Eagles Rumors

Eagles To Sign LB Oren Burks

Oren Burks will remain in the NFC for 2024, but for the second time in his career he is set to join a new team. The veteran linebacker and special teamer has agreed to a one-year deal with a maximum value of $2.5MM, as first reported by Dianna Russini of The Athletic.

[RELATED: Eagles, LB Devin White Agree To Deal]

Burks, 28, began his career with the Packers, playing four seasons with the franchise. He was primarily used on special teams over that span, although he logged four starts as a rookie and three in his final year in Green Bay. Upon the conclusion of his rookie contract, Burks joined the 49ers on a two-year, $5MM deal.

The former third-rounder was still a third phase mainstay during his debut campaign in San Francisco with a special teams snap share of 77%. However, he started three games that season and saw that figure rise to five in 2023. Burks logged 326 defensive snaps last season, by far the most of his career. He parlayed that added playing time into a new career-high in tackles (46) and sacks (one) while also recording his first career interception.

San Francisco could be without Dre Greenlaw to start the 2024 campaign after he suffered an Achilles tear during the Super Bowl. The 49ers have responded by adding De’Vondre Campbell on a one-year contract and retaining Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles on a one-year pact of his own. The latter has seen sparse usage on defense to date, but Burks’ departure could open the door to a rotational role next season.

Philadelphia’s linebacker play left plenty to be desire last year, so it comes as no surprise the team has made multiple moves in the early days of free agency aimed at adding starting-caliber options. Fellow addition Devin White will likely be in line for a larger workload on defense, but Burks proved a capability to handle at least part-time duties last season. His special teams abilities will, at a minimum, allow him to carve out a role with the Eagles.

Steelers To Trade Kenny Pickett To Eagles

So much for Russell Wilson needing to compete for the Steelers’ starting job. Hours after the Steelers announced the Wilson signing, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports they are preparing to trade Kenny Pickett to the Eagles.

The Steelers will indeed send Pickett to the Eagles in a pick-swap trade, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Two years remain on the former first-rounder’s contract. Pickett will be set to back up Jalen Hurts in Philly. Here is how the trade will break down:

Eagles receive:

Steelers receive:

  • 2024 No. 98 overall pick
  • Eagles’ two highest 2025 seventh-round choices

Demoted for Mason Rudolph late last season, Pickett wanted to move on. While competition was reported initially, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates the behind-closed-doors understanding upon the Steelers signing Wilson pointed to the former Pro Bowler being the starter and Pickett staying at QB2. Pickett, then, preferred a fresh start, Schefter adds.

This development may not have been the team’s plan when the offseason began. Mike Tomlin had said Pickett would be given the QB1 job but that he would need to earn it by winning a competition. The Steelers did not observe Pickett handle the Wilson news well, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. After indicating he was fine competing for the job, Pickett soured on the situation once the Wilson signing became imminent, SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets.

Following Pickett’s disappointment when the team kept Rudolph in the lineup late last year — a stretch that featured Pickett, per Dulac, refusing to dress as the emergency third QB in Week 17 — the team is moving on. Pickett had made it clear to teammates he thought he was the better option to close last season, via ESPN’s Kimberley Martin. Some in the building, however, believed Rudolph was the better option for 2024. In fairness to Pickett, veteran reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala indicates the Steelers reneged on their pledge that he would compete for the job upon informing him Wilson would take over.

Famous for his “volunteers, not hostages” M.O., Tomlin will sign off on this early separation. Rudolph has since signed with the Titans, putting the Steelers in the market for a backup QB once again. They released Mitch Trubisky earlier this year; he has since returned to the Bills.

A New Jersey native, Pickett grew up an Eagles fan. He then became quite familiar with the Steelers while playing at Pitt. The Steelers chose Pickett 20th overall in 2022, naming him as Ben Roethlisberger‘s heir apparent. But Pickett has not shown much to indicate he could fill those shoes. He will now join Sam Howell and Desmond Ridder as 2022 draftees (and primary 2023 starters) traded over the past two days. The 2022 draft class received low marks at the time; other than Brock Purdy, the early returns have not been good.

Due to signing bonus proration, the Steelers will eat more than $8MM in dead money on this trade. Of course, they are set to pay their new starter the veteran minimum as the Broncos pick up the tab. Wilson alluded to a potential competition at his morning presser Friday, but it is probably clear he was informed that would not happen. Two years remain on Pickett’s rookie contract; the Eagles will have the 25-year-old passer tied to $985K and $2.6MM base salaries.

Pickett ranked 27th in QBR last season and 20th in 2022. The ’22 placement came well ahead of Wilson, who submitted a stunningly woeful season alongside Nathaniel Hackett in his Denver debut. Wilson improved under Sean Payton, but the Broncos still bailed — after some back-and-forth drama — before the veteran’s 2025 salary could become guaranteed this month. The Steelers have largely used homegrown rookies at quarterback this century, going from Roethlisberger to Pickett. While Kordell Stewart held the reins for much of the previous decade, the team did use free agent pickup Tommy Maddox in what became a stopgap capacity ahead of Roethlisberger’s near-two-decade-long tenure.

Wilson, 35, will be set to operate in a bridge capacity as well. Though, it should not be expected the Steelers use a high draft choice to add an heir apparent this year. Despite Wilson’s step back in Denver — one that could potentially threaten his Hall of Fame status — Pittsburgh is set to give him the keys. Dulac adds this is the quickest the Steelers have jettisoned a first-round pick since releasing 1996 Round 1 tackle Jamain Stephens following his second season.

On Feb. 29, GM Omar Khan said he had full faith in Pickett. While he cited competition as important for the would-be third-year starter, a recent report also indicated a meeting between the QB and new OC Arthur Smith went well. But the Wilson news emerged soon after. While Wilson has not shown much of his Seahawks form since the 2022 blockbuster trade, Pickett winning a potential competition seemed unrealistic. There will now be no competition involving Pickett this year, as Hurts is entrenched as the Eagles’ starter.

Pickett has thrown just 13 touchdown passes in 25 games, starting 24 of those. Although the Steelers rolled out a poor offense for most of Pickett’s tenure, he showed some promise late in his rookie season. But 2022’s top QB pick did not build on that form last season. This led to OC Matt Canada being fired. This preceded a Pickett ankle injury that required surgery. The 6-foot-3 passer will carry just a 6.3 yards-per-attempt figure to Philly, which did not re-sign Marcus Mariota this offseason.

Eagles To Retain DE Josh Sweat Via Restructured Deal

Both the Eagles’ top incumbent edge rushers landed on the trade block as of late. While Haason Reddick‘s status remains uncertain, Josh Sweat is staying in Philadelphia.

The Eagles and Sweat reached a restructured contract that will keep the young pass rusher in town, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report. Sweat will receive $10MM guaranteed in 2024, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, who adds he can collect up to $13MM via incentives.

[RELATED: Teams Inquiring On Haason Reddick]

Bryce Huff is coming to Philly on a three-year, $51.1MM deal. The Eagles currently have three edge contracts in the same range on their books presently, though Reddick’s status will now need to be monitored. With Huff in place and Sweat agreeing to stay — after coming up in trade talks — Reddick could be on his way out. The Pro Bowler has outplayed the three-year, $45MM deal he signed with the Eagles in 2022. While Reddick has said he wants to stay with his hometown team, his status is up in the air.

No guaranteed money remained on Sweat’s three-year, $40MM extension, which he agreed to in 2021. The Eagles allowed both Reddick and Sweat to seek a trade and gauge their value. It is a bit surprising Sweat would come back at this rate, given where the cap went this month, but the Eagles would have also needed to view a trade as fair value. The team has determined Sweat will remain an asset this year, his age-27 season.

Sweat and Reddick went cold down the stretch, which became a sore spot for the team as its defense cratered. Vic Fangio is now running Philly’s defense, after serving as a consultant with the team in 2022, and he presumably wanted Huff as one of his starters. With Fangio in a minor role in 2022, Sweat put together his best season — an 11-sack slate — as the Eagles made a run at the 1984 Bears’ single-season sack record. Sweat has not totaled more than eight sacks in a season in any other year, and after a hot 2023 start, the former fourth-round pick went sackless over the season’s final two months. He did drop Baker Mayfield once in the Eagles’ wild-card loss, however.

With Nolan Smith likely set for more playing time, signs would seem to point to a Reddick exit. No known trade offers have emerged, but Huff, Sweat and Smith are now locked in — along with the recently re-signed Brandon Graham — for 2024. Huff can certainly use this season as a platform for a big-ticket free agency deal next year, with the cap rising at rates not seen during the previous CBA.

Eagles To Sign LB Devin White

As expected, Devin White won’t be returning to the Buccaneers in 2024, but the linebacker will be sticking in the NFC. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, White is signing with the Eagles.

[RELATED: Bucs Unlikely To Retain LB Devin White]

It’s a one-year deal for the linebacker, according to Schefter. The contract has a max value of $7.5MM.

The former first-round pick had a productive first four seasons in Tampa Bay. After forcing three fumbles and scoring two touchdowns as a rookie, White followed that up with three-straight seasons of 120-plus tackles. He earned a second-team All-Pro nod in 2020 after compiling nine sacks, and he added 38 tackles in three playoff games en route to a Super Bowl championship. That Super Bowl win also featured a crucial pick-six on Patrick Mahomes.

White made a Pro Bowl after finishing with a career-high 18 QB hits in 2021, and he added another 124 tackles and 5.5 sacks to his resume in 2022.

Set to play the 2023 campaign on his fifth-year option, the former fifth-overall pick sought out a massive extension last offseason. A deal didn’t materialize, and White ended up requesting a trade from the organization. Little interest was shown around the league, and White ultimately played out the 2023 campaign on his expiring contract.

The linebacker did little to increase league-wide interest with his play. He ended up splitting snaps with K.J. Britt down the stretch, and he didn’t start either of the team’s two playoff games. White finished the campaign with a career-low 83 tackles, with Pro Football Focus ranking him as the league’s third-worst linebacker in 2023.

White should have an opportunity to bounce back in Philadelphia. The team only returns a pair of inside linebackers in Nakobe Dean and Ben VanSumeren, so White should be in line for a significant role in 2024.

NFL Investigating Eagles, Falcons For Potential Tampering

Although the NFL calls its unofficial free agency the legal tampering period, the league is looking into whether two teams went too far during this year’s window. The Eagles and Falcons are under investigation, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano tweets.

The league is looking into potential violations from these teams during their respective Saquon Barkley and Kirk Cousins negotiations. Penn State coach James Franklin, who coached Barkley in college, said GM Howie Roseman spoke directly with the running back prior to the new league year. Teams are not permitted to speak directly with players during the tampering period unless they are self-represented; the Eagles have denied any violation occurred, ESPN.com’s Tim McManus notes.

Cousins said Wednesday night he spoke with the Falcons’ trainer during the tampering window, which is not permitted under league rules. While tampering ahead of the days that comprise the legal tampering period happens annually, as some deals come to pass rather quickly once the signing window opens. But the league is investigating these two high-profile team changes. Fines or potential loss of draft picks can come out of tampering violations.

For him now to come back and be able to play within the state, in Philadelphia, he said that was one of the first things that Howie said to him on the phone as part of his sales pitch to him was not only the Philadelphia Eagles and that but obviously the connection with Penn State and the fan base as well,” Franklin said (via McManus) of Barkley’s Eagles talks.

As of Thursday morning, the Giants had not contacted the league about tampering, per McManus. By most accounts, the Giants were prepared to move on from the two-time Pro Bowler. While New York did add a veteran replacement in Devin Singletary, the ex-Brian Daboll Bills charge comes cheaper than Barkley, who signed a three-year, $37.75MM deal with $26MM guaranteed at signing. The Vikings did make a more concerted effort to retain Cousins, but the Falcons came in with a big offer — four years, $180MM with a $100MM practical guarantee — to lure him out of Minneapolis.

Rehabbing a torn Achilles sustained in late October, Cousins wants to be ready for the Falcons’ summer workouts. Falcons buzz began building coming out of the Combine, which often serves as a preview of the market. After battling uphill against Cousins during negotiations for years, the Vikings held tight against the kind of guarantee the Falcons are authorizing. As he prepares to move to his wife’s hometown, the 35-year-old passer will be working with the Falcons’ medical staff soon. The NFL will look into whether the Falcons’ staff violated tampering policies during this high-profile recruitment.

Latest On Potential NFL Trade Deadline Change

It sounds like some NFL teams have made progress in their quest to push back the trade deadline. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, there were two recent bylaw proposals to move the trade deadline back from its current date of the Tuesday after Week 8.

[RELATED: Teams Proposing Pushing Trade Deadline From Week 8 To Week 10]

The Steelers proposed a bylaw that would see the deadline pushed back a week, which would make it the Tuesday after Week 9. The Browns, Lions, Jets, Eagles, and Commanders were looking to push it back even further, proposing the deadline fall on the Tuesday after Week 10.

The NFL moved the deadline to Week 8 back in 2012, but they didn’t make an adjustment when they added a week to their schedule in 2021. That’s led some GMs to propose pushing the deadline back and lining it up with other major sports’ trade deadlines.

While the hypothetical recently gained some traction, there were reportedly some GM and owners who questioned if the change even needed to be made. While Browns GM Andrew Berry previously expressed his belief that pushing the deadline would help improve the “competitive integrity” of the NFL, there was some fear that a deadline move could only incentivize tanking. Berry seemed to disagree with that notion, though, saying last month that a deadline change would only keep teams more competitive.

“We think as a league it makes sense to give teams the most flexibility as long as possible to have the best product down the stretch run of the playoffs,” Berry stated (h/t Spencer German of Browns Digest). “We wanted to make sure we maintained the competitive integrity of the season so you don’t get into player dumping late in the year.”

The next round of league meetings are set for March 24-27.

Eagles Reach Extension With K Jake Elliott

Two days after giving Landon Dickerson a guard-record extension, the Eagles are locking up their kicker. The team announced a four-year agreement with Jake Elliott on Wednesday.

Elliott signed a four-year, $24MM deal, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets, tying the veteran to the Eagles through the 2028 season. Elliott’s $6MM average ties Justin Tucker for the highest among kickers. Both punter Braden Mann and long snapper Rick Lovato re-signed yesterday, so each member of the Eagles’ kicking battery will remain in place moving forward.

Drafted by the Bengals in 2017, Elliott spent his rookie season in Philadelphia and has not looked back since then. The 29-year-old has remained a consistent producer in the kicking game during his run with the Eagles, recording a field goal accuracy percentage of at least 83.9% in all but one season. Elliott earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2021, and he received second-team All-Pro honors this past season.

In 2023, the former fifth-rounder connected on 30 of 32 field goal attempts; that total included seven makes on eight kicks beyond 50 yards. He also went 45-for-46 on extra points, missing three or fewer attempts in that regard for the seventh straight season. In the wake of another strong campaign, Elliott has landed a second long-term investment. The Memphis product had been playing on a five-year, $20.15MM pact.

Elliott will outpace the value of that contract moving forward, although his 2024 cap hit ($5.95MM) will likely be reduced with this extension. That would provide the Eagles with added spending power for the offseason while ensuring Elliott remains in place for the foreseeable future. Expectations will thus remain high for Philadelphia’s special teams in 2024 and beyond.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/12/24

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Eagles To Sign DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson

C.J. Gardner-Johnson is heading back to Philly. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the veteran defensive back is signing with the Eagles.

The veteran is inking a three-year deal worth up to $33MM, according to Pelissero.

Following a one-year stop in Detroit, Gardner-Johnson is now back with his former squad. After getting traded by the Saints to the Eagles prior to the 2022 campaign, Gardner-Johnson proceeded to start 12 games for Philadelphia, missing a chunk of midseason games thanks to a lacerated kidney. Despite the absence, he finished the season with 67 tackles and a league-leading six interceptions. He also started each of the Eagles’ three playoff games, including a Super Bowl loss where he compiled four tackles.

That performance earned him a one-year, $8MM contract from the Lions last offseason. However, his lone season in Detroit was highlighted by injuries. He suffered a non-contact injury during training camp that was expected to wipe out his season, but the MRI provided a brighter outlook. Gardner-Johnson was able to return in time for the start of the regular season, but he suffered a torn pectoral in Week 2 that wiped out most of the campaign.

He got back to the field for the regular season finale, and he subsequently played in at least 50 percent of Detroit’s defensive snaps in each of their three playoff games. The 26-year-old still showed he had something left in the tank during the postseason, collecting 12 tackles and an interception.

The Eagles still have Darius Slay and James Bradberry atop their depth chart, but the team did lose some depth when they cut Avonte Maddox last week. Gardner-Johnson’s experience will likely provide him with a path to plenty of playing time as a backup or nickelback.

Eagles To Bring In WR DeVante Parker

Following his Patriots release, DeVante Parker will land on his feet. The former first-round pick is heading to Philadelphia on a one-year deal.

Parker is signing a fully guaranteed contract worth $4.69MM, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes. Due to offset language in his Patriots deal, the Eagles are only picking up $1.2MM of this tab. This helps the Patriots regarding dead money, and the Eagles will take a flier on the nine-year veteran to see how he fits alongside A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

The Patriots agreed to terms on an extension with Parker last year, but after another down aerial season in New England, the team changed course. New England dangled Parker in trades recently but found no takers. The Eagles, who were in on Parker when the Dolphins made him available in 2022, will step in with a low-risk signing.

Philly has not been able to rely on a No. 3 wide receiver since assembling its Smith-Brown duo in 2022. Quez Watkins gave way to stopgap Julio Jones, brought in during the 2023 season. The Eagles also signed Olamide Zaccheaus last year. Jones, Watkins and Zaccheaus are out of contract, giving the Birds some work to do to staff this auxiliary job.

At 31, Parker still represents a risky bet — even alongside a potent starting duo. The former Dolphins starter has one 1,000-yard season on his resume, being a perennial trade candidate in Miami, and is coming off a 394-yard showing in his second Patriots slate. That said, Parker averaged 17.4 yards per catch with the 2022 Patriots and finished with 539 yards and three TDs. The Eagles receiving that kind of production would be a boon. If nothing else, Parker could provide a possession target for Jalen Hurts — even if the big-bodied target is not an above-average separator.