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Four Eagles named as top free agents for 2025
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Josh Sweat. Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Four Eagles named as top free agents for 2025

The Philadelphia Eagles still have unfinished business in Super Bowl LIX but once the season is over, they could struggle to keep these players considered among the NFL’s best available.

Using factors such as age, positional value and input from national reporter Jeremy Fowler, ESPN’s Matt Bowen came up with a list of the league’s top-50 free agents for 2025. The Eagles, Steelers and Vikings led the way with four free agents each. Here’s the best Philly has to offer.

No. 9 | Josh Sweat | DE/LB

Sweat led the team with eight sacks for 54 yards and nine tackles for loss in 2024. Fowler gives him points for his ability to play in a 3-4 or 4-3 defense while Bowen calls him a “long, angular mover who can win with speed-to-power, with built-in counters to disengage from offensive tackles.”

Even with 43 sacks over the past seven seasons, Sweat received less fanfare than former teammates like Fletcher Cox and Haason Reddick. But the 27-year-old edge-rusher thrived under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, helping the team recover from a disastrous 2023 campaign with this year’s top-ranked defense 

Fowler believes Arizona head coach and former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon could make a play for Sweat this offseason, but Philadelphia will likely match any offer he gets.

No. 12 | Zack Baun | Linebacker

Baun joined the New Orleans Saints as a third-round pick in 2020 but was primarily used on special teams. He never had more than 30 tackles in a single year, so few took notice when Philadelphia signed him to a one-year, $3.5M contract in the offseason.

Initially, the team thought Baun would compete for a spot as an off-ball linebacker but Fangio switched him to inside linebacker during spring practice. It turned out to be an excellent move as Baun led the team with 151 tackles, a career-high 3.5 sacks and five forced fumbles.

Baun finished the regular season as the NFL’s highest-graded linebacker by Pro Football Focus and is a nominee for the AP Defensive Player of the Year Award. Bowen believes Baun will cash in this offseason but it will be interesting to see how four anonymous seasons with the Saints affects his overall value.

No. 16 | Milton Williams | Defensive tackle

Like Sweat, Williams has mostly flown under the radar since arriving in Philadelphia but has been a key contributor to the team’s success. A third-round pick in 2021, the 25-year-old defensive tackle had a career-high five sacks and 18 pressures in the regular season and two passes defended in this year’s playoffs. He’s missed just one game in his four year career and played in 48 percent of the team's defensive snaps in 2024.

No. 30 | Mekhi Becton | Guard

After appearing in just 31 games in four years with the New York Jets, the 6-foot-7, 363-pound tackle joined the Eagles in a backup role before offseason injuries to the offensive line forced him into the unfamiliar role of right guard. 

Becton has been a force next to Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson, clearing a path for leading-rusher Saquon Barkley all season. Still just 25-years-old, Becton is just entering his prime while showing off the skills that made him the 11th-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

With just $26M in projected cap space for next season, Philadelphia could have trouble bringing Becton back. But given how the team covets offensive linemen, a four-year, $40M contract with the Eagles isn’t out of the question.

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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