Howie Roseman Plays the Hits in Phoenix
Eagles GM Howie Roseman gave you a peek behind the curtain at the NFL’s annual meetings in Phoenix on Monday.
A made man in league circles, Roseman has developed from an intern into perhaps the craftiest decision-maker in the NFL over nearly a quarter-century in Philadelphia and two stints as the Eagles’ general manager.
He’s ping-ponged from the guy who needed the darkest tint on his windows to a protected deity to be worshipped, at least until the cyclical nature of professional sports starts rebooting from the championship window.
The Roseman who showed up at the Arizona Biltmore was a familiar one, however. A roster-management specialist who is a disciplined and pragmatic steward, always standing on a sturdy foundation first envisioned by Andy Reid while also keeping an eye on the curves ahead.
The discipline this year was exemplified by C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
As advertised the Eagles wanted the playmaking safety back but only if it made sense.
Once Gardner-Johnson, who eventually signed a one-year, $6.5M contract in Detroit, dragged his feet the Eagles pivoted toward their cornerbacks, first luring James Bradberry back and then turning $17.5M over one season with an untenable cap hit for Darius Slay into $23M over two seasons.
"At some point, you run out of resources and so we were very clear that at some point we were going to have to go in a different direction,” Roseman said of the Gardner-Johnson negotiations to reporters in Phoenix."
Roseman’s superpower as a GM in recent years is those contingencies.
Everyone has a plan until they get hit in the proverbial face and Roseman has been better at Plans B, C, and D than the majority of his peers.
“I think that’s one of the most important things in free agency. You can go in with a plan, but you have to be able to pivot and have other options and not get stuck with nothing,” he said.
The pragmatic part of Roseman’s toolbox comes with the understanding of the sea change looming when superstar quarterback Jalen Hurts signs his extension.
"It’s no secret that sometime, relatively soon, we want to extend our quarterback, and our roster building is going to turn a little bit here from a quarterback on a rookie deal towards a quarterback hopefully on a long-term deal,” said Roseman.
And that means seven starters and three meaningful reserves from the reigning NFC champions had to be replaced with younger and more cost-effective players, either in-house (think NT Jordan Davis, OL Cam Jurgens, LB Nakobe Dean, DT Milton Williams, and S Reed Blankenship) or value signings in free agency like RB Rashaad Penny, CB Greedy Williams, LB Nicholas Morrow, and safeties Justin Evans and Terrell Edmunds.
“We like these kinds of high-upside guys, lottery tickets, understanding that they got to prove it,” Rosman said when discussing his acquisitions from outside the organization. “They have a chip on their shoulder."
The bigger hits have to come from the draft, whether it’s the 2022 class that was brought along slowly or the upcoming 2023 group.
While discussing the defense, Roseman pointed to the organizational constant – building upfront first.
“For us, it’s going to start on defense with the defensive line and the cornerback position,” he said. When we look back at what we did here, it was consistent with what we think.”
Last April he explained the offensive side after taking the luxury pick of Jurgens at No. 51 overall over sexier options for the fan base.
“Unfortunately for our fans at the time, you know, I’m always going to go [offensive line], [defensive line]. That’s how we roll,” Roseman admitted. “That’s how we build this thing.”
Reid once explained the checklist more definitively.
“I want two offensive tackles, a quarterback, two pass rushers, two corners, and I'll figure the rest out,” the Super Bowl-winning coach said when explaining his philosophy that he ultimately passed on to Roseman.
And Roseman has become predictably efficient with that standard.
Currently, the Eagles are set with that template featuring at least Pro Bowl-level talent with each checked box in Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Hurts, Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Slay, and Bradberry.
Figuring out the rest is the easy part.
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-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
