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Best, worst offseason moves by 2024 Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Best, worst offseason moves by 2024 Philadelphia Eagles

Few teams did more than the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason, but some moves were better than others. Here’s the best and worst of what they’ve done in 2024.

Best | Signing Saquon Barkley

After years of building rosters with low-cost running backs, Philadelphia surprised everyone by signing the longtime Giants running back. Former Eagle D’Andre Swift finished 2023 as the league’s fifth-leading rusher with 1,049 yards, but that wasn’t enough to keep him in Philly.

Swift had just 34 yards on 10 carries in the team’s 32-9 loss to Tampa Bay in last season’s NFC wild-card game, so Philadelphia signed Barkley to a three-year, $37M deal. With 5,211 yards rushing and 2,100 yards receiving in his career, the Pennsylvania native brings much-needed versatility to an offense that lost its mojo in 2023.

Worst | Losing Haason Reddick

Reddick led the team in sacks from 2022-23, but after signing Bryce Huff to a three-year, $51M deal, Philadelphia traded their best edge-rusher to Huff’s old team, the New York Jets, for a conditional third-round pick in 2026.

Huff had a career-high 10 sacks in 2023 but played just 42% of the Jets defensive snaps. Meanwhile, Reddick had 11 sacks after finishing second in the league with 16 in 2022.

More importantly, Reddick played 74% of snaps in the last two seasons, more than four times the number of snaps played by second-year linebacker Nolan Smith, who’s expected to split time with Huff in 2024.

Best | Adding new coordinators

A long history with quarterback Jalen Hurts did nothing for Brian Johnson’s offense. However, the team’s decision to let Matt Patricia call plays for Sean Desai’s defense did even less in 2023.

Unlike Johnson, new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is an experienced play-caller with a pair of top statistical finishes with the Cowboys. He spent last season with the Chargers to mixed reviews, but his experience creating motion-based offenses can only help an offense that head coach Nick Sirianni called “stale.”

Meanwhile, 65-year-old Vic Fangio will oversee the defense in 2024 and could be responsible for changing the team’s culture. Thanks to Fangio, the Eagles plan to extend their time on the practice field after limiting the number and length of sessions in previous years, according to ESPN’s Tim McManus.

With new systems being introduced on both sides of the ball and their head coach on the proverbial hot seat, the Eagles need all the practice they can get this offseason.

Worst | Bringing back Sirianni

If a recent report by The Athletic’s Diana Russini is true, Philadelphia should have found a new coach to accompany their coordinators in 2024.

"Last year, there was some disconnect between them due to their personalities," Russini wrote. "Nick, we’ve seen, is a very emotional guy. Jalen is a very private guy. They are different human beings, which is fine. You don’t all have to be the same, but you do have to be on the same page when it comes to what you want to do on offense."

Sirianni did nothing to help his quarterback and had no answers as the Eagles went 1-5 to end the regular season. If Sirianni is only as good as his coordinators, maybe someone else should be in charge.

Bruce Ewing

Bruce Ewing is 183 pounds of twisted steel and Happy Meals. His work has appeared on Yardbarker, 5th Down Fantasy, Inside the Iggles and MSN. Give a Philly fan a break and follow him on Twitter/X at @fantasybruce.

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