Inside Eagles free agency and Howie Roseman’s handling of C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Fletcher Cox, and Darius Slay

It would be foolish to make sweeping proclamations on the Eagles’ roster based on the first week of free agency considering how much Howie Roseman accomplished in the other 20-plus weeks before last season.

But since last Monday when the tampering period began, the general manager made decisions on 19 players who either stayed, left, or arrived. Before Tuesday’s agreement with former Bears linebacker Nicholas Morrow, Roseman had retained five free agents, signed three from other teams, allowed 10 to leave, and restructured and extended the contract of a veteran he nearly released.

The Eagles, restricted by salary-cap constraints and the expected mega-extension for quarterback Jalen Hurts, emphasized keeping franchise cornerstones over a younger group of players — homegrown or recently acquired — who in most cases signed modest deals.

» READ MORE: Eagles can win with an expensive Jalen Hurts, but free-agent frustration is their new norm

Javon Hargrave was the lone departee to receive a top-of-the-market contract when the 49ers acquired him for four years at $84 million with $40 million guaranteed. The 30-year-old defensive tackle was the oldest of the Eagles free agents so far to sign elsewhere.

The nine others, based on their age by the season opener, ranged from 25 and 29, and collectively the group averaged 27.2 years old — three years younger than the average of the nine players the Eagles kept, restructured or added.

It’s difficult to make a case against the Eagles bringing stalwarts Jason Kelce and Brandon Graham back. Both will be 35, but the former received only a slight pay increase after another All-Pro season at center — $14 million to $14.25 million — and the latter returned on a cost-effective one-year, $6 million deal despite recording 11 sacks in 2022.

Kelce and Graham are standard bearers for the organization, culture setters on and off the field, and destined to retire as Eagles. Fletcher Cox has embodied some of the same traits — and may only ever play in midnight green — but did Roseman have to sign him for $10 million a year after giving him $14 million?

The Cox return and the collective return of aging starters — cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry are also staying — suggested that Roseman may have not completely learned from the mistakes of post-Super Bowl LII when he maintained the status quo in many instances in the hopes of capitalizing on a perceived short window for winning another title.

The offseason is far from over, of course. Roseman emphasized before free agency that the Eagles will attempt to balance the short term with the long term through the draft. Three of their six picks come in the first two rounds in April. They are projected to have a dozen selections in next year’s draft based on compensation they should receive after losing so many free agents.

The Eagles also have young players — especially defensive tackle Jordan Davis, offensive lineman Cam Jurgens and linebacker Nakobe Dean who enter their second seasons — who are expected to step into prominent vacancies.

» READ MORE: Cam Jurgens is on guard with Jason Kelce returning as the Eagles’ center

Their development isn’t guaranteed. But if they’re to fall short of the expectations, one thing is certain: Roseman will exhaust his resources in finding replacements. See: Trading for C.J. Gardner-Johnson just before last season.

The 25-year-old safety played a vital role in the run to the Super Bowl. On the surface, the Eagles opting not to match the one-year, $6.5 million contract he signed with the Detroit Lions on Monday was surprising, especially when compared to the amount they gave the older, regressing Cox.

It’s an apples-to-oranges comparison, and when each individual case is taken into context, Roseman’s decision-making in free agency can be, at least, understood. But will his evaluations ultimately be proved correct? Only time will tell.

Here’s more insight — based on reporting from NFL and team sources — on how several players either remained Eagles or left for new environs:

The Eagles offered Gardner-Johnson a multiyear deal early in free agency. He sought more than they were offering. The team eventually moved on and directed their attention to re-signing Bradberry (three years, $38 million, $20 million guaranteed) and restructuring Slay’s existing deal.

Gardner-Johnson’s market value was nowhere near what he and many outside observers predicted. Jessie Bates got top dollar at $16 million a year for four years — $13 million if you only count the guaranteed figure — but the next group of free-agent safeties got significantly less.

On paper, Gardner-Johnson has obvious appeal. Despite moving to safety after the Eagles traded for the former Saints slot cornerback, he tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with six even though he missed five games, and brought a physicality to the middle of Jonathan Gannon’s defense.

He was occasionally prone to mental errors or missed tackles, but his instincts and athleticism offset some of the on-field negatives. Off the field, Gardner-Johnson created some initial friction, but Eagles leaders and internal support got him to buy into the program in a contract year.

But the team viewed him as a risk if he signed a multiyear deal — the risk being that Gardner-Johnson could be affected by the millions of dollars he was now being paid.

That doesn’t mean it would have happened. But the Saints gave Gardner-Johnson away for essentially only a fifth-round pick for some of those same reasons and now the Florida product is with his third team in three seasons.

» READ MORE: ‘Can’t stand this heat, get out of my way’: Trash-talking C.J. Gardner-Johnson remade himself with the Eagles

He was liked by many within the Eagles, but Gardner-Johnson required extra care. His since-deleted tweets criticizing Gannon or claiming disrespect during the free-agency process only hinted at the ways in which he tested his first two teams.

Gardner-Johnson’s representative tweeted that the Eagles offered a backloaded three-year, $24 million contract, with $17 million coming in the last year.

True or not, that is generally not how Roseman structures his deals and it seems unlikely that they would make an offer with a per-year guaranteed number far below what he ultimately got with a one-year, prove-it deal.

The Eagles now find themselves without both starting safeties from last season after Marcus Epps signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. Reed Blankenship and K’Von Wallace are the only returnees at the position from the 53-man roster, and have a total of just 11 career starts. The Eagles addressed safety by agreeing to terms with low-cost free agent Justin Evans.

On Roseman’s value chart, safety is near the bottom. But his willingness to look outside the box has offered him alternative solutions. Case in point: acquiring Gardner-Johnson just seven months ago.

» READ MORE: Assessing the Eagles’ options at the safety position after C.J. Gardner-Johnson departs in free agency

Hargrave’s exit set in motion Cox’s return, but the 32-year-old had an offer on the table from the New York Jets that would have paid him more than the Eagles’ take-it-or-leave proposal.

A year ago, he got much closer to leaving. Disgruntled by Gannon’s new scheme, Cox expressed his frustration publicly and the Eagles spoke with the Pittsburgh Steelers about a possible exchange before the trade deadline.

He performed better down the stretch, but he was released when the new league began, only to re-sign a day later. Cox was a more loyal soldier upon his return, took younger players like Davis and Milton Williams under his wing, and his seven sacks were his most in four seasons.

Did his play warrant the $14 million expenditure? Probably not. He drifted some in the second half of the regular season, but he became “Playoff Fletch” in the first two games of the postseason, if not the Super Bowl when he logged too many snaps.

Losing both starting defensive tackles would have been a tough pill to swallow, but if Davis and/or Williams had shown enough as reserves, Roseman might have been more comfortable allowing both Hargrave and Cox to walk.

The Eagles need to see greater return on their first- and third-round investments. Williams flashed at times late last season, and Davis showed before his midseason ankle injury that he could clog the middle as a run-stopping nose tackle. But both enter next season as pass-rushing question marks.

The Eagles return their top three edge rushers — Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, and Graham — but Roseman is likely not done addressing the interior pass rush.

» READ MORE: Eagles analysis: Jordan Davis and the run defense

The Pro Bowl cornerback’s serpentine route back to Philadelphia didn’t exactly mirror that of Cox a year ago, but Slay was nearly an ex-Eagle when he initially balked at the front office’s request for a restructure and wanted to explore his options elsewhere.

His agent was granted permission to shop his 32-year-old client, but the market wasn’t exactly receptive considering his age. Unable to find a suitable partner, the Eagles were set to release him on Wednesday.

The Eagles’ dealings with Gardner-Johnson, Bradberry, and Slay didn’t directly affect how they approached each player, but there was crossover in terms of how much they could afford if pressed to keep one or two over the other(s).

» READ MORE: How All-Pro CB James Bradberry decided the Eagles were the right fit — and against ‘more lucrative’ offers

Moving on from Gardner-Johnson did factor into delaying Slay’s release, but the Eagles would have never reconsidered if he wasn’t open to a reworked deal. Behind the scenes, it took some cajoling to get him to understand why they were essentially asking him to take what looked like less money.

But in return for helping them lower his $26 million cap number this season, the Eagles added guarantees and another year to his contract. Slay’s two-year extension is worth a total of $42 million, with $23 million guaranteed.

The $23 million will come in the first two years and is fully guaranteed, which is slightly more than what Bradberry will receive over the same amount of time. Their per-year averages of $14 million and $12.7 million place them near the bottom of the top-third of starting NFL corners, but there is some question as to their relative success last season.

Was it Slay’s and Bradberry’s coverage that helped the Eagles record a franchise-high 70 sacks, or did they benefit more from the pass rush? The Super Bowl, when the rush was nonexistent and the corners had notable struggles, would suggest it was the latter.

» READ MORE: Darius Slay: ‘Of course I want an extension with the Eagles. I love the Eagles.’

But the rest of the Eagles’ offseason will provide a clearer picture of how Roseman envisions the futures of the veterans he retained. Free agency was about the now. The draft will be about the later.