Roseman explains why Eagles didn't give out any in-season extensions originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
NEW ORLEANS — The Eagles could lose some key free agents this offseason and they noticeably didn’t give out any extensions during the 2024 season.
That was by design.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman on Monday night at the Super Bowl Opening Night explained that the Eagles didn’t extend any of their pending free agents this season for the same reason they didn’t extend anyone during the last Super Bowl season in 2022.
“Once you start doing that, it’s almost like, are you picking favorites?” Roseman said. “And the other guys start saying, ‘What about me?’ And they start playing for themselves as opposed to the team.
“Now, we’ve seen that probably costs you money in the long run as you’re doing it. But when you have an opportunity to compete for a championship, it’s worth that sacrifice I think.”
There are several notable free agents the Eagles aren’t going to want to lose this offseason. Zack Baun, Mekhi Becton, Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Isaiah Rodgers, Kenny Gainwell and more are all set to hit the open market in March when the new league year begins.
With guys like Baun and Becton, who proved themselves at new positions after signing one-year deals, the price tag has only gone up throughout the 2024 season. Roseman knows that and he’ll have his work cut out for him in the offseason.
The Eagles signed Baun to a one-year, $3.5 million contract in March and expected him to be a special teams ace and perhaps a rotational edge rusher. Instead, he’s turned into an All-Pro and the best linebacker in the NFL. The Eagles definitely need to re-sign him but it’s going to take a lot more money now than it would have in October.
The same can be said, to a lesser degree, about Becton. The Eagles didn’t even sign him until after the draft and there were plenty of people who considered the former first-rounder a bust. Even if Becton was just a backup swing tackle this season, that would have been OK. But Becton became a full-time starting right guard and is likely going to get a multi-year deal from someone this offseason.
There’s no doubt that Baun and Becton and even Williams did enough this year to earn a lot more money than you would have expected at the beginning of the season.
Roseman understands that, but he’s willing to live with it.
Because the vibes around the 2024 Eagles have been so good and the locker room has been so strong that Roseman didn’t want to do anything that might negatively affect it.
Even if there are some obvious drawbacks to this approach.
“I’ll do anything for a championship,” Roseman said. “So if that’s the trade-off and maybe we lose a player, I won’t like that, but I’ll take it.”
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