Philadelphia Eagles: Howie Roseman Works His Magic

At first glance, Howie Roseman is working his magic on the Philadelphia Eagles roster and for the second straight year, there are plenty of changes when it comes to these Birds.

If you would have told someone that in 2016, Howie Roseman would be the driving force behind the Philadelphia Eagles trying to fix their underachieving, overpaid roster, they would have called you crazy.

Well, in 2016, Roseman has been a magician for the Eagles and is helping get them back on track for a brighter future.

Before the 2015 season, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly demoted Roseman and took full control. Kelly decided to get rid of some of the Eagles key players, that Roseman brought in, and bring in his own guys. The moves backfired miserably for the Eagles and Kelly was sent packing by Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie after going 6-9 heading into the last game of the season.

The decision to fire Kelly was an interesting one because he had overhauled the entire roster, but would no longer be there to utilize the players he brought in. It led to many more questions than answers, but Lurie decided to promote Roseman and allow him to go back to doing what he is best at, which is building the roster and using the salary cap effectively.

Nov 22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell (31) in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field. The Buccaneers won 45-17. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

The biggest problem heading into 2016 was that the Kelly overpaid for a lot of his players and their salaries did not match their play. Kelly also got rid of a good player to replace him with his player.

Before free agency started in 2015, the Eagles broke Twitter when they traded their all-time leading rusher, LeSean McCoy, for Buffalo Bills linebacker, Kiko Alonso. Now Alonso did not fit the mold of being overpaid because he was still on his rookie contract, but he was coming off of an ACL injury and McCoy was loved more than cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, so this was clearly Chip’s guy.

The trade would have been good if Alonso played well in 2015, but he did not. He wasn’t the only defensive player Kelly brought in that struggled. The coach’s biggest 2015 free agent signing on the defensive side of the ball was cornerback Byron Maxwell, who came from the Seattle Seahawks. Some were high on his ability to be a number-one lockdown corner.

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Then there was Kelly, who decided to pay Maxwell like a top five lockdown corner.He handed the defender a six-year, $63 million contract. It was terrible because Maxwell did not even play like a top 20 corner in the NFL as Pro Football Focus had him ranked as the 75th-ranked cornerback.

It looked impossible for the Eagles to get rid of Maxwell after 2015 because of the deal the Eagles (Kelly) gave him and how poorly he played, but Roseman went to work.

Roseman was able to trade Alonso, Maxwell and their first-round pick (13) in the draft for the Miami Dolphins first round pick (8). The swapping of picks, on the draft value chart, is the difference of 250 points, which is equal to the 68th pick in the draft.

Another big mistake Kelly made was signing free agent running back DeMarco Murray. The 2014 NFL rushing leader was highly sought after because of his impressive eason with the Dallas Cowboys, but the Eagles (Kelly) gave him a five-year, $40 million contract.

Murray would go on to play poorly and underachieve in 2015, rushing for only 703 yards and six touchdowns. It got to be so bad that Kelly actually demoted him before he was fired and Murray wasn’t even getting the most snaps out of the running backs in Philly. After Kelly was fired, it was said that Murray would be happy to start fresh with new coach Doug Pederson, but when Ian Rapport of NFL Network reported that Murray wasn’t actually happy, things got real.

Dec 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray (29) looks on from the sidelines during a break in the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

The Eagles couldn’t cut Murray because they would have $13 million in dead money, so it made no sense. It also seemed crazy that any teams would trade for a high paid declining running back, but that is where Roseman started to shine being back in his increased role once again.

Somehow, someway, Roseman was able to surprise the entire NFL when there were rumblings that the Tennessee Titans and Eagles had agreed on a trade sending Murray to the Titans. Murray’s agent confirmed the news and head coach Mike Mularkey now has a proven performer in the backfield.

The Titans confirmed that the Eagles traded Murray and their fourth-round pick for the Titans fourth-round pick. That meant that the Eagles went from 15th in the fourth round to second. On the draft value chart, that would mean the Eagles gained 36 points, which is equivalent to a mid-fourth round pick. It may not seem like a big move, but getting anything for Murray and moving on from his big contract was huge.

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It looked as if the Eagles were going to have salary cap problems in 2016 because of the moves Kelly made. But Roseman has been huge for the Eagles already, doing the near-impossible and somehow getting value. He has also given the Eagles the ability to draft in the top 10 of the 2016 NFL Draft and acquired another pick within the first 100 selections.

Not a bad start to an offseason that had its share of question marks just a few weeks ago.

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