The Super Bowl celebrations are winding down, and it is back to work for Howie Roseman. Howie will have his work cut out for him with $22.075 million in cap space, and he has a handful of tough decisions to make with key free agents on both sides of the ball.
Let's dive into the offensive free agents and examine who should stay or go.
RG Mekhi Becton
Becton provides a two birds, one stone re-signing. Eagles fans have come to know at this point that their time with Lane Johnson could come to an end at any time. Becton can be re-signed to be your right guard for now and kick further out to right tackle when needed if Johnson gets hurt or retires.
Becton’s career was rejuvenated as part of Jeff Stoutland University. He entered the off-season in a battle for right guard versus Tyler Steen. A Steen injury put him in the driver's seat and he never looked back, playing in all but two games. He was an integral part of the best offensive line in the NFL, playing 88% of, or 903 offensive snaps.
He won't be cheap to keep, but he will end up cheaper than the likes of Josh Sweat and Milton Williams. Also, he is more likely to give the Eagles a discount for giving him the necessary change of scenery and opportunity to revamp his career. He has spoken extremely highly of his time in Philadelphia and has been very passionate.
Eagles Free Agency: Will Mekhi Becton Be Back?🤔 #FlyEaglesFly #Eagles
— JAKIB Sports (@JAKIBSports) February 27, 2025
Two Minute Drill @KrauseyJoe pic.twitter.com/WLPSjeWeAm
Verdict: Stay
RT Le’Raven Clark
Clark has been on the Eagles' practice squad for the last two years. He hasn't made an appearance for the Eagles in a regular season game. The Eagles, as always, will test the waters and see what's out there. Try and land another diamond in the rough. The fact that he didn't land a reserve/futures contract at season's end makes me believe the Eagles are done with him. At least in the free agency cycle. Fate may still have a way of bringing him back down the road.
Verdict: Go
TE CJ Uzomah
The Eagles are at a crossroads at the tight end position. They have been plugging and playing pieces behind an injury-prone Dallas Goedert to limited success. Goedert is in the final year of his contract. And the other two tight ends on the roster, Grant Calcaterra and EJ Jenkins, are, at best, backup pass-catching tight ends.
All that to say, the Eagles have a bigger need at tight end than some may believe. Bringing Uzomah back really doesn't do much for the room beyond keeping around someone with familiarity with the offense. He appeared in seven games, including three starts, and his only recorded stat was a special teams tackle. The Eagles can surely take another shot on a veteran free agent tight end. It might also be noteworthy that they signed two tight ends to future/reserves deals.
Verdict: Go
OL Fred Johnson
Prior to entering into the right guard battle against Tyler Steen, Becton was being considered as a swing tackle option. Becton won the right guard battle, and Johnson stepped in admirably to the backup swing tackle role. First, he covered off right tackle Lane Johnson's concussion suffered in week three against the New Orleans Saints. He ended up playing Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well.
Then, fresh off the bye, Fred Johnson moved over to the left side after Jordan Mailata suffered a hamstring injury against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. Mailata ended up on the injured reserve and would miss four games. In all, Fred Johnson played 134 snaps at right tackle and 351 at left tackle for the Eagles this season.
Having an effective swing tackle in your offensive arsenal is a major plus. The Eagles would be remiss to let Johnson get away. It would leave a significant void in the depth of the Eagles offensive line. Hopefully, there isn't a significant market for the swing tackle, and Howie can bring him back at a reasonable cost. However, the offensive line market, especially at tackle, can be unpredictable.
Verdict: Stay
OL Jack Driscoll
Over his last five seasons with the Eagles, Driscoll has spent over 1200 snaps on the right side of the offensive line as guard or tackle. He finished with 17 starts across 54 games.
He tested the market last off-season and headed to the Miami Dolphins. He ultimately didn't make the roster, being released on August 28. He then returned to the Eagles on the practice squad a week later. He appeared in 8 games, starting only once this season in Week 18 against the Giants. Considering the Eagles' cap situation and needs and costly free agents elsewhere, I think Driscoll is a cheap player to bring back to solidify offensive line depth.
Verdict: Stay
WR Parris Campbell
This is a simple one. The Eagles should give more opportunity to Johnny Wilson and Ainias Smith, whom they drafted last offseason. The Eagles gave Campbell a go and can absolutely look around to upgrade at wide receiver if they aren't confident in Wilson or Smith.
Verdict: Go
WR/PR Britain Covey
This one is tough. Cooper DeJean is a great and electric punt returner. The issue is that he is also one of your most important young defensive backs. Do the Eagles really want DeJean returning 20-plus punts a season? They certainly shouldn't.
On the flip side, do the Eagles want to hold a 53-man roster spot on a purely punt returner? That is all you get with Covey, as he hasn't been able to find his way into the offense in any meaningful way.
I would personally be happy to see them explore other options. A free agent name that sticks out with both kick return and punt return capabilities and has flashed offensively would be Greg Dortch. Could be worth considering even a Jaelon Darden so that the Eagles get a true return specialist who can, adequately, punt and kick return.
Verdict: Go
RB Kenneth Gainwell
Saquon Barkley will be the lead back by a significant margin again in 2025. There were a number of times I found myself infuriated as Barkley was pulled off the field for Gainwell. Mostly because it happened inside the two-minute warning or red zone.
Howie and Sirianni clearly think highly of Gainwell. And sometimes, especially with Howie, when he has a guy, he just doesn't like to let go. However, Will Shipley flashed enough in very limited opportunities to deserve more chances and step up in 2025.
As long as the price is right, which really shouldn't be much more than the minimum, I can see Howie bringing him back. Especially considering it's a backup running back bound to see close to 25% of offensive snaps again.
And see my note under Britain Covey on getting ourselves a true return specialist. Gainwell kick returns, to limited success. Shipley was a better kick returner by average yards per return. And so were the two free agents mentioned above.