Eagles news: Jalen Hurts leadership style, Haason Reddick’s future topics ahead of NFL scouting combine

That's exactly the question that was posed to the Eagles head coach during his combine press conference. And it was a fair one after Jalen Hurts and the Eagles struggled down the stretch.

"Jalen's obviously had high moments of success. Last year, in 2022, a runner-up for — obviously up there for the MVP award," Nick Sirianni said. "And through the first 11 games [in 2023], the same thing here, and then we had a falloff as a team. It's not just Jalen. It's not just me. It's our team, that we had a falloff as a team those last six weeks that we all need to get better from.

"But Jalen's played some really outstanding football. Here's what I know about Jalen, whatever we see that he needs to work on or he sees that he needs to work on, he's going to get better at that because he puts everything he has into it, and that's a form of leadership too. Like, Jalen sees something that he feels is a weakness of his or we feel like is a weakness of his, he's going to dive everything that he has and pour everything that he has into it to get better from that. Like that's leadership. That's a form of leadership.

The Eagles had a massive problem at linebacker last season. Once Nakobe Dean was lost with an injury, the position was a revolving door, which included Nicholas Morrow, Zach Cunningham, and in-season acquisition Shaquille Leonard.

As the Eagles look to retool a defense that took a step back last season, upgrading the second-level of the defense will be paramount for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s scheme. In a system that relies on light boxes to defend the run and counter explosive offenses with five or six defensive backs on the field, having athletic, multiskilled linebackers is important.

In the draft, linebacker has a handful of names worth considering. Most notable for Eagles fans is Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr., son of the former Birds linebacker who spent nine seasons with the team.

Eagles cornerback James Bradberry will be back with the Eagles next season, general manager Howie Roseman told reporters Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine.

"He's under contract and part of our plan," Roseman said.

Bradberry signed a three-year, $38 million contract extension in March, but was criticized for his play during the second half of last season.

At the NFL scouting combine, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman didn’t have much of an update on edge rusher Haason Reddick, who received permission to seek a trade but later said he wanted a contract extension. 

“I love having Haason,” Roseman told reporters Tuesday, declining to get into specifics about the state of current negotiations. "I have tremendous respect for the player and the person."

“I don’t know how that’ll play out. Obviously Hasson’s been awesome for us the past two years,” head coach Nick Sirianni said when asked about Reddick's future. “Hopefully he’s an Eagle.”

» READ MORE: Should the Eagles trade Haason Reddick? Sure, if possible.

The Eagles will kick off the 2024 regular season hosting a yet-to-be-named opponent at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil, the first NFL game ever played in South America. 

It remains unclear who the Eagles will be playing, but if you take out division opponents (the NFL doesn’t typically place divisional games in their international windows) and other teams already scheduled to play internationally, that leaves four remaining opponents: Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, or Cleveland Browns.

Longtime NFL writer Peter King, who announced his retirement earlier this week, wrote that he was "feeling good" the Eagles will be facing the Browns.

As it stands now, the Eagles won’t be in position to pick one of the consensus best players in the NFL draft, as they did last year when they selected Jalen Carter at No. 9 overall.

With the No. 22 pick on April 25, the Eagles have no guarantee that a player who fills a position of need will be available. Upgrading the secondary — specifically defensive back with James Bradberry as a possible cut candidate and Darius Slay getting older — is one of the Eagles’ top priorities heading into free agency and the draft.

The position has been a popular pick for the Eagles in media mock drafts, including those by ESPN’s Matt Miller and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, a former NFL scout.

Until he makes a decision about his future, Eagles center Jason Kelce will be asked about retirement in every interview he does.

The latest comes from former Saturday Night Live cast members Dana Carvey and David Spade, who asked Kelce about his future on the most recent episode of their Superfly podcast.

“I’m trying to figure it out right now. Right now I’m exploring different opportunities if end up retiring,” Kelce said. “I’m still working out and staying in shape if I end up playing again.” 

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman will speak to reporters Tuesday afternoon ahead of the scouting combine around 1:30 p.m.

While most of the focus will be on whom the Eagles might select with the No. 27 pick in this year's draft, Sirianni will undoubtedly face questions about reports of locker-room issues and sideline problems that have dominated the offseason.

Two Eagles veterans told The Inquirer's Marcus Hayes Sirianni and his staff played favorites among the players, which might have contributed to the team's epic collapse last season.

The 2024 NFL salary cap has been set at $255.4 million, the league announced last week.

That figure is a $30.6 million increase over the 2023 salary cap of $224.8 million, marking the largest dollar increase since the league introduced the cap in 1994.

With the salary cap number official, Over The Cap sets the Eagles’ cap space for 2024 at $32.16 million.

While coaches and team executives will be speaking over the next few days, the main part of the scouting combine begins Thursday and runs through the weekend.

NFL Network will once again cover all the action (or lack thereof) live, beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Thursday. Here's a rundown of the schedule:

So what can you expect to see? In addition to the 40-yard dash, some of the notable drills that will be on display include the bench press, vertical and broad jumps, three-cone drills, and both 20- and 60-yard shuttles.