Free Agency 2025: How do the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles reload?

Welcome to our landing page for full coverage of the Eagles’ offseason. As news happens and Howie Roseman continues to remake or reload the roster, we’re here with everything you need to know, from predictions on what comes next to analysis on the Eagles’ thinking.

Just days away from free agency, the Eagles have already locked up Saquon Barkley and Zack Baun long term. Classic Roseman, paying top dollar for a linebacker and a running back.

The move that was a slight surprise on Monday was the Eagles finding a quick trade partner for Kenny Pickett. They dealt him to the Cleveland Browns for a 2025 fifth-round pick and quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, according to a league source. The move signals that Tanner McKee will be the backup quarterback for the Eagles.

This is a good process and outcome for Howie Roseman.

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Last season, he traded a third-round pick (No. 98 overall) and two 2025 seventh-round picks for Pickett and a fourth-round pick (No. 120 overall). The Eagles had one year of Pickett as backup with starting experience, and Pickett did his job — he helped the Eagles win a game while Jalen Hurts was injured. That also bought time for McKee to develop, because it was unknown at this time last year how McKee would develop. McKee looked like the superior quarterback during the summer and impressed in his Week 18 start, so there should be confidence that he can step into a No. 2 role. But the Eagles did not know that last March, which was why Pickett was a fine bet to make one year ago. One year later, they still get decent compensation — I thought they should shoot for a sixth-round pick— and Thompson-Robinson will compete for the No. 3 job. This worked well for the Eagles. It happened quickly enough that they were able to save $2.62 million against the cap and also avoid trying to find a taker after backup jobs are filled.

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This should be the offseason priority. It might seem unconventional for the Eagles to prioritize a linebacker when they have so much talent hitting free agency along the lines of scrimmage. But Baun was a difference-maker for the Eagles defense and they are relatively bare at the position, lacking the internal replacement for Baun that they have along both lines for free agents. It would be hubris to suggest that they can find another Baun — it’s possible to find a percentage of his production at a percentage of the price, and that’s the decision the Eagles must make. They’ll operate with a walk-away number, and Baun’s value is more difficult to gauge given his age (this will be his age 28 season) and lack of a track record of production. The floor should be the Matt Milano deal ($14.1 million per season). The offer here is a three-year, $48-million contract with $30 million guaranteed — and that is on the high side compared to other projections. But it should keep the defensive player of the year candidate in Philadelphia, and the Eagles could structure the deal in such a way that makes it a modest cap number in 2025.

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“Yes, we know the Eagles have never paid top dollar for an off-ball linebacker under Howie Roseman. But that Eagles roster-building truism focuses a little too much on position valuation and not enough on projection. The Eagles shy away from spending premium resources on the position not just because they believe it’s the most replaceable of the defensive positions, but also because the league is littered with surefire impact linebackers who turned out sparkless in new surroundings.

With Baun, there is no guesswork. Roseman and Baun both know exactly what he looks like playing in the middle of Vic Fangio’s defense behind Jalen Carter with Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell flanking him. Beyond his gaudy, Defensive Player of the Year-caliber statistics (he became just the fifth player this century with over 150 tackles, five forced fumbles, three interceptions and three sacks, including the playoffs), Baun’s versatility also afforded Fangio the flexibility to flip between fronts without having to substitute. The skeptic to a big-money Baun contract would expect Fangio to draw out quality linebacker play from a lesser player, but that pliability will be difficult to replace.”

Zack Baun re-signs with Eagles: 5 thoughts on Eagles locking up All-Pro linebacker to 3-year contract

It was clear that the Eagles’ offseason priority was keeping Baun, and their swift action in keeping him off the market and getting this deal wrapped up on Wednesday was all the evidence you needed. The contract makes Baun one of the four highest-paid linebackers in the NFL, which is appropriate after his season. It might seem unconventional for the Eagles to make this type of investment in a linebacker — there’s a certain irony in the Eagles paying big money to a running back and linebacker on back-to-back days — but you make special exceptions for special players. Anyone who watched Baun last season would come to that conclusion. He’s an ideal fit as a player in this scheme, and the off-field characteristics also give the Eagles confidence. (It struck me that he was one of the players who spoke to the team on the eve of the Super Bowl.) This wasn’t a comparatively good season for a linebacker; it was a historic season for a linebacker in Philadelphia, and that’s difficult to let walk away at age 28.

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It’s noteworthy how many players are re-signing with their current teams before hitting the open market. The Eagles locked up Zack Baun last week, of course, but there has been a flurry of moves in the past 24 hours. This suggests that it’s an uninspiring class of free agents, and with an increase in cap space, teams are aggressive in keeping their players rather than adding from the open market. They’re also making it enticing for players to remain. (Two players I liked on the market, Baron Browning and Tommy Tremble, re-signed for strong deals ahead this weekend.) Of course, this is good news for the Eagles free agents who are not being retained because it makes them more appealing on the open market. Five of Bo Wulf’s top 24 players for the Eagles have already signed deals with their current teams.