Howie Roseman Talks Bradford, Wentz

MOBILE, AL — Howie Roseman is back in the personnel saddle after a year of exile, and there is plenty of work to be done.

He called it “exciting” to return to the scene and once again be around the people that he’s developed relationships with over the years. Asked if he feels like he’s playing catch-up, Roseman noted that he never stopped watching tape on prospects and said he has trust in the scouting staff.

The executive vice president of football operations had the notebook out, pen behind the ear and eyes focused on the North squad as they opened preparations for the Senior Bowl at Ladd Peebles Stadium Tuesday afternoon. The headliner on that team is North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz, who seemed to impress on Day 1.

“An incredibly talented guy, obviously. He’s got a lot of things you’re looking for,” said Roseman. “Now he’s got an opportunity to go against some of the best guys in the country, so for him to come here, learn a pro system, get acclimated with it quickly…it’s a challenge for quarterbacks in these games.”

Asked if it’s more difficult to evaluate him given that Wentz went against a lower level of competition during his college career, Roseman noted that “there have been a lot of successful quarterbacks who haven’t necessarily come only from big-time programs, big-time schools. So you have to take all of that into consideration and evaluate the player based on who he is and kind of go from there.”

The Eagles are in a state of limbo as it applies to the QB spot at the moment. Sam Bradford is set to become a free agent unless they decide to place the franchise tag on him or strike a long-term deal. Roseman was asked for his thoughts on Bradford with the big decision looming.

“Sam’s a good player. Coach spoke about it, and we talk about experts in quarterbacks, you talk about a guy that played the position, a guy that has coached the position. We’re very fortunate about the amount of quarterback expertise that we have on this staff,” he said. “We’re able to get their opinions fresh and then know that it’s a very talented guy that obviously finished the season strong. We hear from his teammates as we met with them that they liked him as well. That all kind of factors into it but it’s still early in the offseason, so we’ve got a lot of decisions to make and that will be part of the process.”

Roseman said the Eagles will approach the draft prep like they would any other year when it comes to QBs.

“You’ve just gotta evaluate the players on your team, evaluate the players in the draft, evaluate the free-agent market, and then start making decisions.”

Here are a few other highlights from Roseman’s session with a handful of reporters after practice:

On where things stand with Fletcher Cox and Vinny Curry

“It’s hard to talk individually about any player, but when you’re talking about good, young players, we want to keep our good young players. It’s important for our football team, it’s important for our coaching staff, it’s important for our organization. Obviously when you’re talking about high-character, talented players, the priority is to try to keep those guys first.”

On the search for a new personnel man

“I think Jeffrey [Lurie] talked about that a little bit, and I think I’d just defer to his comments from his press conference.”

On the signing of Zach Ertz and Brent Celek to new deals.

“Two different situations. When you talk about Zach, young player that we drafted, on the come, has tremendous talent, has tremendous work ethic, the type of player that we want to keep in Philly for a long time.

“And then on the other end, Brent Celek. What he means to our football team, what he means to our organization on and off the field. In this league it’s so hard to find guys that can block at the point of attack, pass protect, separate, catch the ball. Just a true Eagle.”