Top Eagles storylines at 2025 NFL owners meetings
Top Eagles storylines at 2025 NFL owners meetings originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
PALM BEACH, Fla. - The initial flurry of free agency is over and we're now less than one month from the NFL Draft.
There's really no down time in the NFL schedule.
The top decision-makers for NFL teams (owners, GMs and head coaches) will all meet this week at The Breakers in Palm Beach for the NFL's annual meetings.
The Eagles are coming off a Super Bowl victory and are hoping to get back there in 2025. They have earned the respect they'll see this week in Palm Beach.
Here are some Eagles storylines we'll be following:
Talking to Jeffrey Lurie
Typically the owners meetings are one time per year we hear from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie but that changes when the Eagles are in the Super Bowl. Lurie spoke on a myriad of topics on Super Bowl Opening Night. But it's always good to talk to the man in charge.
There are several topics to discuss with Lurie, including the status of a contract extension for head coach Nick Sirianni. While the Eagles don't talk about negotiations publicly, we might get a sense of how soon an extension will be completed for the Super Bowl-winning head coach who enters his final season under contract in 2025. A year ago, we were getting set to ask Lurie why he decided to keep Sirianni; a lot can change in 12 months.
There are some other issues to chat with Lurie about. One of them being the potential for the next Eagles' stadium to be a dome. That's a topic that came up during Opening Night last month in New Orleans.
In the NFLPA report card, the Eagles got some good marks and some bad. They were ranked 30th in team travel, though, and their locker room ranked 27th. They were also ranked 27th in treatment of families as one of a fe teams that doesn't provide daycare during home games.
And then there's the topic of play style. Lurie has talked before about wanting his team to be on the cutting edge of passing offense but the Eagles had a run-first attack in 2024. Obviously, their plan worked and the passing offense was there when they needed it. But a tad curious if the 2024 season changed any of Lurie's beliefs in that area.
Howie explains the offseason
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman spoke with reporters at the Combine in Indianapolis but that was in the lead-up to free agency. This is his chance to explain what happened in that initial flurry and why the Eagles did what they did.
The top question for Roseman will be about the trade of C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Texans. This is a move that will probably hurt the team in the short-term just a year after bringing Gardner-Johnson back on a one-year deal.
Roseman can also explain his bargain bin shopping in free agency for players like Azeez Ojulari, A.J. Dillon and more.
Rule changes on the horizon
These meetings are also where NFL owners vote on rule change proposals. Any proposal would need 24 of 32 owners to sign off on it. Here are a few key rule proposals this year:
The Packers have proposed to outlaw the Eagles' Tush Push play by making the push element of the QB sneak at the snap illegal. It's a play the Eagles have perfected but the rest of the league has not. The Packers cited player safety" and pace of play" in their proposal. But the league has already said no players got hurt on the play in 2024.
The Eagles proposed that the NFL's postseason overtime rules carry over to the regular season. That would create 15-minute overtimes in which both teams get to possess the ball even if the first team scores a touchdown.
The Competition Committee is proposing to make the dynamic kickoff rule permanent and to move the touchback spot from the 30 to 35 to encourage more teams to kick the ball short of the goal line and thus create more returns. The return rate in 2025 was 32.8% up from 21.8% in 2023.
The Competition Committee is also proposing a change of language that would allow a team trailing to attempt an onside kick at any time, not just in the fourth quarter.
The Lions proposed that defensive holding and illegal contact no longer result in an automatic first down.
The Lions also proposed a bylaw rule to change playoff formatting to allow wild card teams to be higher seeds than division winners if they have a better record.
More moves coming?
Back at the Combine, Roseman asked the fanbase for patience. He always says that the talent-acquisition phase lasts through the trade deadline and his actions have backed that up.
Just took at some of the veteran additions made after March in recent seasons:
2024: Mekhi Becton, Nick Gates, Jahan Dotson
2023: Olamade Zaccheaus, D'Andre Swift, Zach Cunningham
2022: A.J. Brown, James Bradberry, C.J. Gardner-Johnson
Obviously, the biggest one from last year was signing Becton after the Eagles didn't draft an offensive lineman early. He ended up being a full-time starter at right guard. Any player signed after the draft doesn't factor into the NFL's compensatory pick formula, which is a big deal for the Eagles this offseason.
Breakfast with Nick
Reporters will also get some time with Sirianni this week in a 30-minute breakfast session on Tuesday morning. These breakfasts used to be an hour-long but got cut in half a few years ago. But it's still valuable time to hear Sirianni's thoughts on some of the free agent additions and the direction of the roster. It's also our first time talking to Sirianni since the Eagles hired Scot Loeffler to be their new quarterbacks coach.
The AFC coaches are all available on Monday morning and the NFC coaches will be available on Tuesday.
A look ahead to the draft
With the draft less than a month away, we'll get some early indications on what the Eagles are thinking. They are expected to have 20 picks over the next two years and have eight picks for next month's draft.
Here are their picks this year:
Round 1-32
Round 2-64
Round 3-96
Round 4-134
Round 5-161
Round 5-164
Round 5-165
Round 5-168