Searching for Answers: Eagles Face Tough Calls on Sweat, Williams, and Goedert’s Future
As the weekend before free agency nears, Eagles fans are holding onto their last moments with Josh Sweat and Milton Williams. Both defensive linemen were major parts of the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory and are likely to cash in on the open market. Our job is to figure out who will replace them. Khalil Mack? Myles Garrett? Anthony Nelson? Some rookies?
The Philadelphia Eagles always seem to use a pattern when it comes to their expectations on how to build their roster, especially at the tight end position.
When former franchise favorite Brent Celek was 28, the Eagles drafted Stanford product Zach Ertz in the second round of the 2013 Draft. When Ertz turned 28, the Eagles selected Dallas Goedert in the 2018 Draft.
Goedert is now 30 years old, though, and after dealing with multiple injuries over the last few years, has an interesting decision to make along with the team. Philadelphia doesn’t have a proven backup behind Goedert on the roster.
He is, however, carrying a cap hit of over $12 million heading into the 2025 offseason. Should he be released, the Eagles would owe over $11 million in dead cap.
With Goedert’s future secure (at least for now), the Eagles have to decide if they would rather move forward with Goedert’s current contract and risk letting him walk in free agency, give him an extension, or draft his replacement in the 2025 selection process in April.
Goedert has caught close to 350 passes in his Eagles career for over 4,000 yards and 24 touchdowns. He has become a trusted target for Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts and a key member of the offense at this point.
That may not be enough to keep the Eagles from addressing the position at this point, though.
In a loaded draft class full of top tight ends, the Eagles could very well be looking for pass catchers over the middle to eventually replace Goedert over the coming years at this point.
At the very least, though, there are legit questions for the organization to answer regarding the tight end position soon.
