After a disastrous end to last season, the Philadelphia Eagles have made several changes this offseason. While the roster and coaching staff have undergone a transformation of sorts in 2024, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has also changed his way of thinking.
Roseman has already broken several tendencies that we have grown accustomed to during his tenure in Philadelphia. The Eagles spent significant money on running back Saquon Barkley, selected two cornerbacks early in the 2024 NFL Draft, and much more.
And following final cuts, Roseman’s favoritism toward veteran players has appeared to wane a bit in 2024 as the Eagles opted to retain several young, unproven players on the team’s final roster ahead of Week 1.
Eagles Embrace Youth Movement During Final Cuts
In recent years, Roseman has often elected to keep a veteran player on the team’s active roster, even if it meant risking losing a young player on waivers. Yet that wasn’t the case during final cuts in 2024, as the Eagles opted to embrace a youth movement.
According to the great Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice, Philadelphia has the sixth-youngest roster in the NFL following the initial wave of final cuts around the league. The Eagles have an average age of just 25.6 years old, which is the team’s lowest mark since 2012.
Eagles average age, by year:
2024: 25.6
2023: 26.0
2022: 25.7
2021: 25.9
2020: 26.0
2019: 26.6
2018: 25.7
2017: 26.4
2016: 26.5
2015: 26.7
2014: 26.3
2013: 25.7
2012: 25.6 https://t.co/x5RpRXNrH1— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) August 27, 2024
Last season, the Eagles opted to release or waive several young players during final cuts, including Ben VanSumeren and Tristin McCollum. While Philadelphia was able to retain both players on the team’s practice squad, each player made the team’s final roster in 2024.
During the regular season in 2023, the Eagles also released promising, young linebacker Christian Elliss. Several teams put in a waiver claim for Elliss, while the Eagles opted to keep aging veteran linebacker Shaquille Leonard on the roster instead.
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It’s clear that Roseman has learned his lesson and is prioritizing developing young players moving forward. Roseman was asked about Philadelphia’s youth movement by Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia during his press conference on Tuesday.
“I think I probably look at it more so because of how top-heavy we are from a contract perspective,” Roseman said. “We have a lot of good players making well-deserved money that we have to have the bottom of our roster as much on rookie deals as possible.”
“We’ve been fortunate that, even though we’ve paid these guys, that we have had some picks. At the same time, they’ve got to prove it. Nobody is on scholarship here.”
“So, it’s well deserved that those guys have had the opportunity to make this team,” Roseman continued. “I think it is important, as you build your roster, to compete for championships, that you have a growing young core that you can build along with the guys that you’re paying.”
Eagles Establishing Strong Culture by Rewarding Young Players
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni always refers to the five core values that he prioritizes in Philadelphia. “Compete” is one of Sirianni’s five core values, and competition has never been more evident for the Eagles than right now.
Ahead of final cuts, many expected the Eagles to prioritize keeping proven players due to their experience. Although the younger, unproven players may have outplayed the veterans during training camp and preseason, Philadelphia didn’t always reward those players.
That has all changed in 2024, as Roseman and Sirianni showcased that competition truly matters in the City of Brotherly Love. VanSumeren, McCollum, Thomas Booker IV, and Darian Kinnard all earned final roster spots for the Eagles.
Despite being surrounded by players with more experience, the Eagles rewarded these four young players for their effort throughout training camp and preseason action. VanSumeren beat out Oren Burks, who the Eagles signed relatively early in free agency.
McCollum forced his way onto the final roster with a stellar preseason performance, despite the presence of Avonte Maddox and James Bradberry. Booker and Kinnard each signed futures contracts and worked their way up from long shots to roster locks in 2024.
Roseman praised Eagles head of football development and strategy Connor Barwin when asked about Booker’s ascension in Philadelphia during his press conference on Tuesday.
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“Just really proud of him [Booker]. It’s a great tribute to our development program,” Roseman said.
“Those guys, the program that we have, led by [head of football development and strategy] Connor [Barwin], does a tremendous job of developing guys and trying to work on their weaknesses while they’re on the practice squad in the spring and in the summer and then obviously with our coaches, they did a tremendous job of putting [them] in position.”
It’s clear that the Eagles have built a strong culture that rewards competition in 2024. After years of neglecting young players and pushing them to the side in favor of veterans, the time for a youth movement in Philadelphia has finally arrived.