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LANDOVER, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 20: General manager Howard Roseman of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on before the game at Northwest Stadium on December 20, 2025 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
The first week of NFL free agency has come and gone without much noise from the Philadelphia Eagles. Around the league, contenders made splash moves and handed out massive contracts, but in Philadelphia the opening stretch of the offseason felt unusually quiet.
Outside of the addition of cornerback Riq Woolen, the Eagles largely stayed on the sidelines during the first wave of free agency. Philadelphia made a handful of smaller moves and internal adjustments, but nothing that dramatically reshaped the roster or generated major excitement among the fan base.
For a franchise known for aggressive offseason maneuvering, the opening week felt underwhelming.
But the bigger story may not be what the Eagles did this week. It is what has been slowly happening to the defense over the past two offseasons.
Eagles Defense Bleeding Out
Across the last two years, Philadelphia has now seen 11 defensive contributors depart, creating significant turnover for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
Only three of those departures occurred during the current free agency period, but the cumulative effect has steadily reshaped the unit. Linebacker Nakobe Dean, safety Reed Blankenship and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips are among the latest players to move on, joining a long list of defensive contributors who have left over the past two years.
Fangio addressed the situation with his trademark dry humor while acknowledging the reality of the turnover.
“Yeah, it’s like we’re the farm system defensively for the other 31 teams in the league,” Fangio said. “But we’ll do a good job.”
The comment drew laughs, but it also reflected a truth about the Eagles’ roster-building success. Philadelphia has become one of the league’s best teams at drafting and developing defensive talent. The downside is that eventually those players become too expensive to keep.
Fangio praised several of the departing players and the impact they had during their time in Philadelphia.
“Nakobe had a great two years for us. We’re going to miss him. I really enjoyed the guy,” Fangio said.
He also highlighted the journey of Blankenship, who developed from an undrafted free agent into a starting safety, team captain and Super Bowl champion.
“Reed was a great story coming from an undrafted free agent to being a starter, winning a Super Bowl, being an elected captain,” Fangio said. “He’s got a lot of intangibles besides his good play that we’ll miss.”
Fangio acknowledged that keeping Phillips became impossible once the open market set his value.
“Jaelen’s a hell of a player, as you saw Carolina thought so too with the amount of money they paid him,” Fangio said. “We were trying hard to keep him, but it got a bit too expensive.”
Despite the roster turnover, Fangio made it clear he still believes in the organization’s ability to reload.
Vic Believes in Howie
“Howie does a great job putting together the roster,” Fangio said. “The assistant coaches will do a great job getting the new guys ready. And we’ll be ready.”
That confidence reflects where the Eagles now find themselves.
While the first week of free agency felt quiet, Philadelphia quietly improved its financial flexibility. Through a series of restructures and extensions, the team now sits with roughly $40 million in available salary cap space.
A new one-year deal for tight end Dallas Goedert helped the Eagles avoid a potential $20 million dead cap hit, while an extension for defensive tackle Jordan Davis created additional cap relief.
Woolen’s contract also carries a relatively modest cap hit of roughly $3.5 million for the upcoming season, another example of the financial structuring that has long been a hallmark of general manager Howie Roseman.
The result is a familiar scenario for Philadelphia.
Howie Comes Up with $40 Million
The Eagles may not have made headlines during the opening wave of free agency, but they now have significant financial flexibility moving forward. With $40 million available, Roseman has the ability to pursue additional veterans, explore trades or extend key players already on the roster.
One potential priority could be locking up defensive tackle Jalen Carter long term, a move that could secure one of the league’s most dominant young defenders while also potentially providing additional cap flexibility.
But the larger challenge remains clear.
After losing defensive talent across two consecutive offseasons, the Eagles must now replenish key positions while trying to remain among the NFC’s elite contenders.
The first week of free agency may have been quiet, but the real work of rebuilding the defense is just beginning. And with $40 million in cap space still available, the responsibility for how that rebuild unfolds now rests squarely with Roseman.