As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare for training camp, one glaring weakness threatens to undermine their championship defense. Despite winning Super Bowl LIX just months ago, the Birds find themselves dangerously thin at edge rusher after a series of high-profile departures that general manager Howie Roseman has yet to adequately replace.
The defending Super Bowl champions watched Josh Sweat, who accumulated 43 career sacks over seven seasons with Philadelphia, sign a lucrative four-year, $76.4 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals, reuniting with former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Brandon Graham, the franchise legend who made the strip sack that sealed Super Bowl LII, announced his retirement after 15 seasons following the team’s championship victory over Kansas City.
Graham played through a torn triceps in the Super Bowl and confirmed during his retirement announcement that he re-tore the injury during the game. The Eagles also traded disappointing free agent signing Bryce Huff to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2026 mid-round draft pick after he recorded just 2.5 sacks in 12 games despite signing a three-year, $51 million deal in 2024.
Rather than pursuing big-name free agents, Roseman went to the bargain bin to address these departures. The Eagles signed former New York Giants edge rusher Azeez Ojulari to a one-year, $4 million deal. While Ojulari has 22 career sacks in 46 games, he has dealt with plenty of injuries, playing just 7, 11 and 11 games in the three seasons following his promising rookie year. Philadelphia also brought in Josh Uche on a one-year deal worth just $1.92 million with only $1.25 million guaranteed. Uche had 11.5 sacks with the Patriots in 2022 but has just nine sacks in his other four years combined.
The Eagles are banking heavily on internal development. Nolan Smith, the 30th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, struggled as a rookie with just one sack but produced 6.5 sacks in 2024 and then led the league in playoff sacks with four. The 24-year-old walks into the upcoming season as one of coordinator Vic Fangio’s starting edge rushers for the first time in his career. Alongside Smith will likely be Jalyx Hunt, who showed promise as a rookie and figures to take on an expanded role.
When asked about the edge rusher position, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio expressed confidence: “Yeah, I feel good about Nolan. I think we’ll feel good about Jalyx now that he’s going to get a lot of reps and develop. He played good for us down the stretch last year and played a lot, as you saw, so I feel good about those two guys, and I think they’ll continue to improve. We’ve got Uche, we’ve got Azeez, we’ve got three other guys there. I think we’ll be fine.”
Philadelphia enters training camp with a pass rush unit that looks dramatically different from the one that helped deliver a Super Bowl championship. For a team with championship expectations, this represents a significant philosophical shift from relying on proven veterans to trusting largely unproven talent.
The Eagles’ ability to repeat as champions may hinge on whether this revamped unit can generate enough pressure to support what should again be an elite defense. Time will tell if Roseman’s calculated gamble pays off, or if the Eagles will regret not being more aggressive in addressing what was clearly a position of need.