The Cowboys have a lot to learn about roster construction from the Eagles.
The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions. Those are seven words that are never fun to type, but it’s the reality we live in. A team that not too long ago had zero Super Bowl wins, now has two. Oh, bother.
What makes the Eagles’ success even more painful is that many people feel their GM Howie Roseman operates exactly opposite to that of Cowboys GM Jerry Jones. The Eagles spend money left and right and the Cowboys do not. The Eagles go after a hot free agent while the Cowboys find a veteran willing to sign for the league minimum. When the Eagles want to re-sign one of their own, they sign them to an extension right away while Dallas waits until an hour before kickoff of the new season. Opposites.
It’s rather evident the Eagles are doing a lot of things right. Over the last eight seasons, they’ve only missed the playoffs once, and that was the dreadful 2020 season when they learned that Carson Wentz wasn’t the guy and turned to Jalen Hurts, who at the time was just a rookie. Outside of one transitional season, they’ve been in the mix for the better part of a decade. That’s really good.
The Eagles deserve a lot of credit for what they’re doing, but it’s important to understand how they’re doing it. Some of it’s good. Some of it is quite risky. Most people couldn’t care less because when they’re bringing home the hardware, who cares how they get there?
Regardless of whether that’s your position, having a strong sense of what they’re doing is important for learning. Some things can be taken from it that are helpful. Other things, maybe not. Let’s lay everything on the table to see what’s going on.
They are borrowing
This has been a topic that has been discussed quite a bit this year. We all are aware that the Eagles are spending a lot of money. Our own One Cool Customer did a great job breaking down how they are going about it, and it’s important to understand what they are doing.
They are relentless spenders – Whatever they need, they go out and get. If there’s an area of the roster where they are deficient, they’ll address it. Whether it’s re-signing their own players or spending money in free agency, they will keep everyone they want to keep. Money is no option.
They are pushing money out – The Eagles are given the same budget as everyone else and they’re not pulling off some financial sorcery to sign all of these players. What they’re doing is simple. They’re restructuring money. It’s a common thing in the NFL and everyone does it, but the Eagles have taken it to a whole new level. They have structured so many contracts where the money they’re spending has been pushed off into void years of their contract. It’s the basic “kick the can” principle, only the Eagles are kicking at unprecedented levels.
Philadelphia has a cash commitment of $1.1 billion through the 2028 season. The league average is $682 million. We can sit in awe of the Eagle’s approach all we want, but we must also acknowledge that they are making a conscious decision to use an enormous amount of future resources to be great right now.
They are investing
Spending doesn’t automatically equal winning. Just ask the Cleveland Browns. Philly and Cleveland are the only two teams who have a ginormous amount of their cap hits deferred into void years.
Even the Browns overinvesting pales in comparison to the Eagles, but these two teams are far from the pack as no other team in the NFL is over $112 million. But no one is praising the Browns for their roster-building prowess, and that’s because the Browns aren’t winning. It’s not the approach people are enamored by, but rather the results.
The Eagles have gotten better results, not just from their inflated spending, but also from how they have invested the money.
Free agency – The Eagles made a fantastic signing in Saquon Barkley. Everything lined up perfectly for that situation. Barkley was healthy, the Eagles’ offensive line was fantastic, and Kellen Moore/Jeff Stoutland maximized his talent. That was a home run pick. While the Eagles forked out some cash for that, they also landed an amazing low-cost find of linebacker Zack Baun who had an All-Pro season.
Oddly enough, the Eagle’s most expensive free agent signing last offseason was edge rusher Bryce Huff. The Eagles gave him a three-year, $51 million deal, but he’s been a player of no consequence. Nobody is talking about him being a free agent blunder because again, the team is winning. Philadelphia is throwing a bunch of money out there and hoping some of it sticks, and fortunately for them, some of it is.
Drafting – This is one of the biggest needle movers. A team that was once drafting first-rounders like Nelson Agholar, Jaelen Reagor, and Andre Dillard is now hitting Day 1 home runs. They’ve built an incredible offensive line presence with the help of two second-round gems in recent drafts, Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson. They doubled up at nose tackle in back-to-back drafts with Jordan Davis and game-wrecker Jalen Carter. And they just had a second-round rookie Cooper DeJean take a Patrick Mahomes interception to the house for a pick-six in the Super Bowl. It pains us to say this, but the Eagles are drafting a lot better these days.
Trades – The Eagles are wheelers and dealers. In the last three seasons, they have made moves to acquire A.J. Brown, D’Andre Swift, and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. Those guys have been key players for them. Now, they also have made plenty of deals that haven’t amounted to much. Players like Kevin Byard, Kenny Pickett, Jahan Dotson, and Robert Quinn didn’t live up to the high praise fans gave the front office at the time of the trade. But whether they work out or not, the Eagles are always willing to deal.
When you look at what the Eagles are doing, it’s easy to say they’re playing with a stacked deck because they are. No other team is exploiting their future resources like the Eagles are. And there will certainly come a time of reckoning when the bill comes due. But credit the Eagles for seizing the moment and trying to make the most of their window of opportunity. And it’s not just because of the extra money they’re spending, but also the smart drafting and calculated outside acquisitions that are making them the team they are.
Buy Eagles Buy.
