Football at Four: The Impact of Free Agency on the Eagles

The Toyota Tundra and Tacoma are built to keep going,

blending rugged muscle with precision engineering,

all supported by Toyota's time-tested legacy

of dependability, step into a Tundra

and fuel the on-yielding capability.

With the available iForce Max engine,

Tundra puts out impressive power, torque,

and towing performance, and the Rumi high-tech cabin

keeps you connected on the go.

We'll take a look at the Tacoma,

made for drivers who push past the path.

Agile tough and relentless with available features

like crawl control, a portable JBL speaker,

and a power lift gate, so gear goes in fast

and the adventure keeps moving.

The Tacoma and Tundra are engineered to endure

season after season, mile after mile.

So drive one home today, visit Toyota.com

or stop by your local Toyota dealer

to find out more Toyota.

Let's go places.

Oh, wow.

My perfect day has sand, salt, water, and friends.

But my moderate-to-severe-plex rises

can take me out of the moment.

Now I'm all in with clearer skin thanks to SkyRizzy.

Risen Kism at Rizza, a prescription only 150

milligram injection for adults who are candidates

for systemic or phototherapy.

With SkyRizzy, most people saw a 90% clearer skin

and many were even 100% plaque free at four months.

SkyRizzy is just four doses a year

after two starter doses.

Don't use if allergic to SkyRizzy,

serious allergic reactions, increased infections,

or lower ability to fight that may occur.

Before treatment, get checked for infections

and tuberculosis.

Tell your doctor about any flu-like symptoms or vaccines.

Thanks to SkyRizzy, there's nothing on my skin.

And that means everything.

Ask your doctor about SkyRizzy.

The number one dermatologist prescribed

biologic in psoriasis.

Visit SkyRizzy.com or call 1-866 SkyRizzy to learn more.

Tax season has arrived.

And doing taxes without the right help

can feel overwhelming.

Into it, TurboTax is here now to guide you through it

with confidence.

Match with a TurboTax full-service expert

who handles everything for you from start to finish.

Your dedicated expert checks every single deduction

and credit to help you get the best possible outcome

so you can feel confident you're getting

every dollar you deserve.

And the best part, you'll see real-time updates

on your expert's progress right on your phone

while you live your life.

Plus, you get unlimited expert help at no extra cost,

even on nights and weekends during tax season.

Visit TurboTax.com.

Only available with TurboTax full-service experts,

real-time updates only on iOS mobile app.

Football for powered by the inside of the birds podcast.

And of course, it is brought to you by our friends

at the Fanatic Sportsbook at Ocean Casino Resort

in Atlantic City, the madness zone at Ocean.

March 19 through the 22nd,

every college basketball game.

Place your bets at Atlantic City's best sportsbook

while you watch, eat, and drink all tournament long.

Turn it into a getaway with the madness zone hotel package

in overnight stay, plus a $50 food and beverage credit.

Taste Atlantic City runs through March 31st

with three course menus for 60 bucks.

Seeker Kreischer, April 3rd and 4th,

and Lenny Kravitz, May 16th, Addovation Hall.

Book now, the oceanac.com.

Andrew DeChico is here from the inside of the birds podcast

inside the birds.com.

And it has been slow so far, Andrew,

is this the way you envisioned this offseason kicking off

for Howie Roseman and the 2026 Philadelphia Eagles?

I did.

And for anyone who listened to what Howie Roseman had to say

in his season ending press conference

or even in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine,

you should be prepared for the early part

of this for agent process, right?

Because he talked about the need and some of the challenges

that accompany trying to keep your own players in that building.

And some of these sacrifices that would need to be made

in order to do so.

So he was really transparent, not only this offseason,

but last offseason as well, and sort of bracing Eagles fans

for a little turbulence early on in the offseason.

But I was expecting it that I expect

to get 30 million a season.

I did not, but he was a priority.

He was someone who they wanted to keep.

But outside of that, Mike,

nothing that I've seen thus far has really surprised me.

OK, so let's look at Phillips.

He got 30 million.

Obviously, that's a lot of money.

And I think Vic Fangio did say we wanted him,

just kind of got priced out.

Where do you see options now, Andrew, to replace him?

Because last year they went in with Hunt and Smith halfway

through the year they realized that was not enough.

Do they think that's enough this time around?

Or did they have to get creative to find someone to replace Phillips?

Yeah, I would tend to think that Degos would lean towards

getting outside help there.

When they brought in Jaylen Phillips,

he was the headliner there flanked by Jaylen Hunt.

But no one Smith was the number three.

And I think that's really where he's best suited,

especially given his body type the way he plays the game

with a lot of physicality and setting the edge.

But that lends itself to not always being available.

So I think Degos' best course of action right now

would be to explore the trade market,

someone like Jonathan Grenard.

Now, if it's a second round pick, I'm not doing that.

I don't know that he would be worth a second round pick.

But he is a player that I think would fit pretty well

within this scheme.

He's been productive throughout his career.

This would qualify as a bounce back system form.

And you may ask, how do you feel about players

on bounce back seasons?

I think, in this case, you would feel a little bit more

confident about it because of his past success.

And there hasn't been a flash in the pan,

a blip on the radar.

He's been a really, really dominant force off the edge

in his career.

And I think when you're looking at who he would be replacing,

you need to give yourself a top flight edge rusher

to allow everyone else to sort of fit into where

to where they best fit.

So that's the way that I view it.

There's also the NFL draft.

And the Eagles are sitting at pick 23.

There's a player who would fall within that range

and Kendrick Falk and edge rusher out of Auburn,

six foot six, 20 years old.

He moves really well.

Still needs a little bit more refinement

overall to his game.

But his stock is rising as we speak.

So there's a lot of avenues in which the Eagles

can explore to do that.

But I think you've got to get someone who's ready to go,

who's played the game at a high level.

And for me, Jonathan Grenard is that guy.

All right, so keep an eye on Grenard.

Minnesota had some shoulder problems,

much like Jihad Campbell.

We found that out as well from Vic Fangio.

And he obviously will be the replacement for Nicobie Dean.

But let's hear about Rick Wollen

who met the media today.

Do you look at this as an upgrade over what they had last year?

A significant upgrade.

What does your take on how they were able to get Wollen

here on a one year deal?

Yeah, it was great talking to Rick Wollen today.

He had some really interesting things to say

in terms of honing in on the mental aspect

and keeping his emotions in check.

Because I think aside from that,

he's probably in Seattle with a big contract.

It's been the glimpses that have been too infrequent.

Aside from his rookie season.

But on its face, Mike, one year, I think it's worked up to 15,

but I think it's about 12.

That's what a player of his skill set of his caliber command

in terms of a one year deal because of the upside.

26 years old, six foot three, runs of four, two, six.

But you have to also ask yourself,

how is a player with those dimensions

with that kind of ability available for a one year deal?

So there's two sides to every trade.

You have to look at the other side.

And it's been the inconsistencies.

It's been the penalties.

He's been one of the more penalized corners in the NFL.

And I think in Philadelphia, it's a clean slate.

You have a coaching staff that prides himself

and has an extensive track record of player development.

So it's about raining that in,

controlling your emotions,

and playing within the confines of the system,

which we're playing with Cooper-Digine and Kunya Mitchell.

You're gonna see the football come your way a lot.

So you have to trust your technique

and really have that dial it in.

But I think that that's the type of signing

that if you're the Eagles and you're exploring those,

that second tier-ish type of player,

you take a big swing for someone like that

because you have to bet on the upside.

He's played at a high level before.

It's about getting him to revert back to the player

that he was back in 2022.

All right, obviously Adori Jackson there last year.

And now you've got a younger player

with a lot more upside.

Adori will be done, of course.

He had the one year deal last year.

Now Rick Wolin comes in who was coming

from the Super Bowl champion.

Seattle.

Seattle.

Yes.

I know Rick Wolin along with Kunya and Mitchell

and Cooper DeGene.

That gives you a very formidable looking secondary there.

Let's go to Reed Blankenship.

He got paid as well.

And this kind of shows the Eagles are disciplined.

They thought that Reed was good,

but they probably don't put him on that multiple year-level level.

How do they replace him?

Not a lot of in-house options.

Yeah, some were surprised that the Eagles walked away

at that price, but I even wrote this

leading into free agency on inside the birds.com

that for talking six or seven million,

if I'm the Eagles, sign me up for that.

But if it climbed to eight, nine, 10 million,

no, I'm walking away because he's not irreplaceable.

There are a lot of other options and avenues

that you can explore to fortify that position.

I think the Eagles could stand to get more athletic there.

And for all the good things that Reed Blankenship has done,

and there are some intangibles there that can't be measured.

It's the toughness.

It's the instincts playing fundamentally sound,

making sure that you're that traffic cop back there

that can make sure everybody knows there are assignment.

And Dick Van Gio trusted him immensely

at one of the most daunting positions in his system.

So that shouldn't be discounted.

But you can certainly stand to upgrade at that position.

And I think if you look at free agency,

you have players like a Geno Stone

who's been around for a while,

was drafted by the Ravens.

I believe in the seventh round at Iowa,

went to the Bengals for a couple of seasons,

started 34 games for them.

Dr. Juan Brisker from the Chicago Bears.

And there's a plethora of safeties

in the draft to I really like.

A manual McNeil Warren at a Toledo,

six foot four rangey.

Has a good relationship with Quinia Mitchell, ball hawk.

So he's always around the football.

And I think he plays with really good fundamentals

and anticipation.

So that's the kind of player that I would really like.

And Bud Clark from TCU, there's a lot.

There's the kid Wheatley from Penn State.

It's not to be all end-all at the Eagles,

lost reblocking chip.

There's going to be other options.

I think you want to add a player and for agency

to balance out the room a little bit.

Let's not forget Marcus Epses out there too.

But that wasn't a move that I was necessarily surprised by.

Yeah, I agree with you there.

And some interesting possibilities to replace him.

So you've got woolen on the outside.

You've got Campbell there.

You need to replace Phillips and Reed Blankenship.

Really, that is a couple of the things

that this team still needs to do.

We'll see what Howie Roseman does to fix that.

Let's go to offense because I want to get your opinion

on what they did at tight end.

Because obviously this Dallas Goddard thing is kind of interesting.

Gives him a little time to try to figure out something there.

They did bring in Johnny Munt to be a blocking tight end.

And they brought back Grant Calcutta.

Do you think that it's more of a sign that Goddard is back?

Do they go with Calcutta as like a pass catcher,

draft a guy to groom behind him.

And now they have Munt as the blocker.

Obviously, Calcutta was kind of miserable in that second role

as a blocker.

That just did not suit him.

How do you read the tight end room now?

Well, they still need a tight end one to be clear.

Whether that's Dallas Goddard, whether that's

a David and Joe Kuon in free agency.

But they certainly need to make sure

that they add a top end player at that position

who can be the face of that room.

And this is going to be a new look room.

They really were striving to add more balance and variety

in terms of skills that Grant Calcutta is a player

that I think that there's been a lot of venom and anger

directed at his way.

Look, he's not a good blocker.

He struggled mightily in that area.

But I don't put that on the player.

I put that on the coaches because if you're asking someone

to continuously do something that they're not good at,

you're not putting the player in the best position

to be successful.

However, he is a very good pass catcher.

He's been used sparingly in his career at the Eagles,

just 42 receptions.

But I would argue that he has some of the best hands on the team.

He catches a lot of volume.

He receives a lot of volume in training camp.

Jay, what hurts seems to trust him.

And I'm curious to see how this new coaching staff

views him within the structure of their offense.

I can't help but wonder because he does

have more of a bigger body if he could be a plus size

receiver at times like a Johnny Wilson,

you put him inside and he can help you where you're not

in line blocking, but you're doing other things

to free up teammates and things like that,

maybe trying to exploit his athleticism a little bit more.

So I think as a third or even a fourth tight end,

Grand Cacotera is fine.

Johnny months interesting because he's a good blocker.

One of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL.

And he's gonna certainly help that area

because they struggled and that was one of the contributing

factors.

The tight ends not being able to hold up

to the point of attack that allowed the,

enabled the running game to falter the way that it did.

So I was expecting the blocking tight end thought Charlie

Kohler would have been a nice fit as it is.

Johnny month, 31 years old on his third team.

You don't hang around that long in the NFL

unless you're exceptional in a specialty role

and he certainly is.

And then there's plenty of tight ends in the draft

that they can look to add if they choose to go that route

which I am expecting they will.

Yeah, and obviously,

well, not obvious to everybody,

but has some background with Sean Manion as well.

So he would likely be the number two blocking tight end

or the guy who's in there and run game situations

and goal line situations.

I am interested to see if they,

what would you just said, Andrew?

Did they look at Cacotera and say,

look, this guy can catch the ball.

He can make plays.

We just never have given him a chance.

And we can get that for a heck of a lot cheaper

than Goddard, nothing against Goddard.

But might just be time to flip over that salary.

Yeah, I don't think it would be to be a starter

just to be clear.

But I do think that there's a world in which

he can have a little bit more of a hand in the offense

as a receiver as a depth piece

or maybe you find more creative ways

to deploy him formationally.

But I think there's more there than what he's shown.

He's a good route runner.

He can pull away from linebackers and defensive backs.

He has that kind of athleticism.

And I don't want to oversell it.

But I think that it's always been a little curious to me

as to why, as the number two tight-out

playing as much as he has.

He just had nine catches last season.

I think that there's a way where maybe they can involve

the tight-out a little bit more.

And really, if you look at the Kyle Shanahan offense

of the Sean McBees, it's becoming a lot of,

it's becoming tight-end heavy in terms of their usage.

So I mean, this could be a situation

where they carry three or four this year,

depending on how things shake out.

All right, Dotson, obviously, two-year deal, 15 million.

He goes to Atlanta, did not have a major role here.

37 catches, one touchdown in 34 games with Philadelphia.

So you'll in the surface, you would say,

not a huge loss.

In-house, do they even look to add an upgrade

at the third-wide receiver?

Is that just not a position that this team values

all that much?

Well, they certainly value it.

And then you look at the defense

and how much money is going to have to be invested.

And that's, on that side of the ball,

you got to get younger on the offensive side.

You have to start drafting and developing players

that are on rookie contracts.

And this would be an opportune spot for the Eagles

to take a wide receiver and have them slide in as the three.

You have Darius Cooper, who I think is probably

better suited to be a four right now.

Great story development and kind of go from there.

But Johan Dotson, it was a steep investment to get him.

I think they gave up a third round pick.

A couple of years ago, had the 27-yard catch in the Super Bowl,

had the touchdown to kickstart the playoffs

after Warren Berks forced the fumble against the Packers.

So the highlights are minimal.

But whenever the ball came his way,

he certainly made the most of it.

Yep.

And obviously, he moves on to Atlanta.

We'll see what they do there.

Obviously, the AJ Brown stuff seemingly

has up and down and all around.

And every 10 minutes we can get something different.

A lot of people believe, after June 1st,

that teams could get back in play here,

you're gut feeling on AJ Brown's future now.

Right now, on March 12, I would say

that the Eagles probably move on from them.

But we'll have to see how things go.

It seems like it's a week-to-week thing.

But I mean, the Eagles aren't just going to give them away.

And that's something that you've heard a lot about.

They're not just going to lose out on a staring contest

and just deal them to the highest bidder.

They're going to stand firm on what they believe the value

is there.

And until they get that, they're not going to move them.

But I do, I mean, they are taking calls.

And I mean, that's been widely reported.

And so we'll have to wait and see how everything transpires

from there.

So we'll see what happens with Brown, obviously.

Let me move to the Max Crosby thing

and how that might intertwine with Philadelphia.

Did they get involved there, Andrew, in your mind?

How that changes the edge marker market for losing

Phillips?

What does your take on the bizarre situation that

happened with Crosby?

And then the domino effect of taking Hendrix and off the board?

Yeah, I mean, it's just really bad optics.

It looks like they got cold feet to me and had virus remorse.

You feel good about dealing two first round picks

on Friday night.

You take the weekend, you think about it.

You look at how the legal tampering period's going.

You see the trade Hendrix then still out there

when you probably didn't expect them to be.

And then all of a sudden, you're OK.

Well, we could do this and then keep our picks.

And you can start second guessing.

But I have to tell you, that's bad business.

And it's a bad look for an organization

in the Ravens that, for many years,

were viewed among the NFL's best.

This is going to be hard to move past.

And then you have to imagine there's

going to be other teams that are going to be hesitant

to do business with Baltimore moving forward.

Now, Max Crosby, you have to do your homework

before you trade for a player like that,

because out of his seven seasons,

five, he's played over 900 snaps,

two in which he's played over 1,000.

The Raiders have really run him into the ground,

and you have to worry about the longevity.

And of course, there's going to be some health concerns there,

given how much he's played, even at 28 years old.

All right, Andrew.

Last couple of few, all kind of today,

landed Dickerson, a reworked deal.

What is the optics on this in your mind?

Well, it helps the Eagles, I guess, if you want to say,

minimize any kind of financial burden in the event

that he does walk away, and two years, Max.

From what I understand, he was close to walking away

this season and retiring.

He's been riddled with injuries throughout his career.

The attrition has clearly caught up to him last season.

He battled through a litany of injuries.

And if you're landing, you have to think,

can I go through another season like this?

OK, if I can get through 2026, 2027,

we'll have to wait and see.

So I think this right here, it almost looked like a courtesy

to the Eagles in the event that he decides to walk away

or at an early age.

Gotcha, all right.

So Dickerson, for those just tuning in,

he was set to make 39 million over the next two seasons.

Goes down to 36, although his contract

was going to expire in 2028.

He is now only under contract due to 2027.

So he takes a little bit of a pay cut.

And but he's only here for two years instead of the three years.

So we'll see what ends up happening with the future of Dickerson.

A lot of times you talk about a kicker or a punter signing

but Brady man for the longest 14 million.

And this was the off season to be a kicker or a punner.

These guys were making big bucks in free agency.

Yeah, I'm a huge Brady man guy.

I got to know him quite a bit over the past couple of years

and well deserved.

I thought that he deserved pro bowl consideration.

He had a tie to career high and punts inside the 20 with 20.

Hit a 70 yarder this year.

And was really critical in the field flipping

when the offense was sputtering early on.

He bailed them out oftentimes.

And when you have a punter like that, he's a weapon.

And I looked at what Tommy Townsend got

from the Tennessee Titans that was two years up to 6 million.

And he was an all pro and a pro bowler in 2022.

But I hold him in high regard.

I thought, well, what's Brady man going to get?

Brady man was compensated quite well

for his contributions last season.

And he should be.

And I think now that he's sort of on the map a little bit

who'll finally get the recognition that I believe he deserves.

There you go.

So man gets the deal.

Last one for you.

Brandon Graham has said that he does not plan on retiring.

Andrew, do you anticipate 55?

We'll be back next season.

Yeah.

Howie Rosen at the NFL Combine was asked

about Brandon Graham.

And he said he's welcome to throw it out

for any time.

And if Brandon Graham wants to come back,

and obviously he can still play, you bring him back.

And you count on him as a fifth edge rusher.

Maybe you kind of have an agreement in August.

So you don't have to maybe put him through the full gauntlet

of training camp.

And you bring him back into the fold

as long as he's in football shape.

He's proven that he can still play

and also help along the interior.

So there's value there.

That'll be on the field, but as a mentor

and of course in the locker room.

Andrew to check out.

Of course, the football off season,

it continues with free agency.

And then the draft next month, April 23rd,

will be all over that.

We are getting it within a month to the draft.

And of course, you can check out more

from the inside of the birds guys

over inside the birds.com.

Andrew, thanks man.

Thanks a lot.

Busy day, busy stuff,

still a little quiet on the Eagles front,

but they did make that decision today

to do that re structuring of the deal

for land in Dickerson.

We appreciate Andrew to check it was always

in the football and four guys inside the birds.

The source for Eagles in tell

and the inside of the birds podcast.

The Toyota Tundra and Tacoma are built to keep going

blending rugged muscle with precision engineering

all supported by Toyota's time tested legacy

of dependability.

Step into a Tundra and feel the unyielding capability.

With the available iForce Max engine,

Tundra puts out impressive power torque

and towing performance.

And the Rumi high tech cabin keeps you connected on the go.

Or take a look at the Tacoma,

made for drivers who push past the path.

Agile tough and relentless with available features

like crawl control,

a portable JBL speaker and a power liftgate.

So gear goes in fast and the adventure

keeps moving that Tacoma and Tundra are engineered

to endure season after season mile after mile.

So drive one home today, visit Toyota.com

or stop by your local Toyota dealer to find out more Toyota.

Let's go places.

Hey there, it's Ryan Seacrest for Safeway.

It is stock up savings time now through April 2nd.

Spring in for store wide deals and earn four times of points.

Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items

from smart water, healthy choice, cotton now,

hole in spring, Red Bull, St. James,

Tillamook and Special K.

Then clip the offer in the app

for automatic event long savings.

Stack up those rewards to save even more.

Enjoy savings on top of savings

when you shop in store or online for easy drive up

and go pick up or delivery.

Restrictions apply, see website for full terms and conditions.

It's tax season and by now,

I know we're all a bit tired of numbers,

but here's an important one you need to hear.

$16 billion.

That's how much money and refunds the IRS

flagged for possible identity fraud.

Here's another one.

One in four honest, hardworking,

tax-paying Americans has been a victim of identity theft.

But it's not all grim news.

Lifelock monitors millions of data points per second

for your personal information

and alerts you to threats you could easily miss on your own.

If your identity is stolen,

Lifelock's US-based restoration specialist will fix it

backed by another good number.

The million dollar protection package.

In fact, restoration is guaranteed or your money back.

Don't face identity theft and financial losses alone.

There's strength in numbers

with Lifelock identity theft protection

for tax season and beyond.

Visit lifelock.com slash iHeart

and save up to 40% your first year.

That's 40% off at lifelock.com slash iHeart.

Terms apply.

My perfect day at sand, salt, water, and friends.

But my moderate to severe plaques rises

can take me out of the moment.

Now I'm all in with clearer skin thanks to SkyRizzy.

Risen Kism at Rizza.

A prescription only 150 milligram injection

for adults who are candidates for systemic or phototherapy.

With SkyRizzy, most people saw a 90% clearer skin

and many were even 100% plaque free at four months.

SkyRizzy is just four doses a year

after two starter doses.

Don't use a allergic to SkyRizzy.

Serious allergic reactions, increased infections,

or lower ability to fight that may occur.

Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis.

Tell your doctor about any flu-like symptoms or vaccines.

Thanks to SkyRizzy, there's nothing on my skin.

And that means everything.

Ask your doctor about SkyRizzy.

The number one dermatologist prescribed by logic in psoriasis.

Visit SkyRizzy.com or call 1-866 SkyRizzy to learn more.

Hey there, it's Ryan Seacrest for Safeway.

It is stocked up savings time.

Now through April 2nd,

spring in for store-wide deals and earn four times of points

with for install tags to earn on eligible items

from Goldfish, Kebler, Doritos, all.

Eminem's drumstick, outshine, and Kellogg's.

Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event

along savings, stack up those rewards to save even more.

Enjoy savings on top of savings

when you shop in store or online for easy drive up

and go pick up or delivery.

Restrictions apply, see website for full terms and conditions.

It's tax season.

And by now, we're all a bit tired of numbers.

But here's an important one you need to hear.

$16 billion.

That's how much money and refunds the IRS

flanked for possible identity fraud.

But it's not all grim news.

Lifelock monitors millions of data points per second

and alerts you to threats you could easily miss on your own.

If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it, guaranteed.

Save up to 40% your first year.

Visit lifelock.com slash iHeart, terms apply.