Howie Roseman SZN: The Off-Ball Linebackers
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
In many ways, the Eagles’ offseason will be defined by Howie Roseman’s decisions coming off a year in which the GM had a career-best batting average.
Like any career year, there were small mistakes by Roseman (Jaquiski Tartt and Robert Quinn) and good fortune (WRs paths being closed forcing a Plan C move toward A.J. Brown on draft night) but he stacked good decisions like a professional hitter up in the count.
This year is different because there are so many personnel choices to make and so many players heading to free agency are coming off their own career years thanks to the coaching and complementary talent assembled in Philadelphia.
Two in that category are off-ball linebackers: T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White.
Edwards, 26, is a home-grown undrafted free agent who climbed from ninth on the depth chart as a rookie.
He infamously ran a 4.87 on the stopwatch into one of the most instinctive capable linebackers in the NFL by Year 4, with Pro Football Focus grading him out as one of the best and in the conversation with names like Fred Warner, Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David, and Demario Davis.
Edwards was one of just four NFL linebackers to earn grades above 75.0 in both run defense and pass coverage, the latter a stunning rise to those who pigeonhole due to pedigree.
With the help of Wisconsin buddy T.J. Watt, Edwards had remade his body over the years and no longer runs the 4.87 that ironically still chases him. He now has the functional speed for his role which when coupled with his natural football instincts and IQ means few false steps and the end-game of being faster to the football than most who can run in a straight line faster.
With Edwards set to hit free agency, others have certainly noticed his game and PFF has valued his next deal at three years and $40.5 million, an AAV of $13.5M with $25M guaranteed.
Because he was undrafted, Edwards’ original deal only ran three years and Roseman quickly wiped out his restricted year with an early one-year, $2.15M extension for 2022.
The bargain portion of Edwards’ career is officially over even if he doesn’t quite meet the heights of the lofty predictions of his next deal.
The complication is that the Eagles have typically not valued the position and may deem an Edwards free-market deal too costly when measured against the pieces of the entire puzzle especially when 2022 third-round pick Nakobe Dean, 22, is waiting in the wings.
The general consensus is that Edwards or White, 26, will be back and Dean will slip in as a starter next to the returning player.
White played well last season at off-ball linebacker as well on a one-year, $3 million, prove-it deal coming over from the LA Chargers. However, his valuation is much more cost-effective at two years and $8M.
After a redshirt year not much is known about Dean and how the organization really views him other than he was a great college player at Georgia and showed some tremendous instincts in mop-up work. He wasn’t great on special teams but that’s a role he rarely played on the Bulldogs as a star player.
If money were no object, you slot in Dean next to Edwards and say ‘thanks for a great year Kyzir.’
Fitting the financial pieces in the best order is the trick of Howie SZN, however, and that might be allowing the undersized Dean to take over the MIKE role next to a re-signed White at WILL.
The reserves are Shaun Bradley, 25, who missed the playoffs with a wrist injury, and Christian Elliss, who are two of Michael Clay’s better special teams players but it’s hard to see too much upside as potential starters meaning the depth will have to be addressed.
Elliss, 24, was really a difference-maker on teams after finally getting a chance in December.
Complicating matters even further is that the position coach Nick Rallis left to be the defensive coordinator in Arizona under Jonathan Gannon.
STAY:
-Edwards is perhaps the most difficult decision of all when it comes to the in-house free agents. The Eagles certainly take pride in developing him into the player he has become and want him back but will have strong competition from Gannon and others. The guess here is that Roseman gets it done and keeps the QB of the defense.
-Dean will slot in as the starter on the weak side in Year 2
-Elliss will look to build on two months as a core special-teamer.
-Bradley will need to step up as the potential top backup to both Edwards and Dean in the final year of his rookie deal.
GO:
-White will be looking for a starting opportunity and, more importantly, fighting for a two-year deal in his second straight year as a free agent.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
