The Philadelphia Eagles saw their season come to an end with Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers. After failing to defend their Super Bowl title, general manager Howie Roseman's attention will now go to what went wrong and how they can fix it this offseason in advance of 2026.
One of the issues will be Philadelphia’s pass rush. The Eagles tried to fix the problem by acquiring Jaelan Phillips at November’s trade deadline. While he only had two sacks since coming over from the Miami Dolphins, he was largely effective, recording 44 pressures and a 17.1% pressure rate on 256 pass-rushing snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
That performance makes re-signing Phillips a top priority. But that could be easier said than done based on Spotrac’s estimated market value of $17.3 million and the $20.2 million in cap space Philadelphia has heading into the offseason. If Phillips leaves, the Eagles will have to find a replacement in free agency with three names that should be toward the top of Roseman’s board.
1. Khalil Mack (Chargers)
The one thing to consider when finding a replacement for Phillips is that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s scheme usually calls for his edge rushers to attack from a two-point stance. With this in mind, targeting Khalil Mack is a great idea as one of the greatest stand-up pass rushers in NFL history.
Mack has a Hall of Fame resume as a nine-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro. He’s tied for 40th in NFL history with 113 sacks and was still effective in his age-34 season, logging 42 pressures and 5.5 sacks over 12 games.
The production is far from what he did two years ago, when he recorded 17 sacks and finished ninth in the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year Award voting. But he could be part of a larger plan, pairing Mack with either a lower-cost, high-upside free agent signing or a draft pick. If the Eagles want name-brand recognition, this would be an intriguing route to take.
2. K’Lavon Chaisson (Patriots)
The Eagles watched as the New England Patriots took a page out of their playbook last offseason, and they could stand to benefit this spring if Phillips leaves. K’Lavon Chaisson was a former first-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2020 NFL draft. But with 10 sacks over his first five seasons, his value had plummeted to the point where New England picked him up on a one-year deal worth $3 million.
That investment paid off in a big way as Chaisson had the best season of his career. In addition to his 7.5 sacks, Chaisson had tremendous pressure numbers, logging 61 pressures and a 14.2% pressure rate on 432 pass-rushing snaps. This includes one of the best performances of his career in Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers, logging seven pressures and two sacks on 32 pass-rushing snaps.
Chaisson could cash in with a desperate team this spring, and it only takes one to send the price through the roof. But with the possibility that this could be an outlier year, he could still come at a cost that would be cheaper than re-signing Phillips. There would be some risk, but you could have worse players as your Plan B.
3. Arnold Ebiketie (Falcons)
The last route the Eagles could take is the “buy low” market. This has paid off for the Eagles before, finding linebacker Zack Baun after he was seldom used by the New Orleans Saints, and could lead Roseman to the NFC South again to sign Arnold Ebiketie.
Ebiketie’s 16.5 career sacks in five seasons aren’t going to have Eagles fans fired up, and Spotrac’s market value projection of $9 million wouldn’t bring him to Philadelphia as a true bargain. But as a former second-round pick, there is some upside. PFF charted Ebiketie with 25 pressures to go with his two sacks this season. He's also been durable for most of his career, appearing in 67 of 68 possible games in his four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.
This signing could also still allow the Eagles to take more fliers to put around Ebiketie, creating a deeper group than they had this season. Either way, the Eagles must have a backup plan if they can’t stomach the cost of Phillips’s next contract, and Ebiketie would be a solid name to target with some upside.