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Mailbag: How long can the Eagles' Super Bowl window stay open?

With the Philadelphia Eagles set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of Super Bowl LIX this evening, let's hold you over with a mailbag. As always, thank you for doing half the work for me. This is Part II of a two-part mailbag. (Part I here.)

Question from @skyline7284: Clearly, Howie thinks the team is in a window to win now and is willing to spend draft picks to acquire talent. How long do you think the window will remain open?

I think that the very simple way to answer this question is that they have an ultra-talented roster with a lot of young players, the most important of whom are under contract for many years down the road, including Jalen Hurts, who has 38-10 record since 2022.

They also have a smart general manager in Howie Roseman who never stops seeking competitive edges over the rest of the league, and more generally an organizational infrastructure that innovates strategic thinking across all areas of organization, whether that's gameplay analytics, college and professional scouting, player health, or security operations, to name a few.

But the Eagles' greatest practice might be the way they structure player contracts, largely because Jeffrey Lurie is willing to spend whatever cash is necessary upfront to gain a major competitive advantage. They operate under the salary cap in a way that allows them to outspend every other team in the NFL, which we explained in some detail back in May.

From a 60,000-foot view, they're simply very well run, and although they're not immune to a disastrous season on occasion, they're extremely unlikely to experience long periods of sustained failure, like you see with so many other NFL franchises. So I guess to answer the question, as long as they continue to operate the way they do, they're never going to be very far from contention.

Question from @BigsWinz: I normally don’t like Mike Florio but he made a good point in one of his PFT articles regarding the Eagles' attempt to trade for Micah Parsons. Jerry says giving him a contract would hurt the team, but if that was true why not let the Eagles hurt themselves with that contract? Thoughts?

We should start here by noting that the Eagles reportedly offered a pair of first-round picks, a third-round pick, a fifth-round pick, "and more" for Parsons, which would have been a better deal than the one the Cowboys accepted from the Packers (two firsts and Kenny Clark).

I always admired when the Eagles weren't afraid to trade Donovan McNabb to Washington because they thought he was cooked. Would they have preferred to trade him to some team in the AFC? Yeah, probably. But the best offer on the table was from Washington, and getting the best possible compensation in return was more important than looking foolish if McNabb had another good year or two left in him.

The Cowboys' situation isn't quite the same as the Eagles', in that Micah Parsons is entering his prime and was almost certainly going to be a productive player no matter where he landed.

Logically, yes, if the Cowboys think it made more football sense to acquire a bunch of high picks and save a lot of money that can go to several other players, than they should also believe that it would be damaging to a division rival if they gave up a bunch of picks and had less available money to fill out their roster.

But ultimately, I think the Cowboys are well aware that this trade does not make them better, either short-term (duh) or long term. It seems to me that Jerry Jones simply traded Parsons because he tried to elbow Parsons' agent out of negotiations, it did not go as he had planned, and his ego (and wallet) wouldn't allow him to work with the agent on a deal that was more lucrative than whatever he had discussed with Parsons one-on-one.

The notion that the Cowboys can get several good players out of this deal by acquiring picks and allocating the money saved to other players is merely the obvious sales pitch to the fanbase in the wake of a self-damaging trade.

Question from @monstraussity: Which Eagle from last year’s team did they miss most last week (not including Jalen Carter)?

Darius Slay had an under-the-radar great season in 2024. And, well, we saw what Adoree' Jackson has looked like so far.

Question from @janmellon (via Bluesky): Am I right to be more concerned about Landon Dickerson potentially being less than 100% for the near future than I am about the CB2 situation?

I do think that Dickerson has a long season ahead of playing through some stuff, but CB2 is a much bigger concern, in my opinion.

Question from @Jack_Despeaux: It’s 3rd and long, which 4 DL do you have rushing the passer? No blitz in this scenario.

Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith are obvious. Jalyx Hunt or Josh Uche would be my other edge, depending on who has the hot hand. And then I'm curious to see what Za'Darius Smith looks like, because he is a good rusher from the interior on obvious passing downs.

Question from @xtinatheegreat (via Bluesky): My eyebrow was raised with how the offensive line played on Thursday. There were noticeable pass protection issues. What’s your perspective? Do you think this is something to be concerned about or something to chalk up to week 1 weirdness?

I thought Dickerson struggled a bit because he was obviously hurting, but I thought Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson both played really well, as usual, as did Cam Jurgens, and Tyler Steen was solid. Their offensive line is pretty low on my list of concerns.

Question from @sonoftydeus (via Bluesky): Discuss Jordan Davis, please. He was disruptive in the pass rush and on the field most of the game. I'm delighted, but conflicted. He's not gonna be an Eagle after his rookie contract, is he?

Davis played 62 snaps, special teams included. Vic Fangio admitted that Davis could not have done that a year ago, because he wasn't in as good a shape as he is now. I also agree that he had some encouraging moments against the Cowboys.

If Davis becomes anything close to what the Eagles thought he could be when they drafted him, he will be a long-term priority. They place a very heavy value on the interior of their defensive line.

Question from @irisheagles (via Bluesky): If we're assuming the Shipley injury keeps him out of one or more games, who is RB2? Bigsby or Dillion? Also, do we assume Dillon (or less likely, Bigsby) is gone when Shipley gets back? Seems like an excess at RB at that point especially with the load Saquon carries.

Bigsby is a better player than Dillon. To be determined how long it'll take for him to learn the offense to the degree that the coaching staff is confident putting him on the field. Until that time, it'll be Dillon. But they didn't trade two picks for Bigsby to sit on the bench behind a guy who signed for the veteran minimum.

And sure, if the Eagles get Shipley back and Bigsby is good to go, I do think Dillon's roster spot could be at risk if they need to carry more players at other positions.

Question from @donthasslethethoff (via Bluesky): How big of a fullback role do you think they had planned for Ben VanSumeren, and do you think losing him on the first snap impacted the run game at all? And does Kylen Granson fill that role long-term?

VanSumeren was going to see an increased role in the offense. I think the team already liked what he was as a lead blocker, but also were intrigued with what he could do as a receiver in the passing game, and in pass protection. VanSumeren was even convinced that he was going to get carries this season.

I also want to be careful not to overstate the impact of his loss. I thought he'd get like 5-10 snaps per game. And yes, Granson has played some fullback in the past, and he is kind of built like one, in that he's a shorter tight end. The Eagles also believe that practice squad TE Cameron Latu can play some FB, too. Latu even changed his number to 36, and is also a practice squad callup for this game.

Question from @soybot (via Bluesky): What are the chances of Willie Lampkin fullback reps?

For those of you who are unaware, Lampkin is an undrafted rookie free agent that the team claimed off of waivers from the Rams. He is the smallest offensive lineman in the NFL, and by a pretty wide margin, at 5'11, 290. He had a great preseason for the Rams, who probably shouldn't have made him available for other teams to claim. Video via Brandon Thorn:

I like where your head is at, and I'm curious to see how the Eagles use him, but let's revisit whenever Lampkin comes off of IR.

Question from @officelinebacker (via Bluesky): Random question: Over/Under 4.5 future Hall of Famers on the combined 2017 and 2024 Super Bowl winning rosters?

Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson are locks, assuming enough dorks don't get on their high horse about Lane's accidental PED suspensions. Jason Peters will likely get in, too.

Fletcher Cox and Zach Ertz both had great careers, but not Hall of Fame worthy. So three guys will probably get in from the 2017 team alone. The 2024 team was better.

Saquon Barkley is going to have a great chance whenever he is done playing. Jalen Hurts already has as many playoff wins and Super Bowl wins as Kurt Warner, and he'll probably pass Warner's regular-season win total in the next two years. I like his chances if his career remains on the trajectory it's on.

And then you have players like A.J. Brown, Landon Dickerson, Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean who are either already racking up Pro Bowls and such, or probably soon will be. If like one of those guys gets in, then the over is pretty much covered.