Eagles are dangerously thin at three positions

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman.

While obsessing about the hiring and firing of assistant coaches, some Eagles fans may be missing the glaring holes on the team’s roster. Here’s where Philadelphia needs the most help in 2024.

Running back

At the moment, the Eagles have one running back with NFL game experience under contract. Kenneth Gainwell III was the first of two fifth-round picks for the team in 2021 and has appeared in 49 games for Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t done much in those games. Aside from a career-best 112 yards against the Giants in the 2022 divisional playoffs, Gainwell has underwhelmed, averaging just 298.3 yards over three seasons.

Last October, the team signed running back Lew Nichols, a former seventh-round draft pick of Green Bay to its practice squad. Nichols and the Packers reached an injury settlement at the start of the 2023 season after he suffered a preseason shoulder injury. He remains signed but still hasn’t taken a snap in an NFL game.

Linebacker

Hopefully for Eagles fans, general manager Howie Roseman knows what he’s doing in letting Haason Reddick seek a trade. Unlike running backs, the team has plenty of bodies at the linebacker position but other than Reddick, none have a great deal of experience.

Thanks to a Lisfranc injury that sidelined him for most of 2023, former third-round pick Nakobe Dean has four starts in his NFL career. Former Spartan Ben VanSumeren has a single start while Nolan Smith, a first-round pick in 2023 made no starts in his rookie year.

Perhaps that’s why the team recently signed former Lions linebacker Julian Okwara to their practice squad. The former third-round pick had 54 tackles and nine sacks in four injury-filled years with Detroit while making four starts.

Safety

The Eagles have three safeties signed for 2024 but with a $14M cap hit and just $711,000 in dead money on his deal, former Titan Kevin Byard will almost certainly be released this offseason.

Former undrafted free agent Reed Blankenship led the team in tackles last season but Mekhi Garner and Tristin McCollum have seven tackles and six games combined. Third-round pick Sydney Brown showed flashes as a rookie but suffered a torn ACL in December.

With nearly $21M in cap space for 2024, Philadelphia has the means to bring in better players. Unfortunately, the Eagles have rarely made linebacker, running back or safety an offseason priority.

Maybe this year will be different when NFL free agency begins on March 13.

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