We already looked at what everything Eagles EVP of football operations Howie Roseman had to say about Michael Bennett on Monday. Now it’s time for the non-Bennett topics.

NICK FOLES IS STILL AVAILABLE

Q: Why is Nick Foles still on the team?

ROSEMAN: He’s still on the team because he’s an incredibly valuable player to the Philadelphia Eagles. When you talk about that position, and what’s going on in the free agent market, you’ve seen it in the trade market. We’re in the business of making sure we get the right value for the player. And what our value is for the player is going to stick. We get into those decisions before the time period where you can make moves. Not just on Nick, but other players on our team. We feel very confident about what his value is to our football team, and really throughout the rest of the league. And there is obviously interest in Nick Foles because Nick Foles has been tremendously productive in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform. And so, did I answer your question?

Q: Did teams call and it was a matter of the price wasn’t hit, or was it a situation where you were not willing to give him up?

ROSEMAN: I would say I don’t want to get into conservations about what teams have done or not done. That’s not for me to say. But there’s definitely interest in really good players at that position in this league. At the same time, we’re not in the business of just trying to give away. So what the value is to someone else, and the value … I’m going to say it better. When you talk about certain rounds [in the NFL Draft], there’s a certain percentage of hitting on guys. We know what we have. And that allows us the ability to feel very good about the most important position in sports. And so for us to get rid of something like that, that’s going to be a high price tag.

Q: Did he ask you guys if he could have the opportunity to start this year?

ROSEMAN: I’m going to follow up on my answer where I say we don’t talk about our conservations with our players. I’m not saying yes or no, but that’s always been my answer about contracts, about personal conversations with our players, that’s going to be about anything we discuss in our conversations with them.

BLG takeaways:

Roseman obviously isn’t going to give Foles away for cheap. But his comment about there being interest in Foles indicates they’ve fielded some calls. The offers clearly haven’t been good enough, and given the current quarterback climate, there’s no painfully obvious suitor for No. 9. That could always change if there’s an unexpected injury to a starter somewhere. Or he might just end up being the backup to Carson Wentz once again in 2018.

I also can’t help but feel like Roseman’s non-denial about Foles asking to start elsewhere confirms the quarterback did do something like that. Because if Foles didn’t ask, wouldn’t it be real easy to say that Foles just wants to stay in Philly and is fine being the backup? I hardly think Foles is trying to force his way out, but I do think he has interest in being a starter again.

CONFIRMED: CHRIS LONG IS COMING BACK IN 2018

Q: Can you confirm Chris Long accepted your new contract offer?

ROSEMAN: Confirmed. Chris is a hugely important part of our team. And I think sometimes there’s a perception that Chris is a hugely important part of the team because of what he does off the field, which is part of Chris Long. He’s an unbelievable teammate. But Chris Long is really productive. You go back and watch some of our games against the best teams in football, in the NFC, you look at the Rams game, you look at the Falcons game, you look at the Vikings game, you look at the Super Bowl, the guy is getting consistent pressure on the quarterback.

BLG takeaway:

Last week, BGN was first to point out Long said he plans on returning to Philly in 2018. Now we have official team confirmation.

HOWIE WANTS MORE PICKS

ROSEMAN: It’s obvious. We’ve got six picks this year. We’re trying to get more picks as we go forward in the next couple of years because we have a lot of guys under contract, a lot of guys making money. As we look at 2018, 2019, even peaking at 2020, we’re trying to figure out how we can be a really good team in the short-term and in the long-term.

BLG takeaways:

I’d be shocked if the Eagles didn’t acquire at least one Day 2 pick in 2018. More trades are coming.

I also think this confirms Roseman has an eye on the potential compensatory picks.

MYCHAL KENDRICKS IS INDEED AVAILABLE

ROSEMAN: Mychal Kendricks is under contract. He played well for us last year. These are questions that we go into every year, I feel like. So nothing’s changed in regards to Mychal’s status.

BLG takeaway: Often times you have to recognize what people DON’T say. In this case, “he played well for us last year” is damning with faint praise. Roseman isn’t gushing about how Kendricks was a such a vital backup to have around after Jordan Hicks got hurt. I still think Kendricks is gone before the 2018 NFL trade deadline at the very latest.

NOTHING NEW ON THE BRANDON GRAHAM FRONT

Q: Is a Brandon Graham contract extension a priority?

I don’t want to go into specifics. Again, this goes into our conversations with our players. What I will say is that Brandon is a hugely valuable part of our team. He’s in the last year of his deal. He’s been one of the most productive players at his position. He deserves whatever he can get.

At the same time, we have a cap and we’re trying to fit everyone in. We’re trying to fit as many good players. We went through this yesterday a little bit. We have a lot of good players under contract not only for 2018 and 2019 but heading into the 2020s. And they’re good players. We want to keep as many around as possible and add players on top of it. So that’s a challenge that we’re trying to figure out. It’s a good problem to have.

BLG takeaway:

This is basically what Roseman had to say about the Eagles’ BLG at the Combine. Last we heard on a potential Graham extension was back during the regular season.

MISCELLANEOUS