Philadelphia Eagles did one thing right, so how about offense?

The Philadelphia Eagles made one good decision in Brandon Graham, but what about the offense? As skill position players usher out in free agency, Philadelphia is left with no money and lots of holes to fill.

2018 was quite an up-and-down affair for the Philadelphia Eagles. After a Super Bowl title to round out the previous season, Carson Wentz and company struggled for much of the year. Once the playoffs rolled around, though, and playoff Nick Foles took charge, the Eagles were once again pulling upsets. They ultimately fell just short of advancing past the divisional round, but they salvaged the season.

However, that salvage job leads into what could be a tumultuous offseason. The team is turning back again to Wentz at quarterback despite Foles’ success. At the same time, it is jettisoning Foles after failing to see a trade market develop and using that money to re-sign Brandon Graham. This simple swap of space solves two of Philly’s main issues, but leaves much else unknown.

The biggest questions facing the Philadelphia Eagles were what to do at quarterback and what to do with Graham. Both issues are now in the past as the team attempts to fill remaining holes with very little room to maneuver. To put it bluntly, the Eagles have no money and a lot of vacancies on offense.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Philadelphia Eagles in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

Much of the roster’s offensive skill position depth is leaving in free agency. It will be losing three rotation wide receivers in Golden Tate, Mike Wallace, and Jordan Matthews. Two of those players barely had time to leave an impact on the team because of trade timing or injury, but they must be replaced regardless.

At running back, two more rotation runners are free agents: starter Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles. The team moved ahead without both last season, so maybe this position is already covered. Of course, the Eagles were one of the worst rushing teams in the sport a year ago.

On defense, less heralded but equally important pieces must be replaced in Ronald Darby, Jordan Hicks and Haloti Ngata. With Tim Jernigan reportedly out, the team has zero capable defensive tackles. As it stands, Philly is right up against the cap. It has no room to operate without cutting some viable veterans. Even that might not open up enough room to retool this roster the way management wishes it could.

There are always ways to create some cap space. Besides surprising cuts, extensions can be formulated that push the largest cap numbers into the future. But we all knew Philadelphia was going to encounter this issue. It went all-in on the roster, had it pay off with a Super Bowl title, and now must retool or mortgage the future.

How crazy can/should the team get in getting rid of veterans? They just signed Jason Kelce to an extension, but what if Jernigan is just the start? Could we possibly see future Hall of Famer Jason Peters released? What about Michael Bennett, Nelson Agholor or Chris Long, all of whom have high cap figures and little or no dead money on the 2019 figures?

Just two seasons after winning the Super Bowl, this team could look vastly different than fans are prepared for. Either that or rely on a very shallow group of veterans backed by inexperienced, cheap contracts.

Dan Salem:

Reading between the lines, it appears the Philadelphia Eagles are in for a bad season. Yet they play in a wide open division, so its pretty easy to see how they maintain enough success to challenge for the NFC East title once again. My gut feeling was that Philly needed to lock up the leader and star of its defense. The Eagles did this by re-signing Graham, maintaining the true strength of their football team in the process.

Philadelphia won the Super Bowl on the back of its defense, and salvaged last year the same way. Foles may have worked some magic, but the defense always stood out. Retaining Graham was a necessity, especially since the options for offensive skill position players are slim in free agency. You can either overpay for offense, or keep your defense at a high level.

Considering the backup quarterback was the major offensive different maker these past two seasons, I’m spending my money on defense. The Eagles obviously agreed, getting their penny-pinching offseason started with a great move.

Philadelphia would be wise to not ignore its backup quarterback position in 2019. Foles may be gone, but the position is no less important. Wentz currently has a history of getting hurt, so the Eagles need someone they can trust to run the offense. This might be the hardest player to find, since nearly all proven quarterbacks get an opportunity to start somewhere. If Teddy Bridgewater can’t find a starting job, or Case Keenum loses his, they represent two great backup options for a team that keeps using theirs.

Its tricky to improve without money to spend, but the Philadelphia Eagles have wiggle room to operate. Grabbing other team’s cast off players and turning them into starters is the only way to stay on top in the NFL. We are about to find out just how good the Eagles are at evaluating talent.