And as the Eagles looked at their offseason agenda, they put at the very top of the list the importance of taking care of three of their own players who made such a substantial impact in the Super Bowl-winning 2024 season.
So, that's what they did.
The team inked running back Saquon Barkley to a new deal, one that he certainly deserved after earning NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors, rushing for 2,005 yards in the regular season, and finishing with the most rushing yards in a single season, playoffs included.
Then the Eagles signed linebacker Zack Baun to a three-year contract before free agency started, not allowing him to even reach the frenzy, where he no doubt would have been a hot, hot, hot commodity.
Next on the list was right tackle Lane Johnson, the game's best at his position who signed his fifth contract with Philadelphia since the team used the No. 4 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft to select him.
"The first priority is always keeping your own great players, great people, so when we talked about what we wanted to do this offseason, there were a lot of challenges – coming off the Super Bowl, having a lot of free agents, having a lot of young players we would want to extend in the future. But when we looked at those three guys – Saquon and Lane and Zack Baun – difference-making players, difference-making people. It was so important to keep those guys in the building," said Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman.