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  • The argument for Brian Daboll — and Zac Robinson (and even Matt Nagy) — as Eagles’ next play-caller

    The argument for Brian Daboll — and Zac Robinson (and even Matt Nagy) — as Eagles’ next play-caller

    An observation about the Eagles’ offensive coaching staff: 2025 was the first year Jalen Hurts wasn’t surrounded by former quarterbacks.

    It’s something the Eagles should keep in mind, especially if Brian Daboll and Mike McDaniel both land head coaching jobs … or if they both opt for one of the other 73 coordinator positions currently open across the league. (ESPN reported Tuesday night that McDaniel is expected to be hired as the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive coordinator.) Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore were both Division I starters in college. They both had assistants who were NFL backups. Under both, Hurts finished with a passer rating above 100 and went to a Super Bowl.

    Correlation doesn’t equal causation. Nor should it equal a strike against Daboll or McDaniel as the Eagles look to hire an offensive coordinator who can revitalize their stagnant scheme. Neither man came up as a quarterback. Daboll played safety at Rochester. McDaniel was a wide receiver (at Yale), just like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay and Josh McDaniels and Joe Brady (and Nick Sirianni and Kevin Patullo). Andy Reid was an offensive lineman. Bright offensive minds come in all shapes and sizes.

    But I’m not necessarily talking about scheme here. I’m talking about the other important parts of coaching: teaching, explaining, understanding, conveying. McVay and Shanahan are outliers, given their upbringing, which was so rich it barely needs introduction. (McVay, the grandson of 49ers executive John McVay, was once hired by Mike Shanahan, Kyle’s father.) Otherwise, it’s only natural that former quarterbacks would have an edge in understanding how a current quarterback sees the field. Ben Johnson, Liam Coen, Kevin O’Connell, Sean Payton … all former quarterbacks.

    Former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is a candidate for the Eagles’ job at offensive coordinator, although they have not spoken to him yet.

    Again, nothing against the wide receivers (or safeties). McDaniel is clearly the guy every team should have at the top of its list for lead play-calling duties. He went 31-24 with Tua Tagovailoa as his starting quarterback. Nobody schemes the running game better. The Eagles have yet to corral him for an interview, and maybe they won’t. But only because he has better opportunities.

    As for Daboll, he would be an easy choice to snicker at. Hard Knocks did him no favors. But the former New York Giants head coach would make a lot of sense. He is still well-regarded in Buffalo, where he oversaw Josh Allen’s transformation from a raw, erratic bust-in-waiting to one of the most singularly impactful quarterbacks in the game. He also could be around for a while if he misses out on a head coaching gig in the current cycle.

    Both Daboll and McDaniel bring with them the kind of experience that the Eagles lacked in 2023 and 2025 with first-time play-callers Patullo and Brian Johnson (the latter a former quarterback). The biggest weakness of this year’s coaching staff wasn’t just a lack of experience on Patullo’s part: It was a lack of experience behind him, particularly at the game’s most important position.

    Eagles need more than a new coordinator to revamp their offense

    Eagles quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler never took a snap in his four years at Michigan during the mid-’90s. Passing game coordinator Parks Frazier attempted 127 passes at Murray State. Quality control coach Montgomery VanGorder attempted 275 at Youngstown State. Combined, that’s a grand total of two seasons of lower-level collegiate starting experience and zero snaps at the FBS level.

    Compare that to Hurts’ support system in the halcyon days of 2022.

    Steichen played four years at UNLV (465 pass attempts). Johnson played four years at Utah (1,017 pass attempts). Alex Tanney spent nine years as an NFL backup after starring at Monmouth.

    Two years later, the Eagles turned their offense over to Moore, a former Heisman Trophy finalist who starred at Boise State. Quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier spent five years as an NFL backup after winning the Walter Payton Award, as the most outstanding offensive player in what was then known as Division 1-AA, at Idaho.

    Former Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is expected to have several offers.

    The Eagles were behind the eight ball when Moore left to become the New Orleans Saints’ head coach and took Nussmeier with him as his offensive coordinator. Thanks to their Super Bowl run, Sirianni and Howie Roseman had a thin market in which to find their replacements. The same thing happened on the defensive side of the ball post-2022 when Jonathan Gannon left for Arizona. Underlying the cliché and mythical Super Bowl curse are some very real variables.

    This time around, the world is the Eagles’ oyster. They’ve already interviewed Mike Kafka and Zac Robinson, both former NFL draft picks at quarterback. Neither has the sort of profile that fans are coveting, but Robinson in particular has an intriguing background. The Atlanta Falcons played some surprisingly competent football this season, scoring 24-plus points in nine games, two more than the Eagles. They finished ahead of the Eagles in yards per play and net yards per pass attempt in each of the last two seasons that Robinson spent as offensive coordinator after his stint on the staff of kingmaker McVay.

    Nick Sirianni’s forceful vote of confidence from Howie Roseman

    Robinson will presumably have multiple offers. There are plenty of intriguing situations out there: the Chargers under Jim Harbaugh and with Justin Herbert unless McDaniel has already taken that job, the Baltimore Ravens with Lamar Jackson, the Tampa Bay Bucs with Baker Mayfield and a deep offensive depth chart. Never before has the NFL seen this level of upheaval in a single offseason. Half of the league has an opening at offensive coordinator.

    Which makes Matt Nagy a guy the Eagles should talk to.

    He certainly wouldn’t win the headline battle. But he’s a former quarterback (Delaware) with plenty of experience who got a bit of a bum rap during his four-year stint as head coach of the Chicago Bears. Nagy went 25-13 in the 38 games that Mitch Trubisky started for him. That looks even more impressive in hindsight than it did at the time.

    Whomever the Eagles hire, their top priority should be bolstering the experience of the staff beneath him. Coaching can overcome personnel issues only to a certain extent. But Hurts isn’t going anywhere, and we’ve seen way more out of him than we saw in 2025. The right guy for the job isn’t just a great schemer. He is a communicator and an edifier, and he’ll know how to build a support system that is heavy on both traits.

  • At 18, South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito is heading to the Olympics: ‘I feel like I really achieved my dream life’

    At 18, South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito is heading to the Olympics: ‘I feel like I really achieved my dream life’

    Weeks before she had made the team, South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito was confidently saying, “when I go to the Olympics …”

    Levito, 18, who lives and trains in Mount Laurel, wasn’t being cocky. She knew; she had done the math.

    Qualifying for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics was “definitely a realistic goal for me for the past three years,” said Levito, the 2023 U.S. champion and 2024 world silver medalist. “But I felt like I had to prove myself again after missing a bit of last season with an injury.

    “But when the season was going the way it was going, score-wise, internationally, I just had to skate the way I can skate at nationals and have it solidified.”

    Isabeau Levito performs during the women’s free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis. She won the bronze medal.

    Indeed, with two clean programs and the bronze medal at the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships earlier this month, combined with strong results throughout the season and last year, that spot was hers.

    So when she met with Justin Dillon, chief high performance officer for U.S. Figure Skating, who told her reality show-style that she was on the team, Levito seemed happy but not surprised. Her head coach, Yulia Kuznetsova, however, was flooded with tears.

    “This is a huge dream for Yulia,” Levito said.

    Kuznetsova skated pairs while growing up in Russia and later in Disney on Ice, where she performed with her now-husband and another of Levito’s coaches, Slava Kuznetsov. But she never made it to that top frozen stage — until now as a coach.

    Kuznetsova also knew it was within reach. But the duo knew what they needed to do.

    Isabeau Levito performs during the women’s free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis. She won the bronze medal.

    They opted this season for a triple flip combination instead of a triple Lutz. They thought the flip had a better chance of being called clean. (This worked out, but her individual triple Lutz also has been getting better results lately.)

    “Next season, I really want to switch things around and do new things and have more fun with it,” Levito said, “because this season it was a matter of doing all the skills that I honed, all the things that are the most comfortable and the most reliable. But next season, let’s just start risking things.”

    South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito named to the U.S. Winter Olympic team going to Milan, Italy

    First, there’s that big trip to her mother’s hometown of Milan, Italy, where her grandmother and other relatives still live and where she’ll compete with and against her friends: the other American women, Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu, and many international skaters.

    She’s looking forward to being fully immersed in the Olympic experience and having her family see her skate. The opening ceremony is Feb. 6.

    “I am going to run this [Olympic] village,” she said. “This is going to be so fun.”

    She’s read about the village and watched TikToks from the Summer Games.

    “But I really have no idea what the Olympic Village is going to look like. That’s why I’m so excited to get there and explore it,” she said.

    Most of the ice sports, including figure skating, will be in Milan. The snow and sliding sports, plus curling, will be 250 miles away in Cortina and other mountain regions. This Olympics will be held in six villages across northern Italy.

    Before nationals, Levito had a lot of obligations. There were days when film crews came into the rink and stayed all day, cutting into her training time.

    South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito wins bronze at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships with a clean program

    The results were viral social media videos for sponsors such as Red Bull (she compares skills with a hockey player) and Everlane (she answers rapid-fire questions while getting ready to get on the ice at the Igloo Ice Rink in Mount Laurel).

    Now she’s back to a more typical schedule of skating for hours every day.

    “Everything’s exactly the same,” she said of her days on the ice. “What’s different, though, is how exciting it is going to the rink every day, being that I’m actually training for the Olympics right now.”

    Does Olympic prep include getting a tattoo of the rings, as so many athletes do?

    “I just don’t know if I would get a tattoo in general,” Levito said. “I think I’m going to start with the Olympic necklace,” which many Olympians sport.

    “If I did get a tattoo, it would be in such a hidden place, and it would be so tiny and microscopic. And I’m thinking to myself, ‘If that’s the circumstances I would get a tattoo under, maybe I should think about it for a while.’”

    Meanwhile, time is ticking, meaning she needs to shop for some formal dresses to wear at Olympic banquets and choose things to pack for any downtime.

    Levito said she likely will bring a couple of books as well as her bedazzling kit. Besides all the sparkles she wears on the ice, she enjoys adding rhinestones to her various makeup cases and a comb.

    “It’s so soothing,” she said.

    Isabeau Levito skates her short program at the Grand Prix de France in October.

    There is a lot of talk of extra bling: The three American women have a good chance of earning medals at the Olympics. But Levito isn’t thinking about that.

    “The village is what I’m focused on,” she said. “And obviously skating my best, but I can already feel like I will.”

    The pressure also is off a bit. With Glenn winning her third consecutive national title and Liu as the reigning world champion, Levito feels she’s less in the spotlight than she was a couple of years ago, when she won nationals and the silver medal at worlds.

    But it’s all good.

    “Honestly to me right now my life feels like perfect,” she said. “Dare I say I love everything that’s in my life, like personal life, and just like my goals that I’ve achieved, whether I’m under the radar or not?

    “I’m just so happy right now. I feel like I really achieved my dream life that I had in mind maybe five or some years ago. I feel like I’m really living what I was wishing for or envisioning for myself, so I’m just beyond proud.”

  • Villanova freshman Acaden Lewis is often praised for using his ‘off’ right hand. He’s actually right-handed.

    Villanova freshman Acaden Lewis is often praised for using his ‘off’ right hand. He’s actually right-handed.

    Because Acaden Lewis shoots a basketball left-handed, it is natural for observers to admire the way the freshman Villanova point guard uses his right hand.

    The admirers often wear headsets and announce games on television.

    There goes Lewis, using his other hand.

    Look at that, with the off hand.

    For most players, passing the ball with their nonshooting hand, dribbling to their nonshooting hand’s side, and using their nonshooting hand to finish a layup or floater takes a lot of practice. The movements can be unnatural.

    To be sure, Lewis has worked hard to sculpt a skill set that has allowed him to play right away and be the lead guard on what looks like an NCAA Tournament-bound Villanova team.

    But he isn’t left-handed.

    “I can’t do anything with my left hand,” Lewis said by phone this week as he forked noodles into his mouth using his right hand following a post-practice film session. “I can’t palm a ball. I can’t write. I can’t eat.”

    Acaden Lewis is averaging 12.1 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.4 rebounds for the Wildcats.

    How did a right-handed kid growing up in the nation’s capital learn to play basketball left-handed?

    “I actually have no clue,” Lewis said. “I think I just shot with my left hand when I started hooping.”

    Whatever works. And it’s working. Entering Wednesday night’s game vs. Georgetown, Lewis is at 12.1 points, 5.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game.

    His ability to use both hands is all over that stat line.

    “I think he has so much confidence in the fact that he can go both ways, and it’s not like you can shade him one way or send him to his weak hand,” Villanova coach Kevin Willard said.

    The NBA journey of former Villanova star Collin Gillespie seems unlikely to everyone — except him

    Willard first recruited Lewis out of high school when he was the coach at Maryland, but Lewis initially committed to Kentucky. It wasn’t until April, a few months before summer workouts, that Lewis withdrew his commitment from Kentucky and was back on the market. Villanova needed a point guard.

    During the recruiting process, Lewis told Willard and his staff that he actually was a righty.

    “I thought he was full of s—,” Willard said. “Because he was doing everything with his left.”

    Villanova guard Acaden Lewis lays up the basketball against Duquesne on Nov. 15.

    Willard noticed Lewis was good going both ways when he watched him, but it took floater drills during preseason practices for the coach to finally become a believer. Lewis was better with his right.

    “I was like, ‘Jeez, he must be right-handed,’” Willard said.

    Then, in October, during the installation of Villanova’s pick-and-roll defense, Willard noticed Lewis’ ability to run offense and pass effectively using his right hand. For most players, Willard said, there’s a “dramatic difference” when running an offense to their supposed weak side. With Lewis, it’s a strength.

    “We actually run some plays where he’s passing with his right hand because he can do it,” Willard said. “We don’t have to switch sides of the floor because he’s lefty. He gives me flexibility in the fact that we can run certain plays on the same side of the floor.”

    Villanova hits a ‘bump in the road’ after struggling with the physicality and experience of St. John’s

    Lewis, who has been named Big East freshman of the week four times, agreed with Willard that passing might be the most critical component of him being ambidextrous.

    “I think that’s the best thing I actually do with both hands,” Lewis said. “Either that or finishing. I think the passing ability is really dynamic. I can do all types of passing with both hands, so it’s never like I have to come across my body or have to make awkward movements to throw passes. It makes a lot of things comfortable for me.

    “It’s a little unorthodox, and it’s kind of hard to guard.”

    Acaden Lewis firing a pass to his left during Villanova’s win against Pittsburgh on Dec. 13.

    There is, however, no advantage to being strong with both hands on the defensive end, Willard said.

    “I wish it did [help him],” Willard said jokingly. “I think he wishes it did, too.”

    Lewis credited his knack for the ball as the reason he is averaging nearly two steals through his first 18 college games. But while Lewis is fourth in the Big East in steals, his defense and inexperience have landed him on the bench a few times this season, including for all but 19 seconds of the final 11-plus minutes of Saturday’s loss to St. John’s.

    Lewis, Willard said, takes to coaching. He was similarly benched during the second half of a season-opening loss to BYU and responded well.

    “I think one of the biggest things about a leader is, he admits when he [messes] up,” Willard said. “He owns it. I think other guys have really bought in to the fact that here’s a young guy that’s getting yelled at by the coach because he’s the point guard, but he’s the man taking it.”

    Fran Dunphy speaks for the first time about how the NCAA point-shaving scandal touched La Salle

    Having two dominant hands and arms on the basketball court has been key for Lewis during his first season, but beyond that, Willard said Lewis’ commitment to learning and studying has enabled him to play well right away. That part he expected. Eric Singletary, Lewis’ coach at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, which previously fed Villanova stars like Josh Hart and Saddiq Bey, raved about the student of basketball Willard was getting.

    What Willard didn’t know until Lewis got on campus was that Lewis is a “monster competitor,” the coach said.

    “I just never knew how much of a competitor, how much he wanted to win, and how much he wants to be good. I don’t think you ever really find that out until you start coaching a kid. He’s blown me away with how much of a competitor he is.”

    That, and the right-handed floaters.

    Acaden Lewis dribbles with his right hand as Creighton’s Nik Graves pursues him on Jan. 7.

    Those, and Lewis’ ballhandling skills, were developed during early-morning training sessions that started when Lewis was a freshman in high school. While Lewis is right-handed, he spent his youth mostly using his left on the court. His trainer, Kevin “Uncle Skoob” Kuteyi, would pick Lewis up full-court during 6 a.m. workouts and force the teen to beat the pressure, often dribbling to his right, and finish at the rim, again mostly with his right hand.

    It came naturally, thanks to Lewis’ right hand being his dominant hand.

    “Everything about me in basketball is left-handed, I would say,” Lewis said. “But I’m right-handed, so I’m ambidextrous, basically. It’s weird.”

    Weird, even ambiguous.

    Does Lewis consider himself right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous?

    “I’m a right-handed person who is left-handed when I hoop,” he said. “That’s how I would put it.”

  • Eagles’ key offensive players were better (or worse) than you might have thought, the advanced stats say

    Eagles’ key offensive players were better (or worse) than you might have thought, the advanced stats say

    For most of the season, the 2025 Eagles offense did not pass the eye test.

    Execution errors plagued them. The Eagles suffered from negative plays and penalties on early downs, setting themselves up for third-and-longs and ultimately forcing them to punt early and often. Options were seemingly limited in the passing game. Rushing lanes failed to open for a previously dynamic running game.

    But what do the underlying numbers reveal about the offense’s performance that could have implications going forward? Here’s one compelling advanced stat about each notable offensive starter, the first installment in a two-part series that will also analyze the defense:

    Jalen Hurts ran less, and was less effective when throwing downfield, but was still good on designed runs.

    Jalen Hurts

    One stat alone can’t sum up the season for Hurts, who plays the most important position on the team. So, let’s dissect two.

    First, the rushing component of his previously self-described “triple-threat” ability seemingly went by the wayside this season. Hurts, 27, averaged a career-low 1.7 designed rushing attempts per game this year, according to Next Gen Stats. That’s a notable decrease from his 2024 averages — 3.2 during the regular season and 3.8 during the Eagles’ four-game Super Bowl run.

    Even though he had fewer designed carries this year, he wasn’t any less effective. On 27 designed runs, he collected 143 yards and nine first downs, including a touchdown, good for 5.3 yards per carry (his career average is 5.2).

    Here’s the $255 million question: Why the decrease? Was it a matter of preserving the franchise quarterback, as Nick Sirianni suggested, or was it just a symptom of Kevin Patullo’s offense, as Hurts said? Will this trend persist in 2026, or will Hurts be called upon to use his legs to help invigorate the offense once more?

    Second, the downfield passing game wasn’t nearly as effective for the Eagles in 2025, which hindered an already limited air attack. Hurts completed 47.9% of his downfield passes (10-plus air yards), according to Next Gen Stats, the lowest percentage of his five seasons as the starter.

    Wins and losses were often reflected in his downfield completion rates. In the Eagles’ five losses this season (not including Week 18), Hurts went 10-of-17 for 233 yards, a touchdown, and an interception (58.8% completion rate) when targeting open receivers (at least three yards of separation) downfield.

    His 65.6% completion rate when targeting open receivers downfield this year was roughly 25 percentage points lower than last season’s (89.3%). Again, can the next Eagles offensive coordinator reverse this trend and improve Hurts’ downfield accuracy in 2026?

    The Eagles were fond of one specific kind of route for A.J. Brown.

    A.J. Brown

    At his end-of-season news conference, Sirianni noted that the next offensive coordinator will help “evolve” the offense. Perhaps that person will refresh the Eagles’ route concepts.

    Brown, 28, ran a hitch route on a career-high 24.9% of his total routes run, according to Next Gen Stats. A hitch is a short route that starts vertical, then requires the receiver to plant his foot and turn toward the quarterback for a pass. Brown’s hitch rate this season was the eighth-highest among receivers who ran at least 200 routes.

    Despite the lack of variety in his routes, Brown was still effective when targeted on those hitches. He collected 263 receiving yards and a touchdown on hitch routes, which ranked second in the league behind Dallas’ George Pickens (275).

    Brown wasn’t the only Eagles receiver who ran a lot of hitches. The entire group ran hitch routes on 22.1% of its combined routes, which was the second-highest single-season rate by a receiving corps since 2016 (23.4% for the 2019 Chicago Bears).

    DeVonta Smith showed he was more than merely a slot receiver in 2025.

    DeVonta Smith

    Smith may primarily line up as a slot receiver, but he was most effective when split out wide this season.

    The 27-year-old receiver aligned in the slot on a career-high 57.1% of his routes, according to Next Gen Stats. Still, he posted career bests when he lined up outside in yards per route run (3.1) and yards per target (11.9). Smith trailed only Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba (3.8) and the Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua (3.6) in yards per route run from the outside among 89 receivers (minimum 150 routes).

    His yards per target increased when split out wide to the right. He averaged 13.9 yards per target from that alignment, which led receivers (with at least 20 targets). Smith was particularly efficient downfield, as he caught 12 of 17 targets for 300 yards and a touchdown (17.6 yards per target).

    Will his efficiency on the outside change how frequently he lines up in the slot going forward?

    When the Eagles could prevent defenses from blowing up the backfield, the numbers show that Saquon Barkley was as effective as ever.

    Saquon Barkley

    Barkley eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for a second consecutive season (1,140), but he didn’t come anywhere close to his total of 2,005 from 2024.

    He didn’t get much help up front. According to Next Gen Stats, Barkley took hits behind the line of scrimmage on 47.1% of his carries, which was the ninth-highest rate among 49 running backs (minimum 100 attempts) this season.

    By comparison, the 28-year-old running back was hit behind the line of scrimmage on 37.7% of his carries in 2024.

    This season, Barkley averaged 1.1 yards before contact per carry, trailing his 2.4 clip from last year. When he was hit behind the line on 132 carries, Barkley combined for 93 yards (0.7 yards per carry) and produced a single explosive run. On the runs without contact before the line, he averaged 7.1 yards per carry and had a 18.2% explosive run rate (both are above the league averages of 6.5 and 15.8%).

    What can the Eagles do to improve their run blocking in 2026? Is it a matter of changing the personnel, banking on the improved health/performance of the existing players, or changing up the blocking schemes?

    Dallas Goedert’s red-zone effectiveness was to a league-best standard in 2025.

    Dallas Goedert

    No player was more sought-after in the red zone this season than Goedert.

    With his 10 red-zone touchdowns this season, the 31-year-old tight end accounted for 58.8% of the Eagles’ red-zone receiving touchdowns, according to Next Gen Stats. That was the highest share of any player in 2025.

    Goedert’s 11 total receiving touchdowns were tied for the most among tight ends (with Arizona’s Trey McBride) and tied for the second-most among all players (trailing the Rams’ Davante Adams).

    Hurts may look to someone else in the red zone next season. Goedert is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year.

    The presence (or absence) of Lane Johnson (left) had an every-play effect on the Eagles running game.

    Lane Johnson

    The Eagles felt the absence of Johnson, the 35-year-old right tackle, in the seven games he missed at the end of the regular season because of a Lisfranc foot injury.

    There was a difference in the running game’s efficiency with and without Johnson on the field, especially on carries to the right side. When Johnson was playing, the Eagles averaged 4.6 yards per carry (84 carries) on designed runs to that side, according to Next Gen Stats. Without him, going into Week 17, the Eagles averaged 3.2 yards per carry (97 runs) on those same runs.

    In that same span, the Eagles amassed 26 yards before contact on designed runs to the right without Johnson (and 288 yards after contact).

    Will Johnson be back for his 14th season with the Eagles, giving an instant boost to the running game? Or will he be unable to overcome his injury and call it a career?

    Tyler Steen was up and down in his first year as a primary Eagles starter.

    Tyler Steen

    Steen, 25, was the only new starter in the 2025 Eagles offense, replacing Mekhi Becton at right guard.

    He had his struggles in pass protection. According to Pro Football Focus, he conceded 37 pressures, which were tied for the third-most among guards with at least 500 pass blocking snaps. Those pressures broke down to two sacks, one quarterback hit, and 34 hurries on a total of 626 pass blocking snaps.

    Is Steen the long-term starter at right guard? Or will he face competition in training camp again as Howie Roseman retools the roster for 2026?

    Cam Jurgens is headed back to the Pro Bowl, but the numbers suggest it wasn’t his best year.

    Cam Jurgens

    It was an injury-riddled year for Jurgens, who underwent back surgery after the Super Bowl in February. He also played through a knee injury and suffered a concussion in 2025.

    Despite earning a second-straight Pro Bowl nod, Jurgens was seldom dominant in the running game. According to Sports Info Solutions, Jurgens posted a 5.9% blown run block rate on more than 300 run blocking snaps, which reflects the percentage of blocking snaps on which a player had a blown run block. That rate led starting centers.

    Can Jurgens’ struggles be attributed to his injuries? Or did the 26-year-old center simply regress, providing cause for concern for next season?

    Landon Dickerson’s biggest issues were in pass protection.

    Landon Dickerson

    Like Jurgens, Dickerson also pushed through myriad injuries in 2025. After playing through a knee injury in the Super Bowl, he dealt with meniscus, back, and ankle ailments this season.

    Dickerson wasn’t his sharpest in pass protection, allowing 33 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. That total is tied for the second-highest in his five-year career despite posting a career low in pass-blocking snaps (506). Those pressures broke down to five sacks, seven quarterback hits, and 21 hurries, finishing No. 13 in pressures among guards with at least 500 pass-blocking snaps.

    Is the 27-year-old left guard capable of healing up and returning to his three-time Pro Bowl form in 2026?

    Jordan Mailata was very good in pass protection in 2025.

    Jordan Mailata

    While the offensive line struggled as a whole, Mailata fared better than his counterparts in pass protection.

    The 28-year-old left tackle conceded 28 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, which ranked No. 6 out of 28 tackles with at least 600 pass-blocking snaps. The 28 pressures allowed were the third-fewest of Mailata’s six-year career as a starter. Meanwhile, Mailata’s 602 pass-blocking snaps were the third-highest total of his career.

  • Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones voted into Hall of Fame; Chase Utley could be next in 2027

    Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones voted into Hall of Fame; Chase Utley could be next in 2027

    Now batting in Cooperstown … Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones.

    On deck … Chase Utley?

    Beltrán and Jones were elected Tuesday to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, an anticipated outcome after the center fielders fell short last year by 19 and 35 votes, respectively. Beltrán’s name was checked on 84.2% and Jones’ on 78.4% of ballots cast by 425 members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

    Despite its status as a glamour position, center field has been underrepresented in the Hall of Fame for nearly a half-century. Since 1981, only two full-time center fielders received the three-quarter majority needed for election by the writers: Kirby Puckett in 2001 and Ken Griffey Jr. in 2016.

    Who’s next? Sizing up the Hall of Fame chances for four Phillies on the ballot.

    Beltrán and Jones will join slugging former second baseman Jeff Kent, elected last month by a special committee, at the July 26 induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y. And as soon as the Class of 2026 was set, the focus shifted to next year’s voting cycle.

    Will it be Utley’s turn?

    In his third year on the ballot, the Phillies’ iconic second baseman made another leap in the vote totals, climbing to 59.1% from 39.8% last year and 28.8% in 2024. Utley picked up 94 votes from last year, the third-largest gain after pitchers Félix Hernández (plus-115) and Andy Pettitte (plus-96).

    Based on those trends, Utley could be positioned to rise above the 75% threshold next year, though 2028 might be more realistic. Utley’s surge is similar to, but slightly ahead of former Phillies third baseman Scott Rolen, who went from 35.3% in 2020 to 52.9% in 2021, 63.2% in 2022, and finally 76.3% in 2023.

    Chase Utley picked up 94 votes from last year, the third-largest gain after pitchers Félix Hernández (plus-115) and Andy Pettitte (plus-96).

    Utley was among four prominent ex-Phillies on the ballot, including two teammates from the 2008 World Series champions.

    • Jimmy Rollins made his biggest jump in five voting cycles but still has a long way to go. Rollins reached 25.4%, up from 18% last year.
    • Cole Hamels made a strong debut on the ballot at 23.8% at a time when many voters are considering adjusting their standards for contemporary starting pitchers. Hernández, for example, vaulted to 46.1%, more than double his first-year result (20.6%).
    • Bobby Abreu bounced to 30.8% in his seventh year on the ballot, up from 19.5% last year. But with only three more voting cycles remaining, he’s still far from 75%.

    Although Utley’s candidacy already built momentum, it’s possible it got a tail wind from the election of Kent, who failed to reach 75% in 10 tries on the writers’ ballot. Utley could get another boost next year from Buster Posey’s first appearance on the ballot.

    Posey, a seven-time All-Star catcher and three-time World Series champion, figures to receive strong consideration despite getting only 1,500 career hits. The writers hadn’t elected a player with fewer than 2,000 career hits since Ralph Kiner in 1975 until Jones got in with 1,933. Utley finished with 1,885.

    Otherwise, Utley’s candidacy is rooted in a peak that lasted at least six seasons and as many as 10, depending on the voter’s perspective. From 2005 to 2014, he had a 127 OPS-plus and ranked second among second basemen in extra-base hits behind Robinson Canó, who was suspended twice for failing a drug test. Utley also had the second-most wins above replacement of any player, trailing only Albert Pujols.

    It took four years for Beltrán to clear the 75% mark. The delay was a referendum on neither his two-way greatness nor his postseason brilliance but rather his role in the illegal sign-stealing scheme that aided the Astros’ 2017 World Series title in Beltrán’s 20th and final season.

    But Beltran was a nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner. He was among four players to reach 2,700 hits, 400 homers, and 300 steals, joining Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodríguez.

    Jones waited nine years to get elected, largely because of his sharp decline after his age-30 season and domestic violence charges filed against him in 2012. His candidacy appeared to stall over the last two years, but he made the jump from 66.2% last year.

    A 10-time Gold Glove winner, Jones hit 434 career homers in 17 major league seasons.

  • Paul George out Tuesday vs. Suns with left knee injury management

    Paul George out Tuesday vs. Suns with left knee injury management

    Paul George will miss Tuesday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns at Xfinity Mobile Arena with left knee injury management.

    This comes after the 76ers forward missed Monday’s 113-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers with the same designation. George is averaging 15.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 23 games. Tuesday’s game will mark the 19th game (of 42) that he has missed this season. George missed the start of the season after recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in the offseason.

    Sixers center Joel Embiid (right ankle injury management) is also sidelined due to not being cleared to play on both nights of back-to-backs. The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder finished with a game-high 30 points on Monday.

    With the star duo out, Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre Jr. join Dominick Barlow, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe in Tuesday’s starting lineup.

  • The reeling Flyers needed a spark Monday. Bobby Brink provided it in his first game back from a concussion.

    The reeling Flyers needed a spark Monday. Bobby Brink provided it in his first game back from a concussion.

    SANDY, Utah ― Was Bobby Brink the Flyers’ good luck charm?

    Without Brink, the Flyers lost six straight. After he returned Monday, they snapped the skid and beat the Vegas Golden Knights, a team that was on a seven-game heater.

    “I don’t think we changed anything,” he said Tuesday after the Flyers had a high-tempo practice at the Utah Mammoth’s practice facility near the picturesque Wasatch Mountains. “Sometimes you’re going to go through tough stretches [and] you play a long season. The way we were playing worked for us earlier in the year; it’ll work again. So, I think we showed that [Monday] night, didn’t change a thing, and it worked out for us.”

    Flyers takeaways from ‘a gutsy win’ against the Golden Knights

    While Brink will, of course, not take any credit for being a catalyst, the coach did think his return helped boost the Flyers’ game.

    “Really, really well,” Rick Tocchet said of Brink’s game.

    “Bobby, for a guy that’s been out for a couple of weeks with that injury … I just like his speed to the middle. I mean, it’s noticeable when you’re on the bench, when you have those guys that can carry that puck with speed, separate, and transport the puck. We missed that speed from him.”

    That injury was a concussion.

    The Flyers forward missed the entire six-game losing streak after getting blindsided by Jansen Harkins in the first period of the Flyers’ 5-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 6.

    It was the first time in his hockey career that he dealt with this type of injury.

    “A concussion is never easy,” he said Tuesday. “It’s a different type of injury than a lot of, maybe arms and legs and stuff. But the medical staff was good to me, and we got through it, and now I’m back playing.”

    Concussion recovery is not a straight line. Steps and milestones must be met in a graded return-to-play progression before one can put a game jersey back on.

    “Just slowly kind of work up to game-level again,” he said of the ramping-up process. “Try to keep the symptoms to the least amount that you can and try not to elevate them as you’re working. Work on some vision stuff and balance, and try to rewire the brain to make it feel good again.”

    Bobby Brink missed six games with a concussion after taking a blindside hit against Anaheim on Jan. 6.

    According to the NHL’s concussion evaluation and management protocol, a player can only return when he does not have symptoms at rest, the symptoms do not return when he exerts himself at an NHL game’s pace, and the team’s doctors confirm he has returned to neurological and neurocognitive baselines.

    Although Tocchet said they may monitor his ice time because of the injury, Brink skated 13 minutes, 28 seconds Monday, including more than two minutes on the power play. Tocchet did say some of his cut-back ice time was due to the exorbitant amount of penalties (seven) the Flyers took in the game. Brink had one shot on goal, two missed shots, and blocked two more.

    Travis Konecny scores twice, Flyers snap six-game losing streak with 2-1 win at Vegas

    And he was back on a line with Matvei Michkov and Noah Cates.

    The trio played together in nine games before Brink got hurt, beginning on Dec. 16 in Montreal. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers scored five goals and allowed one with a 64.63% expected goal share. On Monday, when they were on the ice against the Golden Knights, the Flyers had seven shot attempts and allowed eight. They outshot the opposition 4-2, but allowed two scoring chances.

    “It’s never fun sitting and watching, so it was good to be able to kind of come back and get in the game and go to battle with the guys,” Brink said.

    Brink has 11 goals and 20 points in 42 games this season. The 24-year-old is one goal away from tying his career high set last season in 79 games and is shooting a career-best 15.3%. He is tied with Cates for the team lead in game-winning goals and has four points on the power play.

    Breakaways

    Forward Sean Couturier did not participate in Tuesday’s practice. “Maintenance day,” Tocchet said. “Just wanted to give him a rest.” … Goalie Dan Vladař did not participate in practice but did skate on his own on the other rink in Utah during the team’s practice time. Vladař was placed on injured reserve on Monday after suffering an undisclosed injury in the Flyers’ loss to the Buffalo Sabres last Wednesday. … Asked about Rodrigo Ābols, Tocchet didn’t want to say he would be out for months, “but it was a pretty tough injury.” Ābols was injured Saturday against the New York Rangers when he appeared to get his right toe stuck in the ice along the boards in the offensive zone, and his ankle buckled. He was unable to put weight on the leg as he was helped off. One of the first players named to Latvia’s team for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, he was replaced on the nation’s roster on Sunday.

  • Why is a Pennsylvania school celebrating Indiana’s national title? It’s more than the name.

    Why is a Pennsylvania school celebrating Indiana’s national title? It’s more than the name.

    Despite sharing half a name, Indiana University of Pennsylvania has no connection to Indiana University (located in Bloomington, Ind.). So why are some IUP alumni celebrating after the other Indiana won its first football national championship on Monday night in Miami?

    The answer is Curt Cignetti. Before Cignetti’s Indiana team completed arguably the most improbable undefeated season in the history of the sport with a 27-21 win over the Hurricanes on their home field, Cignetti was the coach at Division II IUP.

    Cignetti left his spot on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama in 2011 to take the IUP job, which was his first head coaching job. Cignetti’s father, Frank Cignetti Sr., played football at IUP and spent 20 seasons as the school’s head coach before retiring in 2005.

    Curt Cignetti’s path to the CFP national championship included a stop at Temple and lessons from John Chaney

    Curt Cignetti amassed a 53-17 record in six seasons with the Crimson Hawks, departing in 2016 to become the head coach at FCS Elon. Two of Cignetti’s assistants at Indiana, offensive coordinator Michael Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, were on staff with Cignetti at IUP.

    So while the Hoosiers and the Crimson Hawks are not connected in any official capacity, IUP fans have plenty of reason to celebrate the Hoosiers’ perfect season. Cignetti even gave a nod to his IUP roots while on the podium with ESPN.

    “Back when I was waxing the staff table at IUP, Thanksgiving weekend and the school was shut down for the playoffs, did I ever think something like this was possible?” Cignetti said. “Probably not. But if you keep your nose down in life and keep working, anything is possible.”

    The school shared a video clip of Cignetti’s podium remarks on its official Facebook page.

    “Congratulations Coach Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers!” IUP’s post read. “We are so proud to be a part of your story!”

    Many members of the IUP community took to social media to express their excitement about the Crimson Hawks being represented on college football’s biggest stage.

    “My freshman year at IUP was Curt Cignetti’s final season coaching our D2 football program,” Seth Woolcock posted on X. “The field there is named after his dad. This guy is Western PA born & raised. Watching him take IU to the Natty is the greatest sports feat of my lifetime.”

    A few posters pointed out that Cignetti is not the only prominent coach to spend time at IUP. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni spent three years coaching wide receivers for the Crimson Hawks before joining the pro ranks in 2009.

    “We wake up this morning to the fact that the winning head coaches of the most recent CFP and the Super Bowl were once coaches at IUP,” Matt Burglund posted on X on Tuesday morning.

    Nick Sirianni’s relative, Pete, made the same connection between Cignetti and the Eagles coach. Pete’s post references IUP alum Ben McAdoo’s unsuccessful stint as head coach of the New York Giants, acknowledging that “the IUP Difference only works for some.”

    IUP had connections to both sides of Monday night’s title game, as Miami’s athletic director, Dan Radakovich, played football for the Crimson Hawks and graduated from IUP in 1980. Cignetti’s connection to the school seemed to overpower any Miami favoritism among IUP fans.

    “Our Pick?” the IUP Alumni Association wrote in a Monday morning Facebook post. “I-N-D-I-A-N-A all the way!”

  • J.T. Realmuto is glad to be back with the Phillies and believes he can bounce back at the plate

    J.T. Realmuto is glad to be back with the Phillies and believes he can bounce back at the plate

    Just a few hours after J.T. Realmuto’s new contract became official Tuesday morning, he was at the Phillies’ facilities in Clearwater, Fla.

    Pitchers and catchers don’t report until Feb. 11, but Realmuto’s family typically heads to Florida in mid-January. Not only does it offer a reprieve from chilly weather of his offseason home in Oklahoma, it also gives him a head start on his preparation for the year.

    The routine seems like it will hold for the next few years after Realmuto re-signed with the Phillies for three years and $45 million. The new deal will take Realmuto, who turns 35 in March, through his age-37 season. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Realmuto, the Phillies designated utility man Weston Wilson for assignment.

    The Phillies were ‘very close’ to getting Bo Bichette and ended up with J.T. Realmuto. Here’s how it happened.

    “I’m glad we’re back here, and this is where we wanted to be the whole time,” Realmuto said. “My focus was just on my legacy here and being able to finish my career with the Phillies and not having to uproot my family and start over.”

    But the veteran catcher conceded Tuesday that there were points during his free agency when it felt like an agreement wouldn’t come together. While both parties had been interested in a reunion from the beginning, they disagreed on the dollar amount.

    “In my opinion, catchers are just undervalued in this game, as far as contracts and dollars go,” Realmuto said. “I truly believe it’s one of, if not the most important position on the field.”

    Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto struggled at the plate last season but believes he can get back on track with a few tweaks.

    The Phillies were prepared to move on from Realmuto last week as discussions intensified with free-agent shortstop Bo Bichette and had contingency plans in place at catcher. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said they had other targets they could have added to their mix of Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs.

    But when the New York Mets swooped in with a shorter-term, higher-dollar offer for Bichette — which Dombrowski described as a “gut punch” — the Phillies then called Realmuto back with an improved offer.

    “We’re thrilled that J.T. is back because that was always a priority for us over the wintertime,” Dombrowski said. “We think he was the best catcher out there, as far as free agency was concerned.”

    Murphy: No reason for the Phillies to hang their heads about Bo Bichette as the Mets go wild

    Realmuto posted one of his worst offensive seasons in 2025, hitting .257 with a .700 OPS over 134 games. But he remained elite defensively at catching runners stealing, catching plus-6 runners above average, according to Statcast.

    For his pitching staff, most of Realmuto’s value comes from the work he does behind the plate and behind the scenes.

    “Every time that I walk in, J.T. is already in the kitchen. He has a laptop in his hands. He’s looking at the opposing team, coming up with the report, helping us out,” Cristopher Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “And I just think that’s a testament to him and the preparation that he puts [in] for us to go out there and [be] able to thrive.”

    Added reliever Tanner Banks: “After games, [he’s] doing workouts when guys are showering to go home. He’s a bulldog behind the dish.”

    Realmuto said he was “self-aware” about his offensive decline over the last few seasons, but he believes he can turn it around.

    “I know that I haven’t had my best years [the] last couple years, but I do believe that it’s not, like, age or physically related,” he said. “It’s something that I can improve on and work on and be better for the years to come.”

    His training regimen is a big part of that, and it has evolved over the years. Rather than lifting as heavily as possible and bulking up, as he did when he was younger, Realmuto now focuses on training for mobility and longevity.

    How can Don Mattingly help Bryce Harper? It starts with his star power.

    The aging curve typically is unforgiving for catchers. Yadier Molina is the only other catcher in baseball history to start more than 130 games behind the plate in his age-33 season or beyond.

    Realmuto played 132 games behind the plate last season, at age 34, and stayed healthy. With a multiyear deal, the Phillies are betting that Realmuto can continue to defy the odds.

    “He’s a great athlete. I mean, a lot of times you don’t see catchers in that same type of situation,” Dombrowski said. “… It wouldn’t shock me if you’re sitting here in another three years, and J.T. is talking about a multiyear contract beyond that. He’s that type of individual. You look at historical aspects, but I also think you’re talking about a unique individual that will continue to perform very well.”

    Extra bases

    Zack Wheeler continues to progress in his rehab from thoracic outlet decompression surgery and has thrown up to 90 feet. “He looks good, but there’s no guarantees when he’s going to get up on the mound. He eventually will,” manager Rob Thomson said. … There is mutual interest between Sánchez and the Dominican Republic national team for the World Baseball Classic, but Sánchez said he still is discussing it with the Phillies and has not made a decision on his participation.

  • Tyrese Maxey beats out Cooper Flagg to crack top 10 of NBA’s jersey sale list

    Tyrese Maxey beats out Cooper Flagg to crack top 10 of NBA’s jersey sale list

    Halfway through the regular season, with All-Star Weekend slowly approaching, the NBA has announced its best-selling jerseys from the season thus far — and Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has cracked the top 10 of the sale list.

    The 25-year-old has easily become a fan favorite throughout his six seasons in Philadelphia. And following Monday’s announcement that the former league’s Most Improved Player will be starting in his first All-Star Game this year — earning his second All-Star nod — those jerseys will most likely be even more in demand.

    Maxey, who currently averages 30.2 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds, was followed on the list by Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg, and Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant. Golden State’s Stephen Curry and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic top the list.

    Nine players on the list have been named starters for the 2026 All-Star Game, with Lakers star LeBron James as the only player to miss the cut.

    Here’s the full top 15:

    1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
    2. Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
    3. Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
    4. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
    5. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
    6. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
    7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
    8. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
    9. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
    10. Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
    11. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
    12. Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets
    13. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
    14. Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
    15. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers

    Meanwhile, the Sixers were named one of the teams with the top-selling NBA merchandise, coming in at No. 5 above the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

    Here’s the full top 10:

    1. Los Angeles Lakers
    2. New York Knicks
    3. Golden State Warriors
    4. San Antonio Spurs
    5. Philadelphia 76ers
    6. Boston Celtics
    7. Minnesota Timberwolves
    8. Oklahoma City Thunder
    9. Dallas Mavericks
    10. Denver Nuggets