- 6/20/2025
The Jaire Alexander news finally dropped, and it will not be the Philadelphia Eagles signing him. So what does all of this mean? The Eagles have made their decision at cornerback (for now), and it goes right along with the philosophy that Howie Roseman has been preaching all offseason. Get ready Kelee Ringo, the time is yours. In other news, one Eagles young emerging star was named as the best slot corner in the NFL and another was chosen as the x-factor for the defense this upcoming season. Today, RB discusses all of this and more!
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00:00We've all been waiting for the final domino to fall, but today we realize that things
00:06are already set in stone as the Eagles have made their decision.
00:10The question is, is it the right one?
00:12We'll talk about that and a whole bunch more, but welcome into A to Z Philly.
00:16I'm R.B., and we'll start it off today with a very intriguing stat.
00:21Did you know that last year in the regular season, the Eagles cornerbacks combined for
00:26zero interceptions despite being the best defense in the NFL?
00:31And I'm talking about by a wide margin, like this group, man, they played with sustained
00:37dominance every single week after week five.
00:41They were incredible, and it just goes to show the type of system that Vic Fangio has built.
00:47Doesn't matter about one specific player.
00:49It's not me.
00:50It's we.
00:51Everybody playing together.
00:53They were so glued to these receivers week in, week out.
00:56They had two rookies, and none of them had interceptions in the regular season.
01:00Now, again, come postseason, right?
01:02The big pick six by Coop.
01:04Quignan finally snagged a couple.
01:05Darius Slay.
01:06But it just goes to show that you don't have to win in one way, and you can really have
01:11a balanced defense.
01:13And you saw the way that they played, right?
01:14The bend but don't break.
01:15But at the same time, they were sticky in coverage, and they were just locked down.
01:20They were unstoppable.
01:21So I think it's really cool and a good segue into what we are going to talk about today.
01:25As the Eagles have finally made their decision.
01:28But before we jump into that, I want to let you all know that coming this Sunday, turn
01:33your reminders, your notifications on.
01:36Dallas Goddard.
01:37Exclusive interview with A to Z Sports.
01:39Myself and Ryan Roberts got to sit down and chat it up with our boy, tight end one Dallas
01:44Goddard.
01:45I am so excited for you all to see this.
01:47He gave some really good extensive answers.
01:50Just a great interview.
01:51Let's talk about these corners, because yesterday, the breaking news drops the one domino we've
01:57all been waiting for.
01:59Ravens signed Jair Alexander, right?
02:02We've talked about him, why he could be a potential fit.
02:04It all came down to money.
02:06Well, that's what we thought, right?
02:08This guy ended up leaving two years on his Packers contract.
02:12They tried to trade him, didn't work.
02:14Then they ended up cutting him, and he was getting paid $21 million per year.
02:18We said, if he comes to Philly, he's going to have to take a heavy discount.
02:22Well, here are the terms of the deal.
02:25I was shocked.
02:26Adam Schefter reports that Jair Alexander is only signing a one-year $6 million deal from
02:33the Ravens.
02:34Now, he played with Lamar Jackson at Louisville, so maybe there was a little bit of advocating
02:40there, right?
02:40Hey, go sign my guy.
02:41Hey, but this guy's a two-time Pro Bowler, and he was playing at a really good level
02:47a few years ago just because he got injured, right?
02:50That's the biggest concern, but he still has a lot of game left in the tank.
02:55And when you look at the Eagles corner situation, I'm like, hey, if you could get this guy one
03:00year, five, $6 million, I would love to do it.
03:03Maybe this was his decision.
03:04They did report that there were a few other teams in the mix that offered him a little bit
03:08more, but he wanted to go to Baltimore and try to win, which makes sense.
03:11They have a stacked secondary, but the Eagles put their foot down and they made their decision
03:18because let's say Jair Alexander had an offer on the table from the Eagles.
03:22I really believe that he would have certainly considered it.
03:26You know, I mean, he wants to go to a winning situation.
03:29Eagles had a perfect system set up, but as Anthony DeBona says here, the Eagles are a lot
03:34more confident in their cornerback room than some of the fans are.
03:39Keeley Ringo has been able to develop these last couple of years.
03:42No, he hasn't played a lot.
03:43He hasn't been the guy.
03:44He's had certain moments.
03:46There's things that he has to work on in terms of technique, but Christian Parker advocated
03:51for him at the end of this past season saying, look, we've been developing this guy in the
03:55shadows.
03:55And then they go out and they sign a Dory Jackson and free agency to a one-year deal.
03:59Now, when you think about this long-term, as we get into this next season, the concern is
04:05that Keeley Ringo is not good enough and a Dory Jackson is washed, and then you don't
04:09really have any other options, right?
04:11But they really believe in this system now and how they've been able to turn the tables
04:16a little bit in terms of developing these young guys, letting them play on rookie contracts.
04:21Eagles have so many draft picks for next year.
04:23They can always go out and trade for somebody.
04:25They can develop a few more or even draft some more next year, try to do what they did with
04:30Quignan and Cooper DeGene.
04:32And I think Vic Fangio is really that master architect, and they really do believe that
04:37they can do it again.
04:39Time will tell.
04:40We'll see how it plays out.
04:41But the Eagles are not signing any other vets.
04:44They're not signing any big-time players.
04:47I don't even think they're going to sign Justin Simmons unless it gets to the point in training
04:51camp where Andrew McCuba is just nowhere near ready and Sidney Brown isn't ready or maybe
04:57he gets injured again or whatever, I think the Eagles are sticking to their guns and going
05:02with what they have now.
05:04Is it the right decision?
05:05Well, like I said, time will tell.
05:07But I do like to have a little more experience.
05:09I do think they could add a few more vets, whether it's as an edge rusher or a safety or
05:14a corner.
05:15Maybe they will do that.
05:16But they did go bring these one-year patch-it-up type of guys in.
05:20The Josh Uches, the Adoree Jacksons, Aziz Ojolari.
05:25We'll see how good they are.
05:26We'll see how much left they can offer.
05:29But really what we're looking at here, and I know ESPN sometimes messes up their depth
05:33chart, so I'm not just looking at these guys as the starters.
05:36But just looking at what we got here, I mean, it's going to most likely be Keely Ringo,
05:41Quinion Mitchell, and Cooper Dejean.
05:44And Adoree Jackson will be kind of that piece that can move around if you need him to play
05:49a little nickel corner.
05:50He could.
05:51If you want to move Dejean outside, you could.
05:53But Cooper Dejean is pretty locked in as the nickel corner, and it seems like they're
05:58rocking and rolling with Keely Ringo.
06:00Now, maybe Adoree Jackson beats him out.
06:02You know, maybe they bring in that vet just like they did a couple years ago with James
06:05Bradbury, and Jackson looks way better and more polished.
06:08They're going to fight it out in training camp.
06:09But I think we are past the point now where the Eagles are going to go get somebody else
06:14unless it gets to the point where they are absolutely forced to.
06:19I think they're rocking with what they have.
06:20And honestly, I'm not too mad at it.
06:22You know, when you look at Keely Ringo's contract here, I mean, he's 23 years old.
06:26This guy has a lot of time to develop.
06:29The unfortunate part is that after next season, you know, he's going to be on the last year
06:34of that rookie deal.
06:34And usually, you like to get these types of deals done before they head into that final
06:39year.
06:40So if Keely Ringo is a standout star this year, and you think about all the other guys in
06:45the timeline that the Eagles are trying to create space to pay, you know, the Jalen Carters
06:50and the Quinions and guys like that, well, you might have a tough decision to make next
06:54year.
06:54But that's why you have all these draft picks coming up.
06:56That's why you can use them as leverage and trade them around or, you know, develop somebody
07:01else.
07:01So it'll be interesting to see what happens.
07:03He also signed a Dory Jackson to a one-year deal as well.
07:07He's 30 years old.
07:08He's just been an average player throughout his career.
07:10If we look at a Dory Jackson and his stats, right?
07:14I mean, he's never had more than two interceptions.
07:16He played with the Titans, the Giants, who were really a bad team.
07:19So maybe it's one of those situations where another New York Giant comes to Philadelphia
07:23and plays exceptionally better, or maybe not.
07:26Maybe he doesn't have a lot left, but I do like him as that vet piece.
07:29I still think, again, the Eagles could add a little more depth at safety or, you know,
07:34on the defensive line.
07:36So we'll see.
07:37But Keely Ringo, right?
07:38We look at his stats.
07:39I mean, only two years in the NFL, and they've been developing him.
07:43He played in all 17 games, mostly special teams, things like that.
07:47But Keely Ringo is going to get the job, most likely.
07:51He's going to have a chance to be the guy, another Georgia Bulldog, right?
07:55Who has to step up, has some of that camaraderie with those guys from winning a national championship.
08:00So the question is, is he ready to step up to the plate?
08:03I want to see what he looks like in training camp, and then we'll make some assessments there.
08:06But I do understand the philosophy that Howie has operated with this offseason.
08:11I think he's sticking to his guns, and I think that's a good way to operate.
08:14You know, he believes in these young guys.
08:16He just saw what they did last year, and I think he believes that they can do it again.
08:21Now, let's talk about one of the other guys we just mentioned, Cooper DeGene,
08:25because he was actually named by ESPN as the best slot corner in the NFL.
08:31That's a pretty high honor, you know, after your rookie season.
08:34They say DeGene spent the first month of his rookie year on the sideline
08:38after the Week 5 bye moved into the starting lineup,
08:40coincided with a massive defensive improvement, which is crazy and scary at the same time.
08:45The fact that DeGene didn't even play in, you know, last year's training camp.
08:49He didn't even play in the preseason.
08:51It would probably be unrealistic to suggest him as the single driver of the improvements,
08:55but he certainly served as a revelation.
08:57He was incredible.
08:59So many big-time moments, so many big-time games.
09:02I mean, really, it wasn't even until, like, Adam Thielen beat him on a couple routes
09:06where we said, this guy's even let up any yards at all.
09:08So he's been incredible.
09:09But again, it does speak to the higher system of Vic Fangio.
09:13But now with the Eagles releasing Darius Slay,
09:15DeGene will play outside more in 25,
09:17as he'll likely start outside in base defense and work out of the slot in sub packages.
09:22But he will be in the slot the majority of the time.
09:25He moved all around the backfield in college at Iowa,
09:28which should help his chances of handling the added responsibilities.
09:31We called him a Swiss Army knife.
09:33This guy can do anything you need him to.
09:35I am convinced of that.
09:36I believe he will be just fine.
09:38And the fact that he's already getting these high honors as the best slot corner in the NFL
09:42is pretty incredible.
09:44It's pretty amazing.
09:45So shout out to Cooper DeGene.
09:46Just a really good, upstanding man.
09:49And I think he's going to be a leader on the defense this season.
09:53A couple things to wrap us up here today.
09:55Nolan Smith predicted to be the X Factor for the Eagles this season.
09:59Definitely could have another breakout season.
10:01Add on to what he did at the end of last year.
10:03You listen to some of these guys like Brandon Graham talk.
10:06They're all naming him as the guy that will emerge and will continue to step up.
10:10I've said this many times now, but without Nolan Smith, the Eagles do not win the Super Bowl.
10:15He was fantastic.
10:16He got better and better and better.
10:18And he really set an example after Brandon Graham got injured.
10:22So I agree with this.
10:23Again, still think they could use another vet or two in that room.
10:27But I think we're going to see maybe a double-digit sack year from Nolan Smith.
10:31Let me know if you agree or disagree.
10:32And with that being said, we will see how the rest of this roster plays out.
10:37But what do you think?
10:37Should the Eagles have signed Jair Alexander?
10:40Should they go get another vet?
10:41Or should they just be patient and wait and see what they have with Keeley Ringo and Adoree Jackson?
10:47Give me all your thoughts down below.
10:49As always, appreciate everybody for tapping in.
10:51Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe.
10:53And I'll catch you on the next one.
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