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The DiCecco Daily: Making Sense Of Eagles First Week Of Free Agency · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: What's up everyone, Welcome in to to Checko Daily.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: I'm Andrew de Checko, Eagles beat reporter for insidethebirds dot Com.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Hope everyone had a great week.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Today's podcast is gonna be more of a recap where
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: I go over the week that was and some of
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: the departures in case you lost track of some of
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: the names as they've gone to other teams, and maybe
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: makes some sense as to how the Eagles go about
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: fulfilling some of those vacancies that they now have. We're
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: gonna get into a signing that occurred late Thursday evening
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: that I think is gonna quell some of that apprehension
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: at a particular position in light of the loss of
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Jaywen Phillips. We'll get into that in a moment. We
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: also have some more clarity on the Dallas Goddard front
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: on Friday afternoon, so we're gonna get We'll get to
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: that first because I think that's most pertinent.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: And this is from Zach Berman of The Athletic.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: He says the Eagles in Dallas Goddard have pushed the
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: void date on his contract back to Monday. League sources
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: told the Athletic they had previously set a deadline for
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: this afternoon. So interesting, but the Eagles are essentially kicking
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: the can down the road, buying themselves some more time
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: to come to a conclusion with Dallas Goddard. Come to
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: a resolution, and it was supposed to be Wednesday, then
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: it became Friday.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Now it's Monday.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: But I would imagine that the longer that this drags out,
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: you would think that it would lean more towards a
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: potentially positive outcome. But we'll have to wait and see. Look,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: the Eagles still need a tight end one on the roster.
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: They have Johnny munt as the blocker they brought back
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: ground cal Katara. He'll likely have to battle for a
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: roster spot. They might draft the tight end in the NFL,
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: which I think would be prudent and out there on
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: the open market. A lot of these tight ends, while
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: the Eagles have been working with Dallas Goddard behind the scenes,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: have signed elsewhere, leaving only really David and Joku out
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: there as someone that you would feel relatively comfortable having
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: them as the placeholder as the top tight end. But
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: I think the best case scenario is the Eagles in
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Dallas Goddard are able to come to an agreement. He's
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: back for the twenty twenty sixth season, and he gives
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: the Eagles another year of production. He has a good
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: rapport with Jaywen Hurts. I think he still has a
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: lot of good football ahead of him, at least two years.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: But we'll have to wait and see. This has been
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: a wild off season.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: A lot of unpredictable things have sort of surfaced, and
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: so you never quite know what's around the corner. But
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: it's a fascinating development and one that I'll certainly be
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: keeping an eye on, and when I have more information,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: I will make sure that I convey that to you all.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: The Eagles had a had some late news that came
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: out on Thursday evening, shortly before eleven.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: This from ESPN.
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: The Eagles and former Falcons free agent linebacker Arnold Abukati
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: is signing a one year deal worth seven point three
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: million max. And it includes four point three million fully
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: guaranteed that according to ESPN, and so yes, they added
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: another edge rusher. He will join a room that already
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: has Jay lox Hunt, Nolan Smith, and Jose Ramirez who
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: signed a reserve futures deal. And you know it's still
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: the room is still lean, but there's reason for optimism
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: with this signing, and I kind of draw parallels to
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: the Azizo Jilari josh Uche signings of last offseason. Although
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: I think Abukati has some I guess I think he
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: has more upside. I believe that he might be a
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: better schematic fit, and he's flashed potential over his four
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: seasons with the Falcons. Now, he was the second round
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: pick out of Penn State. He spent his first four
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: years at Temple, so he's a local guy in terms
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: of where he went to school. But he never lived
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: up to that draft status, that lofty draft status. Like
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: I said, there's been glimpses and spurts, but if you
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: look at his career, he's played in sixty seven games,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: started twelve, started three games last season, and he's never
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: played more than five hundred snaps. He logged over five
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: hundred snaps two out of the four years, and then
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: the other two seasons, his first and his fourth, he
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: equalled three hundred and eighty four snaps. It was an
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: identical match from year one and year four, and so
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: the numbers will tell you. And if you've happen to
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: catch any of his games with the Falcons, it tells
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: you that he's best suited to be a rotational player,
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: so I think as a third or fourth edge rusher, there.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: Is some reason for optimism.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: You never want to get too carried away off of
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: one signing because you may like the player, you may
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: like what he's done in the past, but the bottom
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: line is is you never quite know what that means.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: When you bring someone into a new system and they
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: have to get the pads on and rep it out
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: in training camp. That's where the ultimate indicator of a
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: successful signing is determined, not on paper, not what he's
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: done in the past. But I can tell you that
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: going into the twenty twenty two draft, Aboukhati is a
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: player who I really liked. I thought that he was
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: a little bit raw in the sense that he wasn't technical.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: From a pass rush perspective, I think he won more
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: often than not with pure ability and quickness off the
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: ball than he did with the typical things that you see.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: The hand usage and being.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: Able to have a wide variety of pass rush moves
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: in his tool bag. I didn't see that, and I
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: really haven't seen all that much of that with the Falcons.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: When he was playing when he played for them, But
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: I think he has developmental qualities that will allow position
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: coach Jeremiah Washburn, who oversees the defensive ends and outside linebackers,
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: to really hone in and refine.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: That area of his game.
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: And if you're asking him to play four hundred and
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: fifty five hundred snaps as a rotational piece, you can
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: certainly do worse. And I believe that of the available
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: edge rushers on the market, it was one that I
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: thought would be a solid fit. I thought he might
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: be a player that Eagles would have looked to acquire
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: at last year's trade deadline. Instead, they hit the home
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: run with Jalen Phillips and they end up getting Abucati. Now,
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: so we'll see how he fits, we'll see how everything
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: sort of shakes out. But on its face, I think
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: that that is a signing that should be viewed as
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: a positive for the Philadelphia Eagles as they look to
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: piece together that room.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: And it is still light.
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: But if you remember what Howie Roseman had to say
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: at the NFL Scouting Combine, they typically take seven or
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: eight edge rushers into training camp, so they're going to
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: continue to add and fill out that room. So the
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: Eagles do have an edge rusher and expect more on
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: that front as the as things really go along, because
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: they're clearly not done yet, but I do want to
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: just quickly go over the updated look at the Eagles
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: offseason to this point. They've signed cornerback Greek Wohen, tight
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: end Johnny Munt, cornerback Jonathan Jones, and outside linebacker Arnold Ebacadie.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: They re signed tight end Grant kyl Kata and punter
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: Braden Man. They renegotiated the contracts of defensive back Michael
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: Carr the Second and guard Landon Dickerson. They extended defensive
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: tackle Jordan Davis. Now for the departed outside linebacker Jalen
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: Phillips goes to the Panthers. Linebacker Nakobe Dean, Raiders, safety
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: Reed Blankenship, Texans, wide receiver Johan Dotson, Falcons, offensive lineman
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: Matt Pryor, Cardinals quarterback Sam Howe, Cowboys offensive lineman Brett Toth,
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: forty nine Ers, outside linebacker josh Ushe, Dolphins, outside linebacker
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: Azizo Julari Falcons, and tight end Kylon Granson Titans. That
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: would mean that of the Eagles in house free agents
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: AJ Dillon, Dori Jackson, Fred Johnson, and Ben Van Sumeran,
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: who was initially a restricted free agent. The Eagles did
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: not tender him, so he became an unrestricted free agent.
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: He's out there as well. Not many a lot of
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: these guys that the Eagles had in the building they
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: signed pretty quickly elsewhere.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: And that's the nature of free agency.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: And if you're if you've checked out social media, you've
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: likely seen Red Blanket Ship speaking about his fondness for
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: Philadelphia and the memories that he made and how much
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: it meant to him as an undrafted player working his
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: way up through the league into a starter. And you've
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: probably seen photos of Na Kobe Dean signing his contract
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: and a lot of a lot of that.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: Stuff surfacing on on social media.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: It's a weird look, especially like covering Na Kobe for
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: four years here in Philadelphia and and Reid as well.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: It is it's a little bit of a of an
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: odd look just to just to see it when you
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: grow accustomed to seeing these players.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: Uh in the building and and you know in.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: Not in not signing a contract at a table with
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: a with a different backdrop. So that's the the often
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: thickle nature of the NFL offseason.
• 10:00
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• 10:01
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• 12:05
  Speaker 2: There's a long ways to go. Let's not forget that
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: pro days are ongoing right now and they still have
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: some big ones, including Penn State coming up Maryland's typically
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: at the end of the month. I think that might
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: be like March twenty eighth or something like that. Stay tuned.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: I might be going to that. I have to make
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: sure that my schedule's clear, and.
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: Before you know it, it's gonna ramp up to draft time.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: So I would expect the Eagles, as they do look
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: to add free agents, to live more in that second tier,
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: which is kind of the kind of where I expected
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: their market to be. Given the expectations going into the offseason. Again,
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: it shouldn't really surprise anybody I know. If you're looking
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: at the roster right now, there's probably a ton of
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: questions about safety. I say this all the time. It's
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: early March. The off season isn't one in March. But
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: always understand that Howie Roseman goes into every offseason with
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: the understanding of every scenario being possible and with a plan.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: And it's still really early. There's a lot of avenues
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: in which they could fortify that position in which they
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: could better the roster. And Howie Roseman has proven time
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: and time again that he will leave no stone unturned.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: To better this Eagles team.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: So I believe that he deserves the benefit of the
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: doubt and to go back to what Aaron Rodgers said
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: many many years ago, R E L A X Relax.
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: That's going to do it for this edition of the
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: Czech Odaily. I'm Andrew Decheco and I'll catch you all
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: on the next one.