Why the Eagles and Howie Roseman passed on Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jalen Ramsey | Early Birds
“We weren’t trying to sit on our hands ... but you also have to be prepared to walk away,” Roseman said.
Good morning, Eagles fans. Welcome to the final installment of our daily newsletter for the season. Starting next week, we will be scaling back to one newsletter per week. I know, you’ll miss us, but it will be football season again soon enough. The Eagles are still giving us plenty to talk about, too. Yesterday, the team announced the firings of offensive coordinator Mike Groh and wide receivers coach Carson Walch just one day after Doug Pederson said the two would be back next season.
As far as news to keep an eye out for today, the Eagles are in the process of finding two new offensive coaches, and Jim Schwartz is waiting to hear if he’s been selected to be the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
If you like what you’re reading, tell your friends it’s free to sign up here. I want to know what you think, what we should add, and what you want to read, so send me feedback by email or on Twitter @EJSmith94.
— EJ Smith (earlybirds@inquirer.com)
Roseman explains why he wasn’t dealing
Just about every time a high-profile player became available via trade, the rumors came out that the Eagles were involved. When the Texans made Jadeveon Clowney available, the Eagles were linked. Clowney ended up in Seattle, where he would eventually knock Carson Wentz out of a playoff game.
When the Dolphins inexplicably wanted to dump Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Eagles were reportedly making offers. He ended up on the other side of Pennsylvania, making a case for defensive player of the year with the Steelers.
Lastly, when Jalen Ramsey was trying to get out of Jacksonville, the Eagles were allegedly in the mix, but the Los Angeles Rams paid a king’s ransom for the All-Pro cornerback.
Why didn’t Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, especially with so many concerns in the team’s secondary, stand pat on players like Ramsey and Fitzpatrick?
“I would say to our fans and our organization, I’m always aggressive,” Roseman said during his Wednesday news conference. “At the same time, in calm times you have to set a level that you’re comfortable with. There’s a lot of factors that go into trades, including for the other team. They [are] trying to project what the team they are trading with is getting. So if you have the same offer from two people, and you think one team going forward may have a different record than the other, that’s going to factor into the equation.”
Roseman may have been referencing Fitzpatrick, who was traded to Pittsburgh right after starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was ruled out for the season. Fitzpatrick and two mid-to-late-round draft picks netted Miami a 2020 first-rounder from the Steelers, which will be No. 18 this April.
Ramsey, on the other hand, fetched the Jaguars two first-rounders, one in this year’s draft and one in 2021. This year’s pick is No. 20 overall.
“We weren’t trying to sit on our hands on either of those two things, but you also have to be prepared to walk away,” Roseman said. “We think going forward, we have a lot of players on this team that we’re excited about that are high-priced players and so we have to supplement them. We want to sustain success. We do not want to be kind of this up-and-down roller-coaster ride. … So it’s hard to give up that many resources and we gave away a lot in the last three years.”
The Eagles traded draft picks to move to select Carson Wentz in the 2016 NFL draft, including two first-round picks. In each of the last two drafts, the team has only made five selections.
What you need to know about the Eagles
The Eagles moved on from Mike Groh and Carson Walch on Thursday, one day after Doug Pederson said they’d return. Jeff McLane reports that a meeting with owner Jeffrey Lurie may have made the difference in Pederson’s decision.
Who should the Eagles keep and who should they let go? Jeff gives his answers, and you can vote, too, in our annual Stay or Go interactive.
Marcus Hayes argues that the possible meddling from Lurie will cost him his head coach down the line.
The Eagles are in the market for an offensive coordinator now. With Pederson calling plays, they might be looking for a sous chef in Pederson’s kitchen, as Les Bowen writes.
Howie Roseman laid out a sensible plan on Wednesday. Mike Sielski argues it’s time for him to execute on it during this vital offseason.
During his final weekly Q&A with Paul Domowitch, former Eagles front office executive Joe Banner says the team needs to pay Malcolm Jenkins and quickly.
The NFC East’s coaching circle got a face-lift in the last few weeks. I write about what to expect schematically from all the new head men.
Domo reports that Sidney Jones is looking forward redefining himself and his game next season.
Bob Ford says that Lurie’s blame game is coming at Pederson’s expense.
From the mailbag
Do you believe Howie makes a wow move for a young stud in free agency? — AJ Torres (ajtorres1230) via Twitter.
Good question, AJ. Us initial-named folks have to stick together and I respect your decision to forgo the periods in your name. For the most part, I don’t see the Eagles making a splashy move in free agency. Howie Roseman spoke about how important it is for the team to get younger, build through the draft and develop its talent from within. Could they try to pry Jadeveon Clowney away from Seattle? Possibly, but I think there is one name that’s more likely: Byron Jones.
Jones is the best cornerback on the market, and he won’t be cheap. But there’s added value in getting him out of Dallas. The team will need to revamp the cornerback position in the offseason, and signing Jones would free them up to focus more on receiver at the top of this year’s draft. Outside of Jones, I don’t see anybody else available that I’d link to the Eagles. If I would, I wouldn’t call it splashy.