham, who came out of retirement to play nine games for the Birds last season. Graham has said he's open to playing an 18th season, but hasn't made a decision either way.

“Brandon Graham is always welcome in Philadelphia,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said at the NFL scouting combine last month.

The never-ending focus on A.J. Brown's future with the Eagles will be front and center this week as teams make moves ahead of free agency.

"I do not sense a lot of momentum toward an A.J. Brown deal," the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Sunday night. "That could be coming, but that situation is not reality just yet."

As The Inquirer's Jeff McLane has reported, the Eagles are assessing the market for Brown, with a steep asking price believed to be first and second-round draft picks. The New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens are likely trading partners, McLane reported, with the Eagles inclined to deal with AFC teams.

It’s looking more and more likely Jaelan Phillips will be back with the Eagles next season. 

With Maxx Crosby off the market after being nabbed by the Baltimore Ravens, the Eagles have made “significant progress” on re-signing the 26-year-old free agent edge rusher, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. 

“There is no decision, to my knowledge, and there is nothing final, but certainly there is some optimism that there’s going to be a deal,” Rapoport said on the NFL Network Sunday night.