Eagles news: Howie Roseman on the futures of Brandon Graham, Dallas Goedert; Birds won't play in Germany; Zach Ertz not retiring

Former Eagles defensive assistant coach Christian Parker reportedly beat out eight other contenders to land the Dallas Cowboys’ vacant defensive coordinator position. 

“Every impression we had with CP just left us wanting more,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters at a news conference last week. “The conviction that he has, but curious, his calm demeanor, just the way he carries himself, is awesome ... It became very clear he was the guy for the job."

Speaking to reporters at the NFL scouting combine Tuesday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni called Parker “a phenomenal football coach,” crediting him with "a lot" of the team’s player development success. 

Eagles GM Howie Roseman praised veteran defender Brandon Graham, who unretired to rejoin the Birds for a 16th season.

But Roseman didn't say whether Graham, 37, would be back with the squad this season.

"Brandon Graham is always welcome in Philadelphia, obviously," Roseman told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine Tuesday. "When I think about what he's done for us as a player, as a person, and then last year when he came back, the versatility he showed ... future Eagles Hall of Famer."

The Las Vegas Raiders are planning to keep star edge rusher Maxx Crosby despite the trade talk around the five-time Pro Bowl pick, general manager John Spytek said Tuesday.

“Maxx is an elite player. I’ve been very upfront from the start since I got here, that we’re in the business of having really good players on the team, and we need a lot more of them,” Spytek said at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.

Crosby has been rehabilitating from left knee surgery he underwent three days after the regular season ended, as speculation about his status has persisted following an NFL-worst 3-14 record for the Raiders and the firing of coach Pete Carroll after just one year on the job.

While all eyes are on the NFL scouting combine, don't forget about the United Football League.

In case you'd forgotten, the upstart, eight-team spring football league is the re-branded result of a merger between the XFL and USFL in 2023.

Ahead of its third season, the UFL announced some interesting new rules Tuesday, including a ban of the Tush Push, something the NFL hasn't been able to get through.

Following a Zoom interview with Kevin Patullo, new Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley was so impressed he knew he wanted to bring the former Eagles offensive coordinator down to Miami.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine, Hafley said Patullo's knowledge goes beyond just the offense and extends to "game management" and "situational football"

"I got off the Zoom and I said to [Dolphins offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik], 'We've got to try and hire this guy,'" Hafley said. "He had other opportunities and other options."

That’s the perennial question.

Indianapolis, which has hosted the combine since 1987, will continue as the event’s home through at least 2028, the NFL announced last month.

Despite other cities placing bids to host the event, the NFL has continued to stick with the combine's roots. The league has also placed the desires of scouts and coaches — who enjoy the convenience of the Circle City's downtown setup — over expanding the combine into a TV event the way the league has done with the NFL draft.

This week, 319 college football prospects will descend on Indianapolis for the annual NFL scouting combine, where they will be tested physically, mentally, and medically, interviewed by NFL front office personnel, and will speak with hundreds of media members.

This latest step in the 2026 NFL draft process allows teams to home in on the next crop of players who will fill their franchises. All 32 teams will have 45 “formal interviews,” which last just under 20 minutes, can include watching film or any questions teams want to ask a prospect, and typically take place in the Lucas Oil Stadium suites.

The first direct touch point with prospects happened at last month’s Shrine and Senior Bowl games. NFL teams will utilize this next piece of the puzzle to identify which prospects match their team needs.

Two months after the Eagles hired Jeff Stoutland, they drafted Lane Johnson with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft. Howie Roseman had his cornerstone offensive lineman, one whom Stoutland helped develop into a future Hall of Fame right tackle.

Stoutland was in the room with — and in the ear of — Roseman in the years that followed, even after the coach who hired Stoutland, Chip Kelly, left town. Stoutland survived 13 seasons and three coaching staffs in large part because he was arguably the best offensive line coach in football, but he also shared similar philosophies with Roseman.

“In 13 years, I probably couldn’t get on one hand our disagreements,” Roseman said during a session with Eagles beat writers on Friday, a few weeks after Stoutland announced his departure from the Eagles. “We looked at offensive line play very similarly.”

It looks like Zach Ertz is coming back for one more season.

The former Eagles tight end and three-time Pro Bowler is expected to return from a torn right ACL near Week 1 and "plans to play", the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday.

After spending his first seven seasons with the Eagles (and catching what would be the game-winning touchdown during Super Bowl LII), Ertz spent three years with the Arizona Cardinals before landing with the Washington Commanders in 2024.

Birds fans can stop planning a potential trip to Germany next season.

The NFL announced Tuesday the Detroit Lions will be one of the teams playing in the league's Munich, Germany, game in 2026.

The Eagles don't face the Lions this season, so scratch Allianz Arena off the list of potential Birds destinations.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman will speak to reporters Tuesday afternoon ahead of the scouting combine.

Roseman is slated to take the podium at 2:45 p.m., followed by Sirianni at 3 p.m.

While most of the focus will likely be on whom the Eagles might take in the upcoming NFL draft, Sirianni and Roseman will undoubtedly face questions about a host of issues, including the future of A.J. Brown.

Nick Sirianni sat perched back in a chair with his feet up in UGG slippers. The Eagles coach looked as relaxed as he has in over a year, and certainly since a tumultuous 2025 season ended with him having to oust consigliere Kevin Patullo as offensive coordinator last month.

Sirianni met with reporters at the newly named Jefferson Health Training Complex on the Friday before the NFL combine. He and general manager Howie Roseman normally answer questions with locals in Indianapolis before they hit the combine podium. But with so much change already — and more to come — the Eagles opted for the more familiar setting of their draft room to address pertinent matters about the team.

Sirianni and the more upright Roseman spoke separately, each for around 40 minutes. They tackled subjects ranging from wide receiver A.J. Brown’s uncertain future to longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland’s departure. But a significant portion of their availability — especially the coach’s — was spent on new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.

When evaluating NFL prospects, a player’s past performance is often the best predictor of future performance. The same can be said for the act of scouting itself.

Howie Roseman, who began serving as Eagles general manager in 2010, has an extensive draft history that can be used to project his future prospect preferences. Roseman has had personnel control during 15 draft cycles, not including 2015 when Chip Kelly was in charge of those decisions. Those 15 draft classes offer windows into Roseman’s valued traits and abilities at each position.

For years, the Eagles’ player personnel department has been gathering information about the 2026 draft class. At the scouting combine next week, Roseman and his staff will continue to learn about the scores of NFL hopefuls and determine their prospective fit within the organization.

The NFL salary cap just keeps going up and up.

The 2026 NFL salary cap is projected to land somewhere between $301.2 million and $305.7 million per team, a big jump from last season. At a minimum, it's an increase of $22 million compared to 2025's cap of $279.2 million, offering Howie Roseman and the Eagles some much-needed breathing room.

According to Over the Cap, the Eagles currently have $18.2 million in cap space for 2026. That's... not a lot

Tomorrow's potential draft picks will be on display this week in Indianapolis as the NFL scouting combine gets underway.

What once was a scouting event held far away from television cameras has morphed into one of the NFL’s tentpoles, drawing multiple days of live coverage on the NFL Network.

While coaches and team executives, including Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman, began speaking with reporters on Tuesday, the main part of the combine begins Thursday and runs through the weekend.

Compensatory picks have not yet been finalized, but the Eagles know where they’ll be picking in the first three rounds.

Currently, the Eagles have five total picks in the draft, which is slated to begin April 23 in Pittsburgh.

The Birds are also expected to receive three compensatory picks, awarded for high-profile free agency losses that include Milton Williams (Patriots), Josh Sweat (Cardinals), and Mekhi Becton (Chargers).