After early Eagles exit and confetti-less season, it’s Howie Roseman time in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — Howie Roseman did not hold an end-of-season news conference last year. The Eagles won the Super Bowl and the scouting combine was only two weeks away. The general manager took a break from public comments between a championship parade and assembling the 2025 roster.

The Eagles’ season ended in early January this year. The combine is not until the end of February. Roseman was back in a position he does not enjoy. (Cue the joke about holding a news conference.) The disenchantment comes from holding exit meetings and a coordinator search while you think your team should still be playing.

“We’re disappointed that we’re having this press conference here, that we’re not playing this weekend, and I can promise you we’re going to do whatever it takes to try to get better,” Roseman said.

Much of the attention is devoted to who will oversee the offense after the Eagles removed Kevin Patullo from offensive coordinator. But ardent Eagles fans know that once the season concludes — whether with a Lombardi Trophy or with a premature playoff exit — it turns to Howie Season in Philadelphia. That’s where the Eagles find themselves now, with Roseman assessing the 2025 roster and determining what must be done to push this news conference back a few weeks next season.

Roseman likes to say that his best seasons lead to the Eagles’ best seasons. So, how does he assess his performance after an 11-5 season with an NFC East title and first-round exit?

“Not good enough. If it doesn’t end with confetti falling on our heads, I don’t feel like it’s good enough,” Roseman said. “I know that we’re not going to win the Super Bowl every year. I think I know that from a broad perspective, but I believe we can. I go into every offseason thinking we’re going to do whatever it takes to win a Super Bowl, and when we fall short, I look at myself, I look at the things that I could have done differently, and I look to improve. That’s where I’m at right now.”

The biggest question facing Roseman this offseason is what will happen with A.J. Brown. The star wide receiver was noticeably frustrated at times throughout the season. He topped 1,000 yards for his fourth consecutive season with the Eagles, although he had his fewest yards per game since his rookie season and the fewest yards per reception in his career. Brown, who did not speak with reporters during the final month of the season, previously stated how much he enjoys playing in Philadelphia. But he was not shy about how he felt about his offense’s production and his belief that he could have more of an impact on games.

If the Eagles were to trade Brown before June 1, they would absorb a salary cap hit of nearly $44 million and would have no salary cap savings. The cap ramifications would be more favorable after June 1, although such a deal would not include the chance to add a 2026 draft pick. Even with the cap hit, the Eagles would have cash savings and cleaner books in subsequent years, but the conversations about the finances tend to overlook the football. Brown is an elite wide receiver and trading him would weaken an offense that Roseman and coach Nick Sirianni say is built to win now.

“It is hard to find great players in the NFL and A.J.’s a great player,” Roseman said when asked if he would consider trading Brown. “I think from my perspective, that’s what we’re going out and looking for when we go out here in free agency and in the draft is trying to find great players who love football, and he’s that guy. I think that would be my answer.”

Long-time Eagles observers know Roseman plays it close to the vest this time of year, and even when he does make bold statements, the player could also have his say. At the end-of-season news conference in January 2021, Roseman said he could not envision trading Carson Wentz “because when you have players like that, they’re like fingers on your hand. You can’t imagine that they’re not part of you, that they’re not here.” His sentiment might have been honest, except Wentz did not want to be in Philadelphia.

Roseman agreed to trade Wentz one month later. He still has all 10 fingers.

It’s not known what Brown wants for his future. Perhaps a more proficient passing game could help the Eagles and Brown’s buoyancy. It would behoove the Eagles to maximize Brown and DeVonta Smith, two receivers each making at least $25 million per year. The investments are not limited to wide receiver — the Eagles had the most expensive offensive roster in the NFL this season, based on cash spent — and there was not enough return on investment. Patullo took the fall for the offense, and for the resources Roseman allocated to the offense, the Eagles needed better production.

“I think those conversations on how we need to improve — I don’t think that it gives us any edge to talk about that publicly because obviously we’re getting to an offseason mode where we’re trying to acquire players,” Roseman said. “We’ll go through a deep evaluation. We’re disappointed.”

The Eagles were in maintenance mode last season based on their salary cap outlook and the need for cash to retain top talent. That hasn’t changed. Part of the benefit in the way the Eagles have drafted in recent seasons is the high-end talent on rookie contracts. Those inexpensive players are soon eligible for contract extensions. Whether it’s Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Quinyon Mitchell or Cooper DeJean, Roseman likely knows he needs to prepare for big-money contracts on defense.

That doesn’t even account for starters with contracts expiring in March. Jaelan Phillips, Nakobe Dean, Reed Blankenship, Adoree’ Jackson, Dallas Goedert, and Jahan Dotson are all set to hit free agency. Plus, the Eagles might want external reinforcements to upgrade the roster. There will be difficult decisions for Roseman to make.

“As you get better, you have a natural arc of the team,” Roseman said. ” I think that when you look at our team, we draft a lot of offensive players, we re-signed a lot of offensive players, [and] we drafted a lot of defensive players that were young on rookie contracts. There’s natural transition in what we do. I’m not making an excuse or anything, but there’s a national transition in that in terms of what you’re paying your guys, which side of the ball you’re paying guys who are coming up. The important thing for us is that there are players that we can’t lose. I mean, obviously, we are going to do what’s best for us, and we’re not going to do whatever it takes to do whatever it takes, within reason, and we want to keep [guys] around here because they’re really good players, homegrown players that are really good people that are part of our core.

“With that, you’re going to have to make sacrifices. That’s on me to make sure that the sacrifices we make are filled in with really good players again.”

Reading between the lines, one can expect the transition to soon start — likely this offseason — of emphasizing young, inexpensive players on offense to begin the pipeline to balance the payroll when the Eagles lock up their ascending defensive players to top-of-the-market deals. That’s the natural arc Roseman referred to in his comments. There’s room for only so many players making in excess of $20 million. The Eagles have seven players making at least $20 million per season. Each player was on offense. That can only be facilitated because of the inexpensive defensive players.

Roseman came armed with a stat that 14 of the 15 players drafted on Day 1 and Day 2 of the NFL Draft since the Sirianni era commenced in 2021 became starters for the Eagles. Ten of those players play defense, including seven of the last eight acquired. If you’re looking for a theme in April’s draft, it might be building the pipeline of cost-controlled players on offense. (No wonder Dane Brugler has the Eagles taking Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor in the first round.)

“We’ve got to keep hitting like that. I know that’s hard, but we’ve got to keep doing it,” Roseman said. “That means we have to have a good process. We’ve got to understand the people that we’re bringing into the building. We’ve got to understand the roles and the vision that we have for them when they’re playing. If we do that, good things will happen. We’ll be able to keep the players that we need to keep under long-term contracts and have an influx of young players that are really good that can play at a high level.”

Of course, the benefit of that potential transition might not be seen until 2027, 2028 or 2029. The Eagles need to maximize 2026. They have another year with an established offensive core, albeit with unknowns surrounding the status of Brown, Goedert and Lane Johnson. They’ll have a new offensive coordinator. Roseman made it clear: “We have an urgency to win right now.” Sirianni called it “win-now mode.” That doesn’t mean Roseman’s offseason won’t have an eye on trying to make this end-of-year news conference later in the calendar beyond next season, too.

“Can I clarify one thing? I think it’s important for our fans to understand. You can do whatever it takes to win now and still build for the future and still have those parallel paths,” Roseman said. “I just don’t want it to get confused that we can’t do whatever it takes to build a championship caliber team next year and also continue to have really good players on this team for the future. So, I just want to make sure that we’re on the same page on that.”

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