Key Off-season Moves by Eagles Bring Risk

The Eagles made two big moves in the off-season – signing former Giants running back Saquon Barkley and hiring Kellen Moore as their new offensive coordinator. On the surface, these are two good moves. But both bring potential problems.

Philadelphia is notorious for letting players go as they near the age of 30, suggesting that as a rule the organization believes that a player’s best years are behind them by then. The team has been willing to forego a year or two of a player’s prime to avoid having him under contract for too long. The strategy is prevalent around the league with the running back position. Now, the Eagles give Barkley, a 27-year-old back with a significant, if not major, injury history, a big contract? Per NFL.com, “He missed three games last season with an ankle injury, which also affected his 2021 season. Barkley also suffered a torn ACL and MCL in 2020, which limited him to two games that season.”

With Kenneth Gainwell and rookie Will Shipley the only other running backs currently on the roster, signing Barkley seems like a big risk. It’s certainly a departure from the norm.

In another head scratching move, the Eagles brought in a “name guy” in Moore to run the offense. Moore’s been in the NFL as a coach since 2018. He’s been considered a prospect for head coaching positions for a couple years now.

Last time I checked, head coach Nick Sirianni is an offensive coach. Moore doesn’t seem like a guy who will come to a team for the title of “coordinator” – he’ll actually do the job.

So, what the hell’s Nick still doing here?

My theory for a while has been that Eagles owner Jeff Lurie desperately wants to be seen as a sage owner with a stable franchise. After a long run with Andy Reid as head coach, he’s now on essentially his third coach and Reid is building a potential dynasty in Kansas City.

After the Eagles collapsed last year, starting 10-1 only to finish 11-6 and losing to Tampa Bay in the playoffs, my guess is Lurie wanted no part of firing another head coach.

I think that’s why Sirianni is still in Philadelphia. The problem is that if the Eagles offense struggles at some point, the relationship between Sirianni and Moore could create friction. Presumably, Nick will have to do more than high-five fans, and then questions about who’s in charge will start. That’s never good.

Of course, the Eagles made plenty of other moves in the off-season. They kept offensive weapons A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in Philadelphia for a while with contract extensions, they made some moves to improve their defense, and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman made what seems like his annual just-before-the-season-starts move by trading for receiver Jahan Dotson. I think that was more about Howie Roseman reading his own press about stealing players right before the season. With all the offensive weapons Philadelphia possesses, Dotson won’t make or break the season.

I didn’t quite understand the Eagles trading away their sack leader last season, Haason Reddick (11), but his ongoing holdout (as I write) seems to explain the move. Of course, the biggest move that impacted the Eagles this off-season may have been out of their hands – center Jason Kelce’s retirement. Just last week, quarterback Jalen Hurts admitted on WIP that Kelce “took on a lot of responsibility,” referring to making adjustments at the line of scrimmage.

Yet, bringing in Moore and Barkley will likely be the barometer used to measure the off-season moves made by the team as the season progresses. Both moves could work out. Barkley is a very good running back. Moore seems like a great, if not short-term, hire. (He’ll likely be a head coach elsewhere next year if the Eagles do well.)

But both moves have the potential to backfire.