Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda: A Veteran Edge Rusher?
Jim Schwartz’s plan on his defensive line is well known and battle-tested, a rotational system that comes at opposing offenses in waves and is designed to keep the real difference-makers like Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham as fresh as possible for those all-important, fourth-quarter pass-rushing situations.
Judging by the quick looks we’ve gotten into Cox working out at his home gym in Texas and Graham turning into a 32-year-old, 265-pound Tasmanian Devil with cornerback mobility in his workouts with fellow Detroit-area resident Darius Slay, the engine of Schwartz’s engine has been using their quarantine time wisely in advance of the 2020 season.
Outside Graham is again expected to team with Derek Barnett as the starters but there does project to be a somewhat significant change in that Vinny Curry, who returned in 2019 with a productive campaign as the No. 3 DE, is not expected back, at least right now.
The domino to that is the talented Josh Sweat pumping up on the depth chart and a host of players batting with the fourth spot with Genard Avery, Shareef Miller, Joe Ostman and rookie seventh-round pick Casy Toohill being the most notable.
Another possibility is the lengthy Malik Jackson kicking outside for some reps not that the presence of Javon Hargrave will limit things inside from a playing-time perspective for Jackson.
It makes sense from a roster-building standpoint to try to get younger and ramp up the development of some but the unknown is always a little bit dicey especially when there are names like Jadeveon Clowny and Everson Griffen on the free-agent market never mind Curry, who turns 32 later this month and still has an open dialogue going on with the NovaCare Complex
Of that group, Clowney is different because he’s only 27 and is still an ascending player, albeit with some injury concerns. The issue from Philadelphia’s perspective is money and the controversial hit that knocked Carson Wentz out of the playoffs isn’t even factored into the decision marking.
From Day 1 of the process, Clowney has wanted top-of-the-market money and his camp still hasn’t come off that request despite the fact most budgets around the league have been allocated and the potential landing spots are few and far between especially with Clowney vetoing certain destinations.
Griffen, meanwhile, is still a beast of a pass rusher at 32 but the age and a high-profile, mental-health issue in 2018 are cause for concern for at least some. He’s reportedly playing the waiting game and wants to show organizations what he can do once facilities are open for players this summer with Seattle and Arizona the betting favorites.
Curry had also had interest from a few teams, including old friend Joe Douglas and the New York Jets but the North Jersey native’s poor experience in Tampa puts him into a Jason Peters-like category of preferring to stay in Philadelphia.
The Eagles have so many young bodies with somewhat significant assets attached to some like Avery and Miller and a potential curveball with more opportunities for Jackson outside. That coupled with the fact that Schwartz now has his most trusted lieutenant mentoring the defensive line in Matt Burke says it’s time to pull the trigger and go toward the unknown.
COULDA: Pushed the chips to the middle of the table and went all-in with Clowney, a move that would have given the Eagles the most talented D-Line in the NFL.
SHOULDA: Re-signed Curry as a safety net against the development of the younger DE options.
WOULDA: Figured out if Jackson was comfortable with more snaps at DE earlier in the process.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, and every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SBNation Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
