Eagles News: Vic Fangio among losers from the first day of free agency

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NFL free agency winners and losers: Jesse Minter, Trent McDuffie up; Vic Fangio, Michael Penix down – NFL.com 2) Vic Fangio: The Eagles defensive coordinator has been lauded for his work with that unit over the past two seasons. His job became much tougher with edge rusher

Jaelan Phillips agreeing to a four-year, $120 million deal to go to Carolina. Just as with the situation that played out with Crosby in Dallas, there is a point where every franchise must weigh the long-term cost of any player. The money Phillips received would’ve been tough for any general manager to stomach, even one as aggressive as Philadelphia’s Howie Roseman. The problem is that Fangio is now back in the same difficult spot he found himself in last season, when he needed to find more juice for the pass rush. The Eagles executed a midseason trade to acquire Phillips, and he proved to be a valuable addition to one of the league’s best defenses. Roseman’s desire to add the previously retired Brandon Graham to the roster also provides some indication of how badly Philadelphia wanted to improve its ability to get after the quarterback. It’s a long offseason, and there will be other opportunities for the Eagles to address this obvious need. But right now, their most talented edge rusher is moving on to a brighter future elsewhere.

NFL free agency winners, losers from Day 1: Giants quickly pivot, Eagles watch stars leave – NJ.com
LOSERS: Eagles. The Eagles expected to lose some players this free agency window — much like last year — and that certainly happened. Besides Phillips and Dean signing elsewhere, wide receiver Jahan Dotson signed with the Atlanta Falcons and safety Reed Blankenship signed with the Houston Texans. The Phillips deal has the Eagles in line to receive a third-round compensatory pick in 2027, according to Over The Cap. Meanwhile, Dean, Blankenship and Dotson are each currently projected to net a sixth-round pick. Phillips signed for far more than expected, forcing the Eagles to search for other edge-rushing options to complement linebackers Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt. While veteran Brandon Graham may return for another season, the pass rush has thrived with a rotation of four or five edge rushers. Last offseason, the Eagles tried to address the position by giving one-year deals to Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari, but the two combined for just one sack. General manager Howie Roseman will need to find a solution quickly and may look to the trade market. Otherwise, the Eagles may be forced to blitz frequently to generate pressure.

After losing Phillips, Blankenship and Dean, where do Eagles go now on defense? – NBCSP
Here’s what the Eagles lost in the span of about six hours on Monday: 9 ½ sacks, 10 interceptions, 29 tackles for loss, 33 pass deflections, 21 quarterback hits, eight fumble recoveries and seven forced fumbles. Reed Blankenship, Nakobe Dean and Jaelan Phillips, three starters from one of the NFL’s best defenses, all left via free agency Monday on Day 1 of the legal tampering period. Phillips agreed to a three-year, $120 million deal with the Panthers, Dean got $36 million over three years from the Raiders and Blankenship got $24.75 million over three years with the Texans. That’s 27 percent of the 2025 defense gone, just like that. The Eagles do have other defensive free agents, but they aren’t in the same class as the three they lost. Adoree’ Jackson, who started 10 games at corner, is a free agent, as is Brandon Graham, who played 113 defensive snaps after coming out of retirement in November.

NFL comp picks: Eagles earn one more selection than previously expected – BGN
It’s possible the Eagles will add to this collection if/when they trade A.J. Brown … and/or other players. The Eagles could also use this ammo to make some trades in the near future. It should also be noted that the Eagles are currently in line to receive two compensatory picks in the 2027 NFL Draft for their 2026 free agency losses thus far. That equation might change, of course, but as of right now they’re projected to get a third-round pick for losing Jaelan Phillips and a sixth-round pick for losing Jahan Dotson.

No Fun So Far – Iggles Blitz
Wow. Good for Jaelan, bad for the Eagles. Carolina was desperate for pass rush help. They tried to sign Milton Williams a year ago but were outbid at the last moment. They decided not to let that happen again. They blew the market wide open with this deal. The Eagles wanted to keep Phillips, but weren’t going to overpay for him. They have limited cap space and couldn’t hand Phillips a blank check. The one positive here is that the Eagles will get a third round comp pick for Phillips in 2027 as long as they don’t sign anyone in his price range. Howie Roseman will want that pick so the Eagles are going to be selective shoppers. Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt return as the projected starting edge rushers. The Eagles still need to add to the position. The smart move would be to sign Bradley Chubb. He’s played for Vic Fangio and remains a productive rusher. The Eagles are also linked to Jonathan Greenard, who the Vikings are shopping. Chubb got cut by Miami so he wouldn’t count against the comp pick formula. Greenard would be a trade and also not affect the comp pick.

NFL’s 6 worst free agent deals of 2026 so far – SB Nation
EDGE Jaelan Phillips, Carolina Panthers. Micah Parsons, Aidan Hutchinson, T.J. Watt, Danielle Hunter, Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, Nick Bosa. Those are the seven edge rushers who make at least $30 million per year – Phillips is now the eighth. At the time of writing, Phillips has signed the most expensive contract of any free agent in this class at $120 million in total value. Phillips had five sacks in 2025. So if we’re looking at the value, he practically got paid $6 million per sack. He’s never had double-digit sacks in a season, and his career high of 8.5 sacks came back in his rookie season in 2021. This is an outrageous overpay.

Panthers agree to terms with edge Jaelan Phillips – Cat Scratch Reader
The 26-year old pass rusher is one of the big gets of the offseason, a fact underscored by the 4-year, $120M deal that he has reportedly agreed to with the Carolina Panthers. Phillips was the 18th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He was traded last season near the trade deadline to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2026 third round draft pick. Phillips has 28 sacks in the last five season, despite only playing in 63 games. He has also posted 205 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, and 68 quarterback hits. He immediately becomes the most productive edge defender at the Panthers disposal if he does actually sign this deal.

2026 NFL free agency winners, losers: Tagovailoa, Walker, more – ESPN
He was able to make it back for a full campaign in 2025, and although his five sacks don’t hint at spectacular performance, advanced metrics and a closer look on tape suggest Phillips was excellent. He generated quick pressures on 5.3% of his pass-rush snaps, the 12th-highest rate among rushers with 300 attempts or more last season. He was seventh in total pressure rate, routinely able to bend around tackles and beat guards through gaps for pressures. The problem was Phillips wasn’t able to finish; he turned 7.9% of his pressures into sacks, one of the worst rates in the league. That final step from pressure to sack can be fluky and fluctuate from year to year. And between 2022 and 2024, Phillips’ pressure-to-sack percentage was 12.9%, which was much closer to the league average. With his typical sack ratio, Phillips would have produced eight sacks, which would have hinted closer to his actual level of production on a snap-by-snap basis. That rate should improve toward 13% in 2026.

Raiders make 3 big defensive additions – Silver And Black Pride
In a wild sequence this afternoon, the Las Vegas Raiders secured three defensive starters. They agreed to terms with linebackers Nakobe Dean of the Philadelphia Eagles and Quay Walker of the Green Bay Packers. They also re-signed pass-rusher Malcolm Koonce. Earlier in the day, they signed Colts’ pass-rusher Kwity Paye and. they also re-signed cornerback Eric Stokes and traded for cornerback Taron Johnson. Dean and Walker, who were teammates at Georgia, finally give the Raiders some solid veteran linebackers as they move to a 3-4 defense.

Texans free agency 2026: Houston signs Reed Blankenship, former Eagles safety – Battle Red Blog
Many of us here at Battle Red Blog have been hoping/expecting some Texans activity this offseason, and the Texans have been plenty active when it came to re-signing veteran players from last year and recouping some cap space, they have not been busy in the external free agent market. That changes now! Blankenship, 27, was an undrafted rookie signed by the Eagles in 2022, and quickly became a starting free safety for their championship-caliber defense by the latter half of his first year. He’s quick, athletic, capable of reading and reacting to the opposing team’s scheme, and arrives at the point of attack with serious intensity. On top of that, he earned a reputation in 2023 and 2024 of being one of those safeties that is somehow always in the right spot on a big play, either to save the Eagles with a tackle or turn an errant pass into an interception.

Falcons free agency 2026: Team set to sign WR Jahan Dotson – The Falcoholic
While the receiving numbers left little to be desired, the former first rounder did improve dramatically as a run blocker in 2025, grading out with a PFF score of 68.2 in that department (up from 49.8, which was his previous high). Dotson figures to slot in as the WR3 in Atlanta (with the WR2 currently TBD) and he would be an upgrade from what the team had at that spot last season, especially if he can rediscover his rookie year form. It’s unlikely that the team is finished rebuilding the wide receiver room just yet, but Dotson theoretically has some untapped upside the Falcons are likely hoping he’ll realize in Atlanta.

NFL free agency: Day 1 NFC East recap – PhillyVoice
S Jalen Thompson: The Cowboys signed Thompson to a three-year deal worth up to $33 million. Thompson has been on my radar in the past as a possible Eagles target at trade deadlines, after he had a productive three-year stretch from 2021 to 2023, when he had 8 INTs and averaged over 100 tackles per season. However, in the last two seasons, Thompson has 0 INTs and 1 FF. He turns 28 in July.

Packers trade DL Rashan Gary to the Cowboys – Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys have acquired much-needed help on the defensive line. They have landed defensive lineman Rashan Gary in a trade with the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a fourth-round pick. We knew the Cowboys were going to be aggressive in getting some pass rush help after they participated in the Maxx Crosby trade sweepstakes. They are probably not done in this area after it was a major problem following the trade of Micah Parsons.

Washington Commanders Free Agency: Odafe Oweh agrees to 4-year, $100 million deal – Hogs Haven
The NFL’s legal tampering period started at noon today, and the Washington Commanders have reportedly agreed to terms on a 4-year, $100 million deal($68 million guaranteed) with Chargers DE Odafe Oweh. Washington was expected to make a big move to improve the defense in free agency, and now we know one of their top targets. Improving the pass rush was a top priority for GM Adam Peters, HC Dan Quinn, and new DC Daronte Jones.

NY Giants free agency: 6 takeaways after an interesting Day 1 for New York – Big Blue View
1 for 3 … but they got the most important one. Head coach John Harbaugh said at the NFL Scouting Combine that the Giants wanted each member of their free agent Big 3 — right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, cornerback Cor’Dale Flott — back. He knew, though, getting that done was unlikely. “You want the guys back,” Harbaugh said. “Now it’s do we have the wherewithal to bring them back?” Turned out that the Giants only had the wherewithal to bring back Eluemunor, who agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract with the first two years ($26 million) guaranteed. The view here is that the Giants got the most important of the three players to sign on the dotted line. Robinson got a four-year, $70 million deal with incentives that could push the total to $78 million from Tennessee. Flott got a three-year, $45 million contract from the Titans with $32 million guaranteed.

5 thoughts on the Patriots’ first day of NFL free agency – Pats Pulpit
Obvious holes remain: Outside of their defensive edge and left guard positions, the Patriots entered the week with glaring holes at wide receiver, tight end and safety. They did get involved in all of those markets to a degree, but ultimately made no moves at any of those spots by Monday night. That should change fairly soon. It goes without saying that the team was not sitting idly by while other free agents came off the board, but how the pieces fall into place over the next few days will be fascinating to see. Will there be a trade for one of the high-profile wideouts supposedly available, such as A.J. Brown or Brian Thomas Jr?

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