On Tuesday, Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman and Head Coach Nick Sirianni met with the media at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. This was the first time the two spoke with reporters since the end-of-season press conference on January 24.
Roseman spoke at the podium first, covering roster construction, player evaluation, and more. Sirianni followed right after, focusing on leadership and his new coaching staff among several topics.
Read Eagles Insider Dave Spadaro's columns on each press conference:
- Howie Roseman embraces "fresh start" with opportunities abound
- Nick Sirianni: "It's a reboot and a reprove for me and this football team"
Here are seven additional takeaways from the Eagles NFL Combine press conferences:
1. Roseman and Sirianni on the status of linebacker Haason Reddick
"Well, I'd say this: Haason obviously is an unbelievable player for the Philadelphia Eagles," Roseman said. "Local kid, great success story – Camden, Temple, Philly. Love having Haason. I think that anything you're trying to do, you're trying to blend obviously what you're trying to do this year and how you're going to look in the future. I think that's the hardest job. Certainly, don't want to get into any specifics with any conversations with players, but have tremendous respect for the player and the person."
"Obviously, we'll see how that plays out. I don't know how that will play out," Sirianni said. "Haason's been awesome for us these last two years. A big reason why we've been to the playoffs the last two years is the contributions of Haason. He's played really, really outstanding football. We'll see how that plays out, and hopefully he's an Eagle."
2. Sirianni on the leadership development of quarterback Jalen Hurts
"There's not a book that is written on 'this is how you lead,'" Sirianni said. "People lead in different ways. One thing I learned early about leadership is that you have to be yourself, because if you lead and you're trying to be somebody you're not when you lead, that gets seen through. That's the same scenario I was put in when I became the head coach or an offensive coordinator or whatever it was. Everybody has to lead their way, and Jalen has special qualities that people will follow, and people will want to follow. And he's got to do what he needs to do to lead in that way. Some people's leadership style is loud and aggressive; some people's leadership style is by example; and some it's a mixture of both.
"So, Jalen needs to lead how he needs to lead, right? And A.J. (Brown) needs to lead how he needs to lead. Whoever it is. (Darius) Slay's got to lead how he needs to lead. Because leadership is being who you are and leading by example. At the end of the day, if you're leading by example, that's a great style of leadership. So, Jalen needs to lead how he needs to lead, and I think he's done a great job of doing so."
3. Roseman on how to take advantage of the NFL's salary cap increase of $30 million to $255.4 million
"Just the way you take advantage of anything," Roseman said. "You just bring in a lot of good people. That's the key for us to bring in good people. Overall, to try to keep those guys in Philadelphia, to sign them to an extension, and build a culture of guys who it's important for them, the team's important, the city's important for them. I think we've got a good start on that.
"I think you've still got to be cognizant of how you want to build a team. You've still got to be aware of guys coming up for contracts that you want to keep that you don't anticipate losing. And I think it also gives you some flexibility to not force things, to have the ability to walk away from a deal and understand that it may come about at another time. This is our salary cap money. We've got to make sure we're still making good decisions with it because, at the end of the day, as we go forward, we do have a lot of guys making a lot of money."
4. Sirianni on the skill set and personality of A.J. Brown
"A.J., like I've been telling you guys for a long time, not only is he one of the best players I've ever been around, he's also one of the best leaders, and he's going to do anything he can do to stick up for his teammates," Sirianni said. "That's why he wears a 'C' on his chest.
"I think that, if you're speculating, 'Hey, what does it mean if he's yelling?' Like everybody doesn't – there's some people that, when you're leading them, you yell at them. There are some people, when you're leading them, you put your arm around them. There are some people that are somewhere in the middle. That leadership also is figuring out what buttons to press with different guys. You don't treat everybody the exact same. The standard is what it is, and you hold everybody to that standard, but you don't treat everybody exactly the same of how you get to that standard, how you correct that standard, or how you praise that standard. Everybody's a little bit different.
"Like I said, just a great teammate, a great person. In my opinion, the best receiver that's been in Philadelphia. You look at the stats and you look at what A.J.'s done in a two-year span, he's had the two most productive years ever as an Eagles wide receiver. Man, like when you have one of your best players being also one of your best leaders, that's special."
5. Roseman on potentially signing wide receiver DeVonta Smith to a contract extension this offseason
"DeVonta is an incredible person, incredible player; obviously homegrown, young guy. Without getting into specifics, those are guys you don't really want to leave," Roseman said.
6. Sirianni on how he sees the running back room shaping out in 2024
"I think last year we were in the top 10 in rushing, and that's been kind of a staple here the last three years, and we've done it with different pieces," Sirianni said. "You always can do it with different pieces.
"But obviously, you get attached to the things that – D'Andre had a great year. He did a lot of really, really great things, and we'll see how that plays out. There's a lot to play out, right? There's free agency. There's the Draft. Then there's college free agency. Then there's more guys that are still left out. There are so many things that can play out.
"You're trying to fill – just like you are in a receiver room, trying to fill different roles. You're trying to do the same thing at the running back position, trying to do the same thing at the tight end position of making sure you have the right guys to fill the roles that you want to do as an offense. And maybe one guy can fill three roles, and maybe one guy can fill the other two."
7. Roseman on the futures of defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and center Jason Kelce
"Obviously, those guys are unbelievable players, unbelievable people, and they deserve the right to decide what's best for them," Roseman said. "We'll wait and give them whatever time and space they need to make the right decisions.
"I think the important thing from our perspective is you never want to see them wearing different colors. I think for us, no matter when that is, if they want the opportunity to come back, we'd want to have the opportunity to bring them back."
