Throw talent, desire, and occasional conditioning issues out the window. With each passing year, it becomes more obvious why my dreams of playing for the Philadelphia Eagles wouldn’t work out.
I realized my career was destined to end somewhere between high school graduation and the grey areas where Division-1 careers seemingly fall apart before they get started. That’s why I gave up on my fantasy. That’s why I figured I’d have a better run discussing the game.
Football has its constants. One is change, and sometimes, it’s hard to close the book on one of our theories before we begin evaluating and discussing another.
At the time of this story’s release, we haven’t seen the 2025 NFL Draft yet. We haven’t experienced another training camp. The start of another regular season is still half a calendar year away.
Two things keep entering our minds. There are the guys on the Eagles roster who need to be extended sooner rather than later. There are also the players who may be enjoying their final seasons as part of the created shockwaves that follow those new extensions.
Here are a handful of the latter (maybe).
Jahan Dotson, wide receiver
Jahan Dotson was a first-round selection of the Washington Commanders in 2022. That said, Philly can exercise a fifth-year option on the rookie deal he is enjoying after the coming 2025-26 NFL season.
Don’t be shocked if they elect against doing so. Dotson has done some nice things during the occasional instances where the ball comes his way, but Philly has treated their slot or third-option receivers like they are expendable lately.
Look no further than the one-and-done tenures we have seen from Zach Pascal, Parris Campbell, Julio Jones, and Olamide Zaccheaus.
Grant Calcaterra, tight end
Grant Calcaterra is interesting. You’ve probably heard, but the consensus is Philly plans to move off their TE1, Dallas Goedert (more on that in a second). That would seemingly make Grant Calcaterra the de facto starter ahead of training camp and the preseason.
Make no mistake. Grant isn’t guaranteed anything this season, and he certainly has no guarantees once the coming season ends.
Interior Defensive Lineman Jordan Davis
Jordan Davis’s standing with this Eagles team is difficult to explain and slightly more difficult to wrap one’s mind around. Though the starting nose tackle, Philly has a tendency to treat him like a reserve.
Oh, you disagree? Ask yourselves a couple of questions. Why does he play longer during preseason games than he seemingly should? Why did he play 21 defensive snaps and another eight on special teams in the regular-season finale last season when Philly was supposedly resting their starters?
Here’s where we are on Davis, and let us preface this by saying something. This is our opinion. You are more than welcome to disagree.
Davis is a former first-round draft choice like Jahan Dotson. He also has a fifth-year option baked into his rookie deal. Will Philly allow him to play it out? His teammates and coaches love him. He does what is asked of him in Vic Fangio’s defense, but let us offer this caveat.
It feels like Philly expected him to be more consistently dominant than he has been. Frankly, we wouldn’t be shocked if he’s part of this team for four more seasons or if he’s allowed to test free agency after the coming campaign.
Kenyon Green, offensive lineman
Are you noticing a trend here? Kenyon Green, also a former first-round draftee (Houston Texans – 2022), has a fifth-year option baked into his deal. That begs the question. Will Philly go so far as to exercise it?
Philly added a lot of bodies to the offensive line for depth this offseason, and they figure to add more during the NFL Draft if their pre-draft visits are any indication.
Green arrives by way of a trade that shipped C.J. Gardner-Johnson off. His ceiling and floor have been discussed, though often privately.
We feel like he can make this roster, but the draft hasn’t come yet. We could see scenarios where he cracks the starting lineup at right guard. We wouldn’t be shocked if he tops out as a space-filler that the Eagles move off of after this season.
Lewis Cine, safety
Everything is up for debate at this point. You can argue Tristin McCollum is suddenly the third safety on the Eagles’ depth chart. We won’t discredit unless you theorize that Lewis Cine is the better player.
We wouldn’t argue with that either.
The roster’s depth chart will shuffle if Philly adds another safety during the draft or later this offseason. Make no mistake, however. Each addition makes the ground Cine is standing on shakier.
Something to remember here… Cine is one of five potential restricted free agents, along with fullback/linebacker hybrid Ben VanSumeren, D-lineman Thomas Booker, cornerback Eli Ricks, and offensive lineman Darian Kinnard.
And, speaking of Eli Ricks…
Eli Ricks, cornerback
Philly owns the right of first refusal in Ricks’ case as they do with their other restricted free agents. They can match the offer of any bidding team if they choose, or they can let him walk and force the new team to pay compensation.
Eli is a former undrafted rookie free agent (2023). He has appeared in 23 games over two seasons but is running out of chances to prove his stay needs to extend past the final year of his deal.
Worth mentioning: Dallas Goedert, tight end
So, we mentioned Dallas Goedert and the belief he’ll leave town. He hasn’t left yet, so he’s still an active member of this Eagles roster.
The 2025-26 NFL season is the final year of his deal, so even if he survives the chaos and plays one more year in Philly, we can probably reserve the right to assume this season will be his last.