Free agency hasn’t been kind to the Philadelphia Eagles, which they expected in the aftermath of their Super Bowl championship. The franchise expected to part ways with key players from that title team in order to maintain a championship window while trusting their young talent to fill the void.
The Eagles spent their money to retain one of their own free agents in linebacker Zack Baun, yet knew several good players were on their way out the door. Philadelphia allowed defensive tackle Milton Williams, pass rusher Josh Sweat, guard Mekhi Becton, cornerback Darius Slay, cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, and linebacker Oren Burks to depart in free agency and traded safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in order to create extra cash to sign key young players in future seasons.
Since the Eagles lost many free agents, they’re expected to get compensatory picks for the 2026 draft. This will significantly increase an already growing pick total over the next two drafts. The Eagles’ projected draft pick count has reached 20, including the compensatory picks the Eagles will receive in 2026.
So what’s the Eagles’ draft pick situation look like after the key free agents have departed? They’ll have enough picks to make a major move this offseason if they so choose.
Ranking NFC teams after first wave of NFL free agency: Eagles on top despite losses, Lions, Commanders behind Jeff Kerr Ranking NFC teams after first wave of NFL free agency: Eagles on top despite losses, Lions, Commanders behind Eagles draft picks — 2025 Round Pick 1
32
2
64
3
96
4
134
5
161 (from Houston)
5
164 (from Cleveland)
5
165 (from Washington)
5
168
Eagles draft picks — 2026 Round Acquired 1
Own
2
Own
3
Own
3
Projected compensatory pick (Milton Williams)
3 From Jets 4
Own
4
Projected compensatory pick (Josh Sweat)
5
Own
5
From Houston
5
Projected compensatory pick (Mekhi Becton)
6
Projected compensatory pick (Isaiah Rodgers)
7
Own
What’s the next move? The Eagles certainly aren’t going to use all 20 of these draft picks, as they will use the future draft capital to acquire players and move up and down the draft board over the next two years. Having all these picks is a luxury for general manager Howie Roseman, who is in position to strike for a major acquisition this offseason.
Judging the Eagles’ offseason moves, acquiring an edge rusher is something to be on the lookout for over the next several weeks. The Eagles did sign Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari to one-year contracts, but those moves don’t guarantee any of those players making the roster — even with their current situation at the position.
Philadelphia isn’t going into the year with Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt as their starters on the edge, and Bryce Huff made an average annual salary of $17 million to be a healthy scratch in Super Bowl LIX. These are the Eagles’ top three options ahead of Uche and Ojulari.
What the Eagles have at edge rusher simply isn’t good enough, and the franchise has enough draft capital to make a move to improve at the position. The Eagles believe in having a premium pass rusher in Vic Fangio’s defense who can consistently get to the quarterback. They currently don’t have one at this moment.
We’ve reached the point in the NFL offseason where we get to discuss some potential rule changes! Last year, we of course saw the move to the dynamic kickoff, as well as the league awarding a third challenge to a team following one successful challenge. We also saw the hip-drop tackle “outlawed,” although it was more often fined after the fact than called on the field.
What rule changes could be coming down the line this year? Believe it or not, we got wind of some potential changes during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, but now, they have officially been submitted by teams and announced by the league. First of all, the proposed changes have to be approved by 24 of the NFL’s 32 owners to go into effect, and those votes could take place at the NFL’s owners meeting later this month in Palm Beach, Florida. Let’s take a look at some of the issues being raised around the league.
‘Tush Push’ It’s official, the Green Bay Packers are going after the “Tush Push.” The proposal is stated this way:
“To prohibit an offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap.”
The Packers say the reason they want this changed is, “Player safety; pace of play.”
This comes as no surprise, as it was reported at the combine that the Packers were looking to outlaw the Philadelphia Eagles’ special play.
“There is no skill involved and it is almost an automatic first down on plays of a yard or less,” Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy wrote on the Packers website. “I would like to see the league prohibit pushing or aiding the runner (QB) on this play. There used to be a rule prohibiting this, but it is no longer enforced because I believe it was thought to be too hard for the officials to see. The play is bad for the game, and we should go back to prohibiting the push of the runner. This would bring back the traditional QB sneak. That worked pretty well for Bart Starr and the Packers in the Ice Bowl.”
The Packers aren’t the only team against the “Tush Push,” as Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said at the combine he’s not a fan of it either, while Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott echoes the Packers in believing there’s an injury risk associated with the play. Interestingly enough, CBS Sports’ NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported the league’s internal data on the tush push revealed there was a 0% injury rate when pushing tushes.
Defensive holding and illegal contact penalties As it stands now, 5 yards and an automatic first down are awarded to the offense when defensive holding or illegal contact is called. The Detroit Lions want to change that. What’s the reason for this desired change?
“Competitive equity. Current penalty enforcement is too punitive for the defense,” the Lions stated.
Regular-season overtime rules The Eagles want the regular-season overtime rules to match what we have in the playoffs — where both teams get a chance to possess the ball. The proposal is stated this way:
“To align the postseason and regular-season overtime rules by granting both teams an opportunity to possess the ball regardless of the outcome of the first possession, subject to a 15-minute overtime period in the regular season.”
CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones previously reported the competition committee would look at adjusting the regular-season overtime rules. In the playoffs, overtime is a 15-minute period where EACH TEAM has the chance to possess the ball — even if the team that receives the ball to begin overtime scores a touchdown.
In 2024, teams that won the coin toss in regular-season overtimes won 12 out of 16 games. There were just 11.6 plays per overtime in 2024, which was the second fewest in the past two decades.
Playoff seeding change Now here’s an interesting one. Remember when the Minnesota Vikings finished as the No. 5 seed last season despite going 14-3? Some found that pretty ridiculous, including their rivals, the No. 1-seeded Lions. Detroit is looking to change the playoff seeding format so that they reflect records instead of divisions. Here is how it’s stated:
“To amend the current playoff seeding format to allow wild-card teams to be seeded higher than division champions if the wild-card team has a better regular-season record.”
What’s Detroit’s reasoning?
“Competitive equity. Provides excitement and competition in late-season games. Rewards the best-performing teams from the regular season,” the Lions said.
You may remember that the Lions defeated the Vikings in a critical regular-season finale that decided who would get the No. 1 seed, division title and first-round postseason bye, and who would get the No. 5 seed. While Detroit won that game, it clearly didn’t like finding itself in that position.
Other potential changes Virtual measurement The chain gang could become a thing of the past. Well, it will still be on the sidelines, but not the main authority when it comes to ruling first downs. According to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones, the NFL plans to recommend the use of virtual measurement as the primary way to determine first downs beginning in the 2025 regular season.
Sony Hawk-Eye’s SkeleTRACK system is the future, and the NFL has been working with this technology since 2021. Jones actually detailed this a couple weeks ago at the Super Bowl. Check out his article, here.
“… A 14-camera system that specifically monitors more than two-dozen skeletal points on a player’s body. That system, along with the chips in the footballs and the 18 other specific cameras strategically placed around the stadium, can all be combined to harvest a fully computerized model that potentially tracks where the ball is when players are down, if someone has achieved a first down or if they have scored.”
Replay review Last year, the competition committee expanded replay assist to include objective input on roughing the passer, late hits out of bounds and intentional grounding. Could more be coming?
NFL executive Troy Vincent said in December that the competition committee will discuss expanding replay assist to include certain penalties such as face masks, per NFL Media. However, there is plenty to debate when it comes to this potential change. Are we going to allow penalties to be called by people not on the field? Then, the competition committee hasn’t exactly appeared motivated to make — should we call them — subjective fouls, reviewable. Remember how it went when the league made pass interference reviewable in 2019? There is a lot to consider with this.
Happy midweek, everyone! We’re officially one week into the new league year. Today’s Pick Six newsletter is brought to you by Cody Benjamin, with tidbits on all the latest from around the NFL.
Be sure to subscribe right here, to ensure you never miss a daily dose of NFL updates. And keep on reading for everything from big Aaron Rodgers news to the latest free agency buzz. Let’s get to it.
Aaron Rodgers latest: Vikings out of the mix usatsi-aaron-rodgers-jets.jpg Imagn Images We now know one thing about the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes: Minnesota probably isn’t going to be the former NFL MVP’s next home. Despite Rodgers reportedly eyeing the Vikings as a preferred landing spot (and Minnesota brass internally discussing the possibility of pursuing the former Green Bay Packers star), the Vikings have been telling teams they’re moving forward with J.J. McCarthy as their quarterback, according to NFL Media, even rejecting multiple trade inquiries for the 2024 first-round pick.
Where does that leave Rodgers? His last obvious options consist of the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants. That is unless the 41-year-old decides to hang up the cleats instead. Both the Giants and Steelers have reportedly talked contract with Rodgers’ camp, and Pittsburgh was previously considered a favorite to land the former Green Bay Packers star. Minnesota, meanwhile, is set to add a different veteran as insurance for McCarthy, who’s set to open 2025 under center with Sam Darnold out the door.
Patriots add former first-rounder Garrett Bradbury New England spent big to beef up the defensive trenches early in free agency, committing $104 million to Milton Williams. Now the Patriots have added to the other side, signing the former Vikings center to a two-year deal. Bradbury started all 88 games he played for Minnesota after arriving as a first-round pick in 2019, and he’s in line to replace David Andrews as the heart of the line protecting Drake Maye.
Top 10 moves of the 2025 offseason (so far) getty-davante-adams-raiders-2.jpg Getty Images The offseason is far from over. But the first big waves of free agency are in the books, so it’s a fair time to take stock of the best signings and trades to start the 2025 roster-shuffling. Which is precisely what we did. Here’s a sneak peek at some of our favorite acquisitions so far:
Joe Thuney to the Bears: Thuney will turn 33 during the 2025 season, but he’s never logged fewer than 97% of his teams’ offensive snaps over the course of his nine-year career. With both the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, he proved durable and versatile. These are all major gets for a Chicago front that hardly let 2024 rookie Caleb Williams take a breath under center. Will Thuney alone bulldoze the Bears into playoff relevance? No. But his reliability should help. Justin Fields to the Jets: While other needy teams are still waiting around for old, greying free agents or crapshoot draft picks at quarterback, New York is barely paying starter money for a potential gem in Fields, who is still just 26 despite racking up 44 NFL starts. “Potential” is obviously the key word; Fields has yet to hold a permanent gig and serve as a truly trustworthy passer. But he’s got all the physical tools and flashed better ball control with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Davante Adams to the Rams: It might not be long before Los Angeles is back in rebuild mode if Matthew Stafford ages ungracefully at 37. As long as Stafford is under center, Sean McVay’s group might as well be aiming for a deep run. And Adams, also aging, remains the total package out wide, giving Puka Nacua an improved running mate on the perimeter. Even if he’s past his prime, the former Green Bay Packers star should get a boost from escaping his dysfunctional setups of recent years. Check out our full list of the top 10 moves of the 2025 offseason right here.
Packers sign former Chiefs champion Hardman Hey look, Green Bay got Jordan Love another wide receiver! Well, sort of. After ending the 2024 season with just about every top pass catcher banged up, the Packers have signed Mecole Hardman to a one-year deal, bringing the three-time Super Bowl champion wideout to Lambeau. It’s been a while since Hardman was a featured part of an offense, but he also offers experience as a kick and punt returner.
Ranking Rodgers’ remaining options with pros, cons rodgers.jpg Getty Images As mentioned above, the Vikings no longer appear to be an option for Aaron Rodgers. But are the Giants and Steelers really going to convince him to suit up in 2025? We decided to take a deeper dive into the quarterback’s remaining options, and not only that, but rank them according to their pros and cons. Here’s a preview of the rundown, which includes the possibility of not playing at all:
Cleveland Browns: They could still use quarterback help, even after adding Kenny Pickett via trade. But they’re squarely in rebuild mode and could draft a signal-caller early as a result.
Tennessee Titans: They have other proven veterans in the lineup, including Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley. But Tennessee is set up to use the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft on a quarterback of the future.
New York Giants: Rodgers is already familiar with New Jersey after two seasons with the New York Jets. And maligned Giants brass is motivated to win now. Yet staying on MetLife Stadium turf just to go from one bad New York team to another isn’t exactly a dream sendoff.
Retirement: Rodgers doesn’t have a clear path to a full-time gig with a guaranteed contender. Calling it a career might prevent further muddying of his Hall of Fame legacy as a Packers icon.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Getting over the wild-card hump would require outlasting the tough AFC North. But under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers are almost always in playoff contention. DK Metcalf’s arrival gives them two Grade-A pass catchers. And Pittsburgh could be “all in” on a short-term veteran solution.
Steelers meet with Alabama QB Jalen Milroe Speaking of Pittsburgh quarterback options, Steelers brass recently met with one of the top signal-caller prospects of the 2025 class, taking the Alabama prospect for dinner before his pro day. Milroe may or may not be a Day 1 selection in April, but he figures to be an early round target, thanks to his athleticism. Some have already begun to speculate the Steelers could pair him with the recently re-signed Mason Rudolph.
The Seattle Seahawks had to know that Abe Lucas had a knee problem when they drafted him in the third round out of Washington State. They decided to roll the dice anyway, hoping that Lucas would grow out of the problem and develop into a Pro Bowl level right tackle for them. For a minute there it seemed like they had gotten the job done, as Lucas had a promising rookie season opposite fellow rookie left tackle Charles Cross.
However, since the 2022 campaign Lucas’ knee issue has become a recurring and ongoing problem for the Seahawks. Last season he was forced to sit out 11 games, and in the meantime the right tackle spot became a carousel of bad blocking and penalties. This year Lucas underwent surgery in January and his recovery time forced him to sit out the first half of the season, while once again the position became a liability.
Mia B shares the facts about Geno Smith’s number ‘NFL Slimetime’
While he hasn’t actually missed a game since returning to the lineup, Lucas has been showing up on the injury report with the knee issue more often than not. On Wednesday’s injury report for the Seahawks Lucas was listed as a non-participant with the knee and an abdominal injury, as well.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that the knee injury is affecting his work on the field. While Cross has blossomed into a top-10 tackle, Lucas is currently ranked 70th at his position according to the Pro Football Focus grades. He’s earned mediocre grades in pass blocking (62.8) and run blocking (65.7).
In a perfect world Lucas would fully recover from his knee issue with another offseason, but the Seahawks definitely can’t bank on that. They might want to use one of their picks in the 2025 NFL draft on a prospect who could potentially replace Lucas in the lineup.
If you’ve been following the Lions closely this season, you’ll notice there is one very notable name missing from that group of seven. That’s right, safety Kerby Joseph is not one of the Lions voted to the Pro Bowl, which is an egregious snub.
Here’s what we wrote on Joseph in a previous article that very clearly shows he should have made the cut.
Joseph leads the NFL with nine interceptions and his 12 passes defensed are tied for second among safeties behind teammate Brian Branch. Joseph also sports the highest Pro Football Focus overall (90.7) and coverage (91.5) grades at the position, and the 13th-best run defense grade (82.6).
When it comes to raw coverage totals, Joseph is having an elite season there, also. Among safeties who have played 80% of coverage snaps this season, Joseph ranks second in completion rate allowed (59.3) and seventh in passer rating, per PFF.
The wild thing about Joseph being snubbed is that it was a result of the players and coaches portion of the Pro Bowl vote, which counts as one-third each. Among fans, Joseph was the leading vote-getter at free safety.
Joseph was one of 11 other Lions to be voted in as an alternate, a list that includes wide receiver Kalif Raymond (return specialst), tight end Sam LaPorta, kicker Jake Bates, guard Kevin Zeitler, defensive lineman Alim McNeill, running back David Montgomery, left tackle Taylor Decker, guard Graham Glasgow, linebacker Jack Campbell and defensive lineman D.J. Reader.
The Lions’ seven selections were the most among NFC teams, with the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles being the next closest teams with six. Only the Baltimore Ravens (nine) had more Pro Bowlers.
The honor is well-deserved for both, really, but especially for the 2024 first-round pick, who is having a historic rookie campaign. Entering Week 18, Bowers has 108 receptions for 1,144 yards and four touchdowns. His receptions rank third among all pass-catchers and first among tight ends, and his yardage ranks seventh and first, respectively.
As if all that wasn’t impressive enough by itself, Bowers has broken multiple major rookie records. He now owns the all-time marks for most receptions by a rookie tight end and pass-catcher overall, and the most receiving yards by a rookie tight end, breaking a record that stood for over 60 years.
Bowers also surpassed the franchise record for most receptions by a Raiders pass-catcher last week, a mark previously held by former Las Vegas tight end Darren Waller, who had 107 in 2020.
Making Bowers’ numbers even more impressive is the fact that he had to overcome shoddy quarterback play all season. Just imagine what he could’ve done if he had consistently competent quarterback play.
Crosby saw his season cut short due to an ankle injury that plagued him for much of the campaign. He still managed to tally 7.5 sacks in 12 games, while also adding five passes defensed, 45 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 20 QB hits.
The Raiders were tied for 16th in the NFL with their two Pro Bowlers. 10 teams had one or none.
Thanks to his injury, we wouldn’t expect to see Crosby taking part in the 2025 Pro Bowl Games, which take place in Orlando and begin on Jan. 30. We do, however, expect to see Bowers taking part, assuming he doesn’t get hurt in Week 18.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will have multiple question marks at the quarterback position going into the 2025 offseason, as they have yet to lock down their starter and backup for next season.
The expectation is that the Steelers will stick with Russell Wilson as the starter in 2025 after he has proven to be an upgrade. But doing that will likely spell the end of Justin Fields’ tenure in Pittsburgh, as he’ll probably seek out a place where he has a chance to start. Fellow backup Kyle Allen is also set to be a free agent.
Bengals vs. Steelers preview Week 18
In a recent article predicting landing spots for several quarterbacks, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin believes the Steelers will re-sign Wilson and bring in Kansas City Chiefs backup Carson Wentz as insurance.
Benjamin projects Wilson to land a two-year, $50 million deal with Pittsburgh. As for Wentz, Benjamin didn’t give a contract projection, but we would expect him to land a deal similar to the one he has now, which is one year, $3.3 million.
A former No. 2 overall pick, Wentz once looked like he would be the long-term answer under center for the Eagles, which netted him a massive four-year, $128 million deal in 2019. However, injuries and ineffective play have since derailed Wentz’s once-promising career.
Since then, he’s served as a starter for the Indianapolis Colts, which didn’t work out. After that, Wentz has spent stints with the Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Rams, and now the Chiefs.
While Wentz’s best days are long behind him, he would amount to a serviceable backup in Pittsburgh. He is more than capable of weathering the storm if Wilson were to get hurt.
Playing for the Steelers might be appealing to Wentz because of the opportunity to play under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, assuming he doesn’t land a head-coach gig elsewhere. Smith has a proven track record of reviving the careers of down-and-out quarterbacks like Wilson in Pittsburgh, and Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee.
The Steelers should look to keep Fields in Pittsburgh in 2025, but if that proves to be impossible, Wentz would be a solid secondary option to back Wilson up.
The rosters do not include alternates thus far. These would be players who take over for an announced Pro Bowl representative who either chooses not to participate, is injured, or whose team makes the Super Bowl. There will be plenty of roster shuffling over the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t initial players who were snubbed from being named a Pro Bowler.
Here are the top snubs for the 2025 Pro Bowl.
NFL HQ: Live NFL scores | Updated NFL standings | Full NFL schedule
Pro Bowl snubs 2025 Baker Mayfield Team: Buccaneers Position: Quarterback Mayfield should be a Pro Bowler. He is in a smaller market with the Buccaneers and spent some of the season without his top two wide receivers, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Tampa Bay has a 9-7 record heading into the season’s final week, sitting atop a middling NFC South.
Mayfield has the third-most passing yards (4,279), is tied for the second-most touchdown passes (39) and has the fourth-highest passer rating (107.6) in the league. Yes, Sam Darnold and Jared Goff are both deserving, but Mayfield likely deserves to be in over rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Including the rookie will likely get more eyes on the Pro Bowl Games, but Mayfield was very deserving and should, at minimum, be an alternate should any of the starting three opt out.
As general manager Chris Ballard concludes his eighth season with a 61-69-1 record, one anonymous player had no issues ripping the direction of the team, according to Zak Keefer and James Boyd of The Athletic.
“There’s no vision,” the anonymous player told The Athletic. “From the top down — from the front office, to the coaches, to the players — no one is ever on the same page, and every year at the end, we’re sitting here losing. If you look at the best teams in the league, they all have a vision, and they commit to it. The Chiefs keep winning because they have a vision. The Lions turned things around because they have a vision.
“There’s no vision here.”
Losing on the football field is one thing. Losing the locker room is a death knell for regimes.
It’s clear the culture the Colts have tried to build throughout Ballard’s eight seasons is not working. It’s a losing culture that constantly fails toward the end of the season when the stakes are raised.
They haven’t won the division in 11 seasons. Their last playoff win came when Andrew Luck was still the quarterback. They haven’t reached the postseason in four consecutive campaigns.
It will be interesting to see what happens to this regime when the regular season concludes this week but if players are comfortable going to the media in this fashion — even anonymously — it typically signals that the locker room is lost.
