The foundation for the Philadelphia Eagles not having an elite edge rusher in 2025 was actually set 18 months ago, and way before the Eagles dropped 2 consecutive games to the Denver Broncos and New York Giants.
It’s not much of a stretch to say the Eagles may have sealed their fate for this fall in March 2024, when they opted to give New York Jets edge rusher Bryce Huff a 3-year, $51 million free agent contract.
Huff’s deal meant no big money for edge rusher Josh Sweat, who’d been with the Eagles since they drafted him in the fourth round out of Florida State in 2018.
Instead, Sweat played on a 1-year, $10 million contract in 2024 and had the best season of his career. He led the Eagles with 8.5 sacks during the regular season and was just as good on the way to winning the Super Bowl.
He also left town on the first thing smoking via a 4-year, $76.1 million free agent contract from the Arizona Cardinals.
Huff, on the other hand, pouted his way out of town with just 2.5 sacks during the regular season. He wasn’t even on the active roster for the 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX and was traded to the San Francisco 49ers after the season.
Fortunately for the Eagles, who travel to face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7, there’s still a chance to right some of those wrongs.
Trade Pitch Brings Edge Rusher From AFC South
CBS Sports NFL reporter Garrett Podell thinks the Eagles should trade for 29-year-old Tennessee Titans edge rusher Arden Key, who has 28.0 sacks through his first 7 seasons despite only being a full time starter for only 2 of those years.
The Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan after a 1-5 start and should be the NFL’s most enthusiastic sellers ahead of the trade deadline.
Key is in the final season of a 3-year, $21 million contract he signed in March 2023.
“The Eagles’ pass rush was one of their superpowers en route to dominating the Chiefs in a Super Bowl LIX victory over the Chiefs to conclude the 2024 season,” Podell wrote on October 15. “Following the departures of Milton Williams and Josh Sweat in free agency this offseason, Philadelphia is now just around league average at pressuring the quarterback and one of the NFL’s worst at actually bringing the quarterback down … The Eagles should go get 29-year-old edge rusher Arden Key to bolster their pass rush, given that Key has 1.5 sacks while playing for Tennessee — a team that already fired its head coach.”
Shocking Retirement Hurt Eagles Pass Rush
The Eagles have been left scrambling at edge rusher over the last month.
Their most promising young player at the position, Nolan Smith, injured his triceps in a Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams and won’t return, at the earliest, until a Week 10 road game against the Green Bay Packers.
Then, on October 13, veteran edge rusher Za’Darius Smith shocked the Eagles when he announced his retirement on Instagram.
Smith, 33 years old, signed a 1-year, $4.5 million contract with the Eagles just days before the start of the regular season and had 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks in the first 5 games.
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