Eagles' 'Natural Arc' Is Shifting

That transition is upon the Eagles.

Contracts are cyclical and when the glut of young, talented Eagles' defenders are up for their second contracts, the roster equation will change for Roseman.

"I’m not making an excuse or anything, but there’s a national transition in that in terms of what you’re paying your guys, which side of the ball you’re paying guys who are coming up," he said. "The important thing for us is that there are players that we can’t lose. I mean, obviously, we are going to do what’s best for us, and we’re not going to do whatever it takes to do whatever it takes, within reason, and we want to keep [guys] around here because they’re really good players, homegrown players that are really good people that are part of our core.

“With that, you’re going to have to make sacrifices. That’s on me to make sure that the sacrifices we make are filled in with really good players again.”

"Howie Season" wasn't supposed to start this early for the Eagles, and there was a somewhat resigned feeling at Thursday's presser.

“We’re disappointed that we’re having this press conference here, that we’re not playing this weekend, and I can promise you we’re going to do whatever it takes to try to get better,” said Roseman.

Instead of preparing for Chicago in the divisional round, the Eagles have been getting their ducks in a row for an offensive coordinator search that began with former Atlanta OC Zac Robinson on Friday.

While others blamed deposed offensive chief Kevin Patullo as the crux of an underachieving offense, Roseman took accountability for a roster that produced 11 wins and an NFC East championship but stalled in the playoffs against a wounded San Francisco team.

"Not good enough," Roseman said of his performance. "If it doesn’t end with confetti falling on our heads, I don’t feel like it’s good enough. I know that we’re not going to win the Super Bowl every year. I think I know that from a broad perspective, but I believe we can. I go into every offseason thinking we’re going to do whatever it takes to win a Super Bowl, and when we fall short, I look at myself, I look at the things that I could have done differently, and I look to improve.

"That’s where I’m at right now.”

Roseman's tea leaves indicate a shift of the big money to the defensive side and a repopulation of the offense with younger, more cost-effective options in the draft.

The GM noted that 14 of the 15 players drafted on Days 1 and Day 2 of the NFL Draft in the Sirianni era have become starters for the Eagles, many of them difference-making ones. Ten of those players are on defense, however, and that trend needs to flip due to circumstance.

“We’ve got to keep hitting like that," Roseman admitted when discussing the draft. "I know that’s hard, but we’ve got to keep doing it. That means we have to have a good process. We’ve got to understand the people that we’re bringing into the building. We’ve got to understand the roles and the vision that we have for them when they’re playing. If we do that, good things will happen. We’ll be able to keep the players that we need to keep under long-term contracts and have an influx of young players that are really good that can play at a high level.”

The delicate balance is building a contender in 2026 while also planning for the future.

“Can I clarify one thing?" Roseman volunterred. "I think it’s important for our fans to understand. You can do whatever it takes to win now and still build for the future and still have those parallel paths. I just don’t want it to get confused that we can’t do whatever it takes to build a championship caliber team next year and also continue to have really good players on this team for the future. So, I just want to make sure that we’re on the same page on that.”