There will be changes because there always are after a season that falls short of the Super Bowl.
That is especially true for the Eagles, even though they had a young team that was learning through experience as the season went along.
And while it’s easy to see the glass as half full after overcoming a 2-5 start to win seven out of their final 10 games to earn a playoff spot, it’s also half-empty when that playoff berth ended rather quickly.
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“That’s because the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a 31-point lead and cruised to a 31-15 win over the Eagles.
“We’ve kind of gotten our feet wet,” quarterback Jalen Hurts said Monday after the team held its final meetings of the season. “It’s a situation where we’re going to learn from it. I know for me, I pride myself on learning from my mistakes. I pride myself on finding anything and everything that can be teachable in any moment.”
Hurts, however, most likely won’t be among the changes.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has yet to address the media, but he is expected to do so this week. But the Eagles clearly have other priorities besides quarterback. They have three first-round picks, plus enough salary cap space to pursue at least one top-tier free agent.
That could go a long way toward addressing their needs – a second wide receiver behind DeVonta Smith, defensive back, linebacker, defensive end and depth all around – more so than pooling those resources for a quarterback.
In addition, the Eagles could have at least a dozen free agents of their own. The list includes defensive end Derek Barnett, plus three of the four starters in the secondary in safeties Rodney McLeod and Anthony Harris, and cornerback Steve Nelson.
“We’ll have new pieces, some moving parts,” Hurts said. “That’s the reality of this business in what we do.”
In addition, the Eagles looked into trading defensive tackle Fletcher Cox at the deadline last October. That could happen again, although Cox bristled at a question about that possibility.
“I made it clear, I’m happy where I am right now,” Cox said, adding that any trade questions would have to go through his agent, Todd France. “I’m not open to talking about contract situations.”
It’s likely that right guard Brandon Brooks won’t return after he missed the final 14 games with a pectoral muscle strain.
And center Jason Kelce, who’s coming off another Pro Bowl season, has contemplated retirement in each of the last three or four offseasons – and could possibly consider it again now that he’s 34 years old.
Still, it’s likely that Kelce will return. He’s clearly among the best centers in the NFL. In past comments with the media, Kelce has clearly enjoyed this Eagles team, the coaching staff, and the potential of players like Hurts and rookie wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
The changes, however, could be most apparent at safety.
McLeod is 31, finished up the final year of his contract, and he has had ACL surgery on both knees in the past three years. Harris, meanwhile, was signed on a one-year deal. If the Eagles wanted to keep either, it would take a multi-year deal.
That doesn’t seem likely since the Eagles were already rotating Marcus Epps in with McLeod and Harris. And there’s also K’Von Wallace, the fourth-round pick in 2020. But the Eagles could also save the money from McLeod and Harris, and pursue a free agent, or they can draft a safety with one of their early-round draft picks.
McLeod, for one, knows he might have played his last game as an Eagle.
“My future is unknown,” he said after the game Sunday.
Harris wouldn’t go that far, but he also avoided directly answering the question regarding his and McLeod’s future.
“There weren’t really much talks (amongst themselves) on the future for each other,” Harris said. “But ultimately, we want to see each other succeed, continue to enjoy the game that we both love to play, and just being there for each other.”
At the end of last season, when the Eagles finished 4-11-1, team chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie mentioned how his team was entering a transition period. He and Roseman fired former head coach Doug Pederson, and traded quarterback Carson Wentz.
That transition included rebuilding a roster with youth. The Eagles had 10 draft picks in 2020 and nine in 2021. They will have 10 more this coming spring, including the three first-round picks (No. 15 from Miami, No. 16 from Indianapolis, and their own at No. 19).
Many of those young players need to fill in for departing veterans. And for those who can’t, then free agents need to be brought in.
But the future success could be contingent on how well Hurts plays next season.
Hurts improved greatly as a pocket passer after the 2-5 start. That, in turn, made the Eagles’ running game dangerous, to the point where the Eagles led the NFL with an average of 159.7 yards per game. Hurts, meanwhile, led all quarterbacks with 784 rushing yards.
But Hurts suffered a sprained ankle on Nov. 28. And despite missing only one game, it clearly limited his running ability, and forced him into becoming more of a pocket passer.
It worked well enough against teams like the Giants and Washington. But he wasn’t nearly as effective against the Buccaneers.
“I wasn’t doing some of those things as much because I wasn’t able to get freaky like usual,” Hurts said. “I think from a (passing) efficiency standpoint, we took a big step in that area. I think kind of taking what they gave us, and kind of moving down the field and doing those things.
“My second year as a starter; it started today.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
