The Philadelphia Eagles held their end of the season press conference, with both Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson addressing the media for the final time.
“We stand up here with a range of emotions,” Roseman said via NJ.com. “I think the first emotion is a disappointment. Disappointment that we’re not practicing this week for the Green Bay Packers and disappointment that we did not achieve the goals that we set out when we started training camp. And I think when you have a disappointing season, it’s not just on the players and coaches, it’s also on the front office and that starts with me and I’m sorry to our fans, they give us tremendous support.”
The Birds have been playoff participants for three straight seasons and won another division title, but age, injury, and attrition have changed the outlook of this team going forward. During his Wednesday presser, Eagles GM Howie Roseman was adamant that changes were coming to the roster and front office personnel while confirming that this team needs to get younger and fast.
With the Eagles now full-speed into an offseason reload centered around getting the most out of Carson Wentz, here are four takeaways from Wednesday’s press conference.
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1. Youth Movement is underway
The Eagles had one of the NFL’s oldest teams over the past two seasons and that was by design, as Howie Roseman and company felt they had a two-year window with the roster as constructed. That is no longer the case and a lot of the names presently on the roster won’t be around at the start of the new league year. The Eagles currently have 10 draft picks (compensatory included)
2. Sweeping changes for the Eagles
Everything is on the table this offseason as Howie Roseman looks to reload the Eagles while building around franchise quarterback, Carson Wentz. Roseman talked about potential changes to the medical staff, personnel and likely at the cornerback position. On the secondary, Roseman was quoted as saying, that “some positions need to be addressed more than others.” Roseman didn’t speak address any of his players by name, but you can expect the Birds to be cornerback hungry this offseason.
3. Alshon Jeffery’s status up in the air?
When addressing Jeffery on Wednesday, Roseman confirmed that the Eagles talked with Alshon before the season and he agreed to a pay cut in exchange for guaranteeing his 2020 salary. Roseman said the Eagles were trying to create as much flexibility as possible going forward.” Jeffery’s salary is guaranteed for 2020, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be in Philly.
4. Roseman hinted at blowing the Arcega-Whiteside pick
Roseman didn’t acknowledge it as such, but the Eagles GM was honest in expressing the frustration that came with watching JJ Arcega-Whiteside struggle as a rookie while guys selected after him had tremendous seasons. Arcega-Whiteside had 10 catches on the season, while Seahawks rookie DK Metcalf matched that stat line in one game against the Eagles on Wild Card Weekend. Acknowledged that “this offseason is very important for him” but also said that he doesn’t “think we’ve seen the best of J.J., he was affected a little by injuries.”
Roseman also said the Eagles will take a look at how much value college production has on the process after three rookie wide receivers who never had more than 40 catches in a college season had breakout years.
