Ranking the 10 worst moves of the Howie Roseman era

Fresh off the Eagles season-ending 37-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the finger-pointing has begun. Howie Roseman is at the head of the table going into yet another crucial offseason, but does he still deserve to be?

In the end, it's pretty easy where to point the blame on this horrific 4-10-1 season.

We can blame the players.

We can blame the coaches.

In the end, the General Manager, known for his cap manipulation, and shrewd trade deals is at the center of all things horrific across the franchise.

The General Manager who was given ultimate power in the organization, lost it, got it back, and now runs it like Don Corleone from the famed movie The Godfather.

The disaster of a 2020 season has given us a chance to realize that the success of the 2017 title season may have masked what has been a very mediocre GM.

Here are the ten worst moves Howie Roseman has made as GM for the Eagles.

10. Howie Roseman starts off strong...

Howie Roseman took over the GM job in 2010. He had built one of the youngest, and fastest rosters in the NFL at that time.

The 2010 Eagles won the NFC East behind the Comeback Player of the Year Award Winner, Michael Vick. Vick's career resurgence was well documented and deserves all the credit for turning his life around after his dog-fighting scandal.

But entering the 2011 season, Vick was 31. While he clearly was back to being a highlight-reel player, he still had injury concerns, and the team had other pressing issues- particularly on the defensive side of the football.

Howie didn't care.

Vick was given a six-year $100 million dollar contract that made him the face of the franchise.

The contract lasted just three years as Vick struggled to stay on the field and was gone after the 2013 season.

It was the first example of Howie turning a blind eye to his star players to give them as much money as possible.

It wouldn't be the last.

9. Jalen Hurts Draft Pick

You better believe I put this on the list.

Fresh off of what was an incredible end of the year run with five practice squad players, Carson Wentz had proved just how good he could be as the leader of the franchise.

There were glaring holes along the defense, offensive line, and receivers that needed to be solved.

Howie's response in free agency was to overpay for a DT, and trade for a 30-year-old corner.

He then thought the team was solidified enough to draft a QB within the first two rounds of the draft.

Six months later and it's pretty obvious how much of a dumbster fire this has become.

It was Howie's arrogance that brought in a QB controversy.

It was his arrogance that he "believed" he had fixed the roster holes before the draft.

It's his arrogance that has left us in this mess.

8. DeSean Jackson returns to the Eagles

I will go down on the record saying this was a really good move.

Righting the wrong of the Chip Kelly-era, Howie brought back Jackson at the age of 32.

A three-year $28 million dollar deal followed and the expectation was that Jackson would be the deep threat Wentz desperately needed.

It started out like a dream.

Since then, it's been a nightmare.

Jackson played in three games in 2019 and five games in 2020.

It's safe to say that with a deal worth $10M per year, the team hasn't gotten the return on investment.

Another case of Howie Roseman being too personal with his former players, and thinking with his heart instead of his head.

7. The Dream Team

Another easy one.

The 2011 Eagles saw the team spend heavy on high-price talent.

To sure up a terrible secondary, Roseman brought in the likes of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha.

The "Dream Team" moniker was coined thanks to the backup QB.

It quickly turned into a disaster.

An 8-8 season followed by a 4-12 year saw the end of the Andy Reid era.

Somehow Roseman was able to keep his job. Even with his "Dream Team" disaster clearly on his resume.

Continued on the page below.

Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire

6. Genard Avery

Let me make this clear.

This is NOT the worst trade Howie has made. That is much later on in this list.

It's still atrocious.

Last season the Eagles were struggling offensively and defensively. They needed a top receiver or corner. They needed a linebacker. Howie traded for a pass-rushing end in exchange for a fourth-round pick.

How's that gone?

We can talk about how adding Avery gave the team added depth. In the end, this was the same GM three months later saying they needed to get "younger".

It's almost as if keeping an extra fourth-round pick, might have helped this team.

5. Alshon Jeffery Contract

Remember this Alshon?

Or this?

After his first year in Philadelphia, Roseman signed Jeffery to a four-year $52 million dollar deal.

How bad is the deal now? Per OverTheCap.com - it's the worst in the NFL.

The Eagles wanted to be ahead of the curve and now are in a massive hole thanks in no part to the Jeffery contract.

4. Howie Roseman and his disregard for LB's

Remember Jordan Hicks? Remember Jeremiah Trotter?

The Eagles haven't had a prime linebacker in a long time. Over the last couple of years, Roseman has valued the defensive line more than really any other position.

The 2019 offseason proved it.

In a bid to get younger, the Eagles let go of average-to above-average linebacker, Nigel Bradham.

Bradham was solid in this scheme but needed to be released. Instead of finding his replacement in FA or taking a linebacker in the first couple of rounds of the draft, Howie said no.

Instead, we got to see Nate Gerry play LB along with undrafted free agents.

How was Nate Gerry this year?

3. Jason Peters

Chalk this up as one giant mistake over the last four years.

In 2017, Jason Peters was a 35-year-old LT who had torn his ACL. His legacy was that of a Hall-of-Fame legend and arguably one of the greatest LT's of all-time. Before then, Peters was getting injured during games and had struggled to stay on the field.

Even after the ACL injury, Peters was in even worse shape with his injuries. After the 2019 season, fans thought we had seen the last of Peters.

Then Brandon Brooks got hurt.

What followed was even worse.

After being on the injury report for much of the year, Peters struggled to stay on the field and play well. In the 36 snaps he played against Green Bay, he gave up a sack, 3 hurries, and 5 pressures in his second start at right guard.

Roseman's love for old players is mainly because of Jason Peters. It's clear Peters' STILL wields a ton of power for a player. The fact he's been able to do whatever he wants and keeps getting a contract is ALL on Howie Roseman.

2. Howie Roseman and the QB Factory

This was probably the worst quote of his entire career.

It's brought in several thousand jokes.

It's not the same thing as drafting Jalen Hurts. The move to draft Jalen Hurts is already a mistake. His "defense" of it was even worse and is brought into an entirely new field.

What makes it worse is his investment in the QB position has left arguably one of the most talented QB's in the NFL in ruins.

Instead of building a roster around Carson Wentz, Howie spoke of "The QB Factory" as a reason to invest in MORE than just Wentz. No receivers. No OL. Not even a quality corner.

A backup QB. First it was Foles. Then it was Hurts.

Wentz has proven to be a better QB than he was this year. Yet at every turn, Howie would rather invest in a backup to him than any quality help.

THAT will always be one of the worst things he's done as a GM.

1. His First Round Picks

Here are Howie Roseman's first round picks:

2010: Brandon Graham2011: Danny Watkins2012: Fletcher Cox2013: Lane Johnson2014: Marcus Smith2016: Carson Wentz2017: Derek Barnett2019: Andre Dillard2020: Jalen Reagor

Here's a list of the good players: Graham, Cox, Johnson, Wentz

Here's the average players: Barnett, Reagor

Here are players who are pretty bad: Watkins, Smith, Dillard

This could really be compared to his entire draft record but Howie has been awful with drafting the next stars of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Not a single pro bowl player outside of Carson Wentz in the last 50 picks.

Just awful.

Passing on Devante Adams, DK Metcalf, Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill and countless other receivers for below average talent is just the new norm now for the Philadelphia Eagles GM.

And the new norm of mediocrity is ALL on him.

Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire