Free agency for the Eagles started long before the legal negotiating period opened on Monday at noon. It began last week when the team announced a new contract for the exceptional Saquon Barkley, in the prime of his career and coming off an NFL Offensive Player of the Year season in 2024. It accelerated with the deal done to retain All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun, who was slated to be one of the hottest free agents on the market had he not been locked up by the Eagles, through the 2027 season.

By making two moves, the Eagles accomplished their top-of-the-list goals as the 2025 NFL Business Year officially opened.

After that, Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman started work on his vision for the roster moving forward, keeping an eye – as he always does – on making the Eagles as competitive as possible for '25 as well as understanding how the puzzle fits for two and three seasons from now.

So, the roster-building phase of the offseason is underway and there is always work to be done. We know that. We know that Roseman is constantly working on the roster, challenging every part of it and working tirelessly on improving it. The roster is never a finished product.

But what Roseman has demonstrated in these early moves is that he has been able to keep the talented core of players together – nearly the entire offensive line, wide receivers, lead running backs, and quarterbacks – are signed for seasons to come. Key pieces of the defense – interior defensive line, cornerbacks, linebackers – are inked as well.

We know that Roseman believes in the succession plan that has served the Eagles so well in the past and will be put to the test again in 2025. Players like linebackers Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. and Dallas Gant; safeties Sydney Brown, Tristin McCollum, Andre' Sam, and Lewis Cine; and a handful of cornerbacks, including Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks are going to have chances to compete to bump up on the depth chart. Will Shipley has a chance to prove he is ready for more playing time at running back alongside Barkley. Many of the players who departed in free agency were previously in that position.

We know that the Eagles have eight draft picks in this 2025 NFL Draft, that free agency has just begun, that they have a roster of proven, championship-level talent that put it all together in 2024 to win Super Bowl LIX, and that the goal for 2025 is very clear.

To speak on some of the specific moves, the Eagles have made some transactions that bear attention.

1. Trading safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Houston for OL Kenyon Green and a draft pick

What C.J. Gardner-Johnson brought to the defense was well-documented. He was all about intensity, aggressiveness, and attitude, and Gardner-Johnson also contributed six interceptions and production to the defense. Trading him, a tough call no doubt for Roseman, opens up some roster flexibility and it gives a young safety room a chance to grow. The move shows confidence in Reed Blankenship to continue as a leader in the defensive backfield and opens up potential playing time for Brown, McCollum, Sam, and Cine, etc. The Eagles can add to this mix, of course. Nothing is ever over for Roseman.

The trade also brings to Stoutland University a first-round draft pick in Kenyon Green, who went 15th overall to Houston in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Eagles obviously had an extensive scouting report on Green, a versatile and dominating piece at Texas A&M, and consensus top talent in that NFL Draft. Things didn't go as planned for Green with the Texans – injuries did not help his first three NFL seasons – but he gets a fresh start in Philadelphia at a position that is always the highest of priorities. Green has to be delighted to have a chance to work with Jeff Stoutland, the best offensive line coach in the NFL who brings out the absolute best in players. We saw what happened in 2024 with Mekhi Becton, a former first-round pick who played with the New York Jets, had injuries and things didn't go as planned …

We've seen this movie before and the outcome has been a positive one for the Eagles' offensive line. Green was a powerful run blocker who won in the trenches in college and played both guard and tackle there. He is a potentially versatile piece who provides depth and competition to the offensive line. The Eagles are well stocked up front once again.

2. Trading QB Kenny Pickett to Cleveland for QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a draft pick

Again, thanks to Kenny Pickett for what he contributed to the Super Bowl LIX-winning team. He was a big part of things. And now he has a chance to earn a starting job and get his career where he wants it, and in return the Eagles added a young quarterback in Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round draft pick for 2025.

This is a perfect illustration of how to maximize your assets. Pickett, obviously, wasn't going to compete for a starting job with the Eagles, not with Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts as the starter. The Eagles are also well-positioned with third-year man Tanner McKee ready for a bump up to No. 2 in the room.

So, what does Roseman do? He flips Pickett to the Browns and gets back value in a draft pick and in Thompson-Robinson, a player the Eagles had in to the NovaCare Complex for a Top 30 visit prior to the 2023 NFL Draft – he was eventually selected by Cleveland in Round 5.

Thompson-Robinson was a superstar at UCLA, a multiple-threat quarterback who accounted for 39 touchdowns in his final season there. DTR will have a chance to develop with the Eagles, who have shown they know how to bring along quarterbacks and maximize their skills.

3. Contributing players have left the Eagles

There is no question that good players have left Philadelphia, players who contributed to last season's success. Good luck to all of those players and maybe more in the near future.

That is the nature of this business. The Eagles have a talented roster that has gotten a lot younger in the last few days. But most importantly, they have a core of players in their prime signed for the long term. They have another wave of recent draft picks who are soon going to be moving into their second contracts. And they have some very young players who will be expected to make big jumps in their second and third seasons with the Eagles.

This is just the beginning and the Eagles have executed the vision: They have Barkley, the best in the NFL, locked in. They retained Baun, who likely would have had a feeding frenzy for his services had he reached free agency. They added Green who has the talent to contribute immediately. They added a developmental quarterback in Thompson-Robinson and future draft capital thanks to the compensatory picks in 2026 for the loss of free agents this offseason. Philadelphia also retained fullback Ben VanSumeren on a one-year deal.

They have a roster that is building for the immediate future and seasons to come. And it's all just a start, with so much more to come because, in Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles' world, efforts to improve an already-strong roster never end.