“The inches we need are everywhere around us,” Head Coach Tony D’Amato (Al Pacino) tells the fictional Miami Sharks in his famous “Any Given Sunday” locker room address. “… It’s the difference between winning and losing.”
For the Eagles, those inches may come at the third wide receiver position, where talent drops off a cliff after A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. For Philadelphia, acquiring a guy like veteran free agent Tyler Lockett may make the difference between repeating as Super Bowl champs.
On March 5, the Seattle Seahawks released Lockett after ten seasons. In 2024, he had 49 receptions for 600 yards and two touchdowns, his lowest totals since 2017.
NFC East rival named favorite to sign Lockett.
The Eagles might also be well suited to entice Lockett away from one of their NFC East rivals, with Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox identifying Lockett as the only remaining free agent who could benefit the Dallas Cowboys the most.
“The Dallas Cowboys have their No. 1 receiver in CeeDee Lamb, but they still lack a quality second option — adding Parris Campbell in free agency didn’t solve the problem,” Knox wrote on Tuesday, April 5. “Tyler Lockett, who was released by the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, should be a top target for Dallas ahead of the draft.”
The Seahawks freed up $7 million in salary cap space by releasing Lockett. With that in mind, the Eagles should begin with a lighthearted (and entirely reasonable) one-year, $7 million offer to attempt to get Lockett on the team.
Lockett signed a two-year, $29.6 million contract extension with the Seahawks in March 2024, with $12.6 million guaranteed, all of which was paid to him in the first year.
The former Kansas City Star has earned nearly $89 million in his career as of the end of the 2024 season.
Injuries were an issue for Eagles receivers in 2024.
Lockett may provide the Eagles with the stability and productivity they need in the wide receiver room. If the 2025 season ends with another championship for Philadelphia, it seems like a brilliant decision.
Brown and Smith are one of the most expensive wide receiver duos in the NFL, having signed contract extensions worth a combined $191 million. However, both missed four games last season, and Brown has missed at least four games in a single season twice in the last four years.
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