Reuben Frank and Dave Zangaro bring back Stay or Go in 2026, trying to figure out the futures of every Eagles player on the roster.<\/p>\n
We already took a look, at\u00a0quarterback<\/a>,\u00a0running back<\/a>,\u00a0receiver<\/a>, tight end<\/a>, interior offensive line<\/a>, offensive tackle<\/a>, edge rusher<\/a> and defensive tackle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Up today: Linebackers.<\/p>\n Zack Baun<\/p>\n Roob: Yeah, I think the Eagles might bring back the best linebacker in the NFL. Baun was just as good if not a little bit better in 2025 but the All-Pro voters (not including me) whiffed this time around and left Baun off the 1st\u00a0or 2nd\u00a0team, which is ridiculous. He did make his second straight Pro Bowl, something no Eagles linebacker had done since Jeremiah Trotter in 2004 and 2005, and what I like the most about Baun is that as well as he\u2019s played these two years all he talks about is continuing to get better and learn what is still a relatively new position for him. Wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he returns to the All-Pro team in 2026. If the voters are paying attention next year.<\/p>\n Verdict: Stays<\/p>\n Dave: Maybe Baun didn\u2019t have as splashy of a season in 2025 as he had in 2024 but he was just as solid and his All-Pro season certainly wasn\u2019t a fluke. Baun in 2025 had 3 1\/3 sacks, 7 TFLs, 5 QB hits, 7 pass breakups and a forced fumble to go along with 123 tackles, all while taking over green-dot responsibilities. The Eagles gave Baun a three-year, $51 million deal last offseason and he was worth that type of money. He\u2019s under contract for the 2026 and 2027 season so he\u2019ll definitely be here this year and the Eagles are expecting big things again.<\/p>\n Verdict: Stays<\/p>\n Chance Campbell<\/p>\n Roob: One-time 6th-round pick of the Titans back in 2022 has played five career defensive snaps in parts of four seasons and spent all last year on the practice squad. The Eagles like something about Campbell, to keep him around all last year and I\u2019d anticipate he\u2019ll be back this summer for fifth NFL training camp. But I just don\u2019t see a path to the 53-man roster unless the Eagles suffer a huge rash of linebacker injuries.<\/p>\n Verdict: Goes<\/p>\n Dave: Keep an eye on Campbell. He signed with the Eagles late in training camp and did enough to earn a practice squad spot. He was a standout on the Eagles\u2019 scout team behind the scenes all season. Campbell might be able to play but I\u2019m not sure if he\u2019s going to be on the Eagles\u2019 initial 53-man roster. I have him going but expect Campbell to be back on the practice squad.<\/p>\n Verdict: Goes<\/p>\n Jihaad Campbell<\/p>\n Roob: Because the Eagles drafted Nakobe Dean in the third round in 2022 and Campbell in the first round in 2025, they don\u2019t have a choice who they can keep, even though right now Dean is a much better player than Campbell. That\u2019s just the reality of roster building. When the Eagles drafted Campbell, they didn\u2019t know what kind of comeback from a very bad knee injury Dean would have and they certainly didn\u2019t know he\u2019d be even better after the injury than he was before it. Campbell has a chance to be a pretty good linebacker, and he\u2019s obviously not going anywhere. Beyond that? Who knows.<\/p>\n Verdict: Stays<\/p>\n Dave: It was a weird rookie season for Campbell, who began the year as a starter and then lost his job midway through when Nakobe Dean returned from injury. It wasn\u2019t that Campbell did anything to lose his job; it\u2019s just that Dean was better. But the future is bright for Campbell, who doesn\u2019t turn 22 until Feb. 24. He showed a ton of promise during his rookie season and made some big plays. The Eagles even tried him at outside linebacker but it seems like his best fit is at inside \u2018backer. With Dean\u2019s expected departure in free agency, Campbell should return to the Eagles as a starter next to Baun in Year 2.<\/p>\n Verdict: Stays<\/p>\n Nakobe Dean<\/p>\n Roob: And the flip side of that is it\u2019s hard to imagine any way Dean is back in 2026. Even if you could sign him \u2013 and his outstanding play certainly raised his value significantly \u2013 why would he want to come back to a team where Baun and Campbell are going to be the starters? It\u2019s going to be so hard to see Dean go because he\u2019s been such a warrior for this team and I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s anybody in that locker room who appreciates being an Eagle more than Nakobe. But it doesn\u2019t make sense to pay what Dean is going to command on the open market when you already have two starting linebackers, and there\u2019s no reason for Dean to come back when he\u2019ll have opportunities to start elsewhere that he wouldn\u2019t have here. Tough one, but that\u2019s where we are.<\/p>\n Verdict: Goes<\/p>\n Dave: This is a tough one. Because Dean wants to be in Philadelphia and the Eagles (in a perfect world) would love to keep him. But here\u2019s the problem: The Eagles have already paid Baun and they used a first-round pick on Campbell. So they have already poured more resources into the position than we\u2019ve ever seen from them before. And to expect them to pay Dean on top of that is probably a long-shot. There\u2019s no doubt that Dean made the Eagles\u2019 defense better when he returned to the lineup in 2025 and he\u2019s going to go somewhere else and play really well. But it\u2019s just hard to imagine him being back in 2026.<\/p>\n Verdict: Goes<\/p>\n Smael Mondon Jr.<\/p>\n Roob: The Eagles\u2019 5th-round pick played all 17 games and was very good on special teams, with 289 snaps. But he only played 14 snaps at linebacker, and he\u2019ll most likely spend his career almost exclusively as a special teamer. And nothing wrong with that. It\u2019s a pretty good job. He\u2019s a guy who could raise his stock with a big training camp, but for now I\u2019d expect him to be a key special teamer for this team who would only play defense in an emergency.<\/p>\n Verdict: Stays<\/p>\n Dave: The Eagles used a 5th-round pick to select Mondon out of Georgia and he had a great rookie training camp before assuming his role as a backup and special teams player. Mondon played in every game this season but saw just a handful of snaps on defense. His 289 special teams snaps ranked fifth on the team behind just Sydney Brown, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Kelee Ringo and Kylen Granson. Mondon has three more years left on his rookie deal and even if he never becomes anything more than a special teams player, that\u2019s a perfectly fine use of a 5th-round pick.<\/p>\n Verdict: Stays<\/p>\n Jose Ramirez<\/p>\n Roob: Good ol\u2019 Jose Ramirez. An all-time favorite of so many Eagles fans. Ramirez, Tampa\u2019s 6th-round pick in 2023, has only played four NFL games, all in 2024 with the Bucs and mainly on special teams. The Eagles added him last month as a futures player, and at 6-2, 250 pounds maybe we\u2019ll see him at edge this summer. One thing we won\u2019t see is Jose Ramirez on the 53.\u00a0<\/p>\n Verdict: Goes<\/p>\n Dave: The Eagles signed Ramirez to a futures contract this offseason after he spent a season in the CFL in 2025. Ramirez was a 6th-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2023. He\u2019s a long-shot to make the roster.<\/p>\n Verdict: Goes<\/p>\n Jeremiah Trotter Jr.<\/p>\n Roob: With Dean gone, Trotter moves up to the top backup linebacker, and I think he\u2019s ready for it. Trotter hasn\u2019t played a lot \u2013 192 defensive snaps in two seasons \u2013 but whenever he does get out there he gets your attention with his physical and intelligent play and outstanding football instincts. You see those qualities as well on special teams, where he\u2019s a real leader of that unit. Great kid who has handled life as a backup like a pro. Who\u2019s this guy\u2019s dad? Somebody raised him right.<\/p>\n Verdict: Stays<\/p>\n Dave: I think Trot can play. He hasn\u2019t gotten many opportunities on defense but whenever we see him out there, he sure looks like he belongs. No, he might not be as physically gifted as Baun or Campbell but Trotter has elite instincts and seems to always be in the right place. Assuming health, he won\u2019t have any chance to start in 2026 but he has already proven himself as a valuable backup and special teams player. Trotter has two more years under contract and is an important depth piece for this team.<\/p>\n Verdict: Stays<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reuben Frank and Dave Zangaro bring back Stay or Go in 2026, trying to figure out the futures…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7353,69,71,70],"class_list":{"0":"post-115200","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-eagles-analysis","9":"tag-philadelphia","10":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","11":"tag-philadelphia-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}