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  • Off-duty sheriff’s officer shot a teen in Southwest Philly, police say

    Off-duty sheriff’s officer shot a teen in Southwest Philly, police say

    An off-duty sheriff’s officer shot a 17-year-old in Southwest Philadelphia early Tuesday morning.

    Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters the off-duty officer saw the teenager, who has not been identified, breaking into his private vehicle around 3:32 a.m. on the 7300 block of Bunting Place.

    “For reasons unknown at this time,” the officer, and a member of the officer’s family, fired their guns at the teen inside the car, Small told reporters.

    Philadelphia police crime scene unit gathers evidence at shooting by off-duty sheriff at 7300 block of Bunting Place, early Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. An off-duty Philadelphia sheriff’s deputy and a family member shot a teen, allegedly trying to steal their car, a Honda Accord.

    Four shots total were fired, according to Small, before the teen fled the scene.

    Around 20 minutes later, a teenager was transported by a private vehicle to Presbyterian Medical Center, where the officer involved in the shooting identified the wounded teen. The teenager was placed in stable condition.

    Map of where an off-duty sheriff’s officer shot a 17-year-old in Southwest Philadelphia on Feb. 10.

    Small noted that the teen was in possession of commonly used car theft tools, like a screwdriver, extra key fob, and other items. He told reporters at the scene that investigators found four spent shell casings and newly broken locks on the car’s doors.

    The teenager was placed in custody at the hospital with charges pending.

    The off-duty sheriff’s officer and their family member are uninjured and cooperating with the investigation. The family member involved in the incident had a license to carry the firearm used in the shooting, Small said.

  • 🥃 Olde-fashioned love stories | Morning Newsletter

    🥃 Olde-fashioned love stories | Morning Newsletter

    Morning, Philly. The city’s snowpack is close to thawing. In the meantime, it’s still causing hardship for commuters and students — including those at Greenberg Elementary in the Northeast, which relocated kids on Monday due to weather-related building issues.

    McGillin’s Olde Ale House has leaned hard into being the place where more couples have met than anywhere else in Philadelphia. The Center City pub even hosted a reunion for them.

    And what makes someone love their grocery store? Ask the local shoppers who are already missing their Amazon Fresh, despite less-affectionate feelings about the chain’s billionaire owner.

    — Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Love in this pub

    McGillin’s Olde Ale House has a well-earned reputation as matchmaker. An estimated 200-plus couples have met at the 166-year-old pub. Among the people who found love on Drury Street:

    🍻 The Italian visitor impressed by the bold woman sitting at the bar

    🥃 The regular who disagrees with his now-wife over the details of their 1969 meeting — and whose brother met his own wife there

    🍗 The Tinder user whose suggested date of beer and wings led to a pub proposal three years later

    Ahead of Valentine’s Day, meet these couples and more in Zoe Greenberg’s report from McGillin’s inaugural reunion party for lovers.

    More on romance: Looking for the perfect date-night spot to take your cutie of choice? Answer five questions and let our Date Finder match you with the best local restaurant for your vibe.

    ‘It actually started to feel like a neighborhood grocery store’

    E-commerce giant Amazon recently closed all of its physical Amazon Fresh stores, including six in the Philadelphia area. Nearly 1,000 local workers were laid off.

    The chain’s closure has prompted strong responses from some shoppers — not because they love the Jeff Bezos-owned company, but because they feel loyal to their stores’ employees, as well as to what’s cheap, close to home, or has the best selection.

    And they don’t expect to feel the same way about Whole Foods if the fellow Amazon brand takes over the old Fresh stores.

    In their own words: “I don’t feel bad for Amazon,” a former patron of the Northern Liberties location told The Inquirer. “I feel bad for the workers … I feel bad for the community members.”

    Consumer reporter Erin McCarthy has the story on what makes a Philly shopper loyal to a grocery store.

    🍋‍🟩 In other food news: Philly-based national delivery service Gopuff says orders for limes during the Super Bowl jumped more than 600% over previous Sundays in 2026.

    What you should know today

    Quote of the day

    The Southwest Philadelphia-born singer is the star of a Visit Philly’s Indivisible campaign, a yearlong initiative highlighting the city’s diverse tourist destinations during America’s 250th birthday.

    Plus: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was born at Carpenters Hall in Old City, where it declared its independence from Britain. The historic site is celebrating the state’s own Semiquincentennial with a yearlong event series.

    🧠 Trivia time

    Moore College of Art and Design announced Monday that it will consider making what big change in 2027?

    A) Ending its focus on visual arts

    B) Moving to the suburbs

    C) Opening undergraduate programs to men

    D) Doubling in size

    Think you know? Check your answer.

    What and whom we’re …

    💃 Applauding: The Mayfair woman who helped break down Bad Bunny’s halftime show stage in under seven minutes.

    🏒 Watching: These Czech and Canadian Flyers teammates play each other at the Olympics.

    🍣 Saying goodbye to: Center City’s longest-operating Japanese restaurant.

    🦅 Reviewing: Our updated guide to the 2026 Eagles offseason.

    🇺🇸 Considering: What American citizenship means now.

    🧩 Unscramble the anagram

    Hint: Malvern-based investment company

    VANDA RUG

    Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

    Cheers to Priscilla Samuelson, who solved Monday’s anagram: Willistown. Roadside bakeries are growing in Chester County, including in this township.

    Photo of the day

    Felix Wu (right) of Rittenhouse, and Hao Tong are out on a walk with their dog Kubo, 6, during a cold evening at Rittenhouse Square.

    Jump for joy! Slightly warmer weather is on its way. See you then.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

  • Trump didn’t bring impunity to immigration enforcement

    Trump didn’t bring impunity to immigration enforcement

    Many Americans were shocked by the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal immigration agents. Many more were repulsed by the federal government’s lack of transparency, victim blaming, and obfuscation of the facts regarding the shootings.

    But as border residents can tell you, what’s playing out in places like Chicago and Minneapolis is, in many ways, nothing new.

    Although the administration has taken that lack of accountability to a nauseating low — interfering in federal and local investigations — impunity around immigration enforcement did not begin when Donald Trump took office.

    Since 2010, more than 300 people have been killed in incidents involving on-duty Border Patrol agents, according to a tally kept by the Southern Border Communities Coalition. Out of that number, 74 have been killed by agents using force.

    Those figures are likely an undercount, as the agency has a history of failing to report deaths its agents are involved in. It also consistently fails to seriously discipline agents who face abuse complaints. A 2017 report by the American Immigration Council found a host of problems with the complaint system and investigation process, resulting in little accountability.

    Focusing on the use-of-force killings, I am not saying that all 74 were unjustified. As Gil Kerlikowske, who led U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017, told me, agents often work by themselves in rural border stretches and can run into dangerous smugglers.

    But as Kerlikowske also told me, when he arrived at CBP, the agency had an outdated use-of-force policy that wasn’t available publicly, had no internal affairs division, and the only tools available to agents were firearms.

    “They’ve always had a culture that’s distinct, you know, going back to their early days,” he said. “They did have that kind of Wild West kind of culture.”

    That’s putting it mildly. While Kerlikowske instituted a series of important reforms around use of force, which he said his successors continued and improved upon, deep lasting change is slow and difficult.

    As a 2021 report detailed, the agency “has been steeped in institutional racism and has committed violent acts with near impunity” since its creation in 1924. Lest you think that attitude got left behind last century, in 2019, a Facebook group that included around 9,500 current and former agents was found to be littered with racism and misogyny.

    While I’ve known Border Patrol agents who zealously enforce the law while never losing sight of their humanity, who would hand over their lunch to a hungry migrant they just detained, current and former CBP agents were involved in the killings in Minnesota.

    This file photo taken in 2017 shows the boundary in Nogales, Mexico, with the United States and a poster of Juan Antonio Elena Rodriguez, a teen who was shot and killed across the line by a Border Patrol agent in 2012.

    The men who shot Pretti were identified by ProPublica as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP officer Raymundo Gutierrez. Jonathan Ross, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who killed Good, began his law enforcement career in 2007 as part of the Border Patrol.

    I hate to be cynical, but if past is prologue, President Trump and administration officials needn’t have bothered putting their thumb on the scale after the shootings. The few times agents are held to account, the result is rarely justice.

    In the last 35 years, only three Border Patrol agents have been charged and tried for killing someone in the line of duty. In all three cases, juries failed to convict.

    Michael Elmer was charged with second-degree murder after the 1992 shooting of Dario Miranda Valenzuela in Nogales, Ariz. Elmer fired 12 shots, hitting Valenzuela twice in the back. He then moved the body and didn’t immediately report the incident, according to the Arizona Daily Star. He was acquitted.

    Nicholas Corbett was charged with murder for killing Francisco Javier Domingo Rivera near Douglas, Ariz., in 2007. The agent’s account did not match up with eyewitness testimony or the physical evidence. The Cochise County Attorney’s Office eventually declined to prosecute after two trials ended in hung juries.

    Lonnie Swartz was tried twice, once for second-degree murder and later for involuntary manslaughter, in the 2012 shooting death of 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez. I was an opinion writer at the Daily Star in Tucson, Ariz., when this case went to trial in 2018. The facts were undeniable: Swartz shot across the Nogales border fence into Mexico a total of 16 times. He stopped and reloaded. He hit the unarmed Elena Rodriguez eight times in the back and twice in the head from an elevation of around 14 feet.

    That two juries found Swartz not guilty is unconscionable.

    Taken in total, the message that federal immigration agents keep receiving — from the government and from juries — is that they can continue to operate with impunity.

    Those who have long advocated for reform in these agencies say perhaps things will begin to change as a result of the deaths of Good and Pretti because they were white Americans. But this isn’t about race or immigration status, it’s about unchecked power.

    Kerlikowske, at least, is optimistic about what happens once Trump is out of the White House.

    “The Border Patrol isn’t trained to work in cities. That’s not why they hired on. They didn’t hire on to go work in Chicago or Minneapolis,” he said. “I think the vast majority of these folks will be happy to be back doing what they were doing.”

    Let’s hope that when they do, they do so with a renewed commitment by the government to transparency and accountability. Otherwise, it may be back to business as usual.

  • Changes to Philly’s special-admission process exacerbated low enrollment at some magnets. Now, the district is trying to close them.

    Changes to Philly’s special-admission process exacerbated low enrollment at some magnets. Now, the district is trying to close them.

    Lankenau High’s 11th-grade class is tiny — just 25 students.

    That’s one of the reasons why closing the school is for the best, Philadelphia School District Associate Superintendent Tomás Hanna said at a community meeting last week.

    At small schools, Hanna said, programming options are limited and “what’s left behind is very difficult environment for young people.”

    The district proposes merging Lankenau into Roxborough High as an honors program — a move that officials say will maximize opportunities for students at both schools. That proposal has been met with fierce opposition from the Lankenau community, whose members say stripping the school of its identity and removing it from its unique location on 400 wooded acres is unjustifiable.

    But the district is responsible for some of the enrollment issues at Lankenau and some of the other 20 schools that Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. has recommended for closure. Schools with large numbers of empty seats were targeted under the plan, which the school board is expected to vote on this winter.

    When the school system dramatically revamped its special-admissions process in 2021, moving to a centralized lottery from a system where principals had discretion over who got into the district’s 37 criteria-based schools, enrollment dropped at some magnets.

    For the 2022-23 school admissions cycle, Lankenau, Motivation, Parkway West, and Parkway Northwest — four of the 20 schools tagged to close — had dozens of unfilled seats in their ninth-grade classes.

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    The district set academic standards for admission to those schools, and stopped allowing schools to admit students who were close to meeting academic requirements and who demonstrated they would be a good fit for the individual schools, as had been done in the past. (Officials said they wanted to centralize admissions to avoid demographic imbalances at schools; those four magnets did not have a history of them.)

    The district’s using Lankenau’s tiny now-junior class to justify closings infuriated many, including Matthew VanKouwenberg, a science teacher at the school.

    Lankenau’s size “is a district-designed and district-created problem,” VanKouwenberg said. Though the lottery was begun for equity reasons, “the result is disastrous.”

    But Tonya Wolford, the district’s chief of evaluation, research, and accountability, said Lankenau, Motivation, Parkway West, and Parkway Northwest had declining numbers of students applying prior to the lottery changes.

    And for years, those schools accepted large numbers of students who didn’t meet the district’s criteria, Wolford said.

    Dramatic enrollment drops after district orders

    The data are clear: After the district pushed changes to the admissions process, the four schools all saw dramatic drops in enrollment — and some of them never recovered.

    Motivation, in West Philadelphia, had a freshman class of 83 students and a total enrollment of 336 in 2022-23. It saw a 77% drop in its ninth- grade class — just 19 freshman in 2023-24. The school now has 151 students, and the district wants to close it and make it an honors program inside Sayre High School. It is operating at only 15% of its full capacity.

    The Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School in Roxborough.

    Lankenau, in Upper Roxborough, had 91 freshman in 2022-23, then 31 in 2023-24, a 66% decline. It now enrolls 225 students. The school is using 49% of its capacity.

    Parkway Northwest had 77 ninth graders in 2022-23, then dropped to 30 in 2023-24, a 61% decrease, and is 60% full. It’s got 248 students this year, and the district wants to close it and make it an honors program of Martin Luther King High.

    And Parkway West had 54 freshman in 2022-23, then 19 the following year, a 65% decrease. It now has just 140 students, and is using 40% of available seats. It’s proposed to close and become part of Science Leadership Academy at Beeber.

    A staffer who worked at Parkway West as the special-admissions process changes rolled out said they were devastating to the school, which typically filled three-quarters of its slots for incoming ninth graders with students who qualified on every measure, and a quarter by feel.

    Parkway West High School, in West Philadelphia, is proposed to close under a Philadelphia School District facilities proposal.

    “We found kids who maybe missed one criteria, but they were good kids, and had strong recommendations,” said the staffer, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to a reporter.

    When Parkway West lost that ability, its enrollment tumbled, and never recovered.

    Lankenau community members say interest in their unique school has never waned, but the size of their incoming classes continues to be limited by the district — even beyond the admissions changes.

    For the applicant class set to start high school in the fall, 107 students listed Lankenau as their first choice, staff said, and 95 have accepted Lankenau’s school board offer.

    But since 2022-23, district officials have limited Lankenau to two sections of ninth graders, and with class sizes capped at 33. So despite having interest and students enough for 99 freshmen, it won’t have staff for more than 66.

    In the last few years, staffers said, more than 66 students show up at the start of the school year. But with only enough teachers for 66, classes are overcrowded and some students end up transferring out.

    “That is the only reason we lose enrollment,” said Erica Stefanovich, a Lankenau teacher. “We wouldn’t be in this situation if they hadn’t put us in it. This is an artificial problem.”

    But, Wolford said the trend lines were clear for Lankenau and other schools.

    In 2019-20, for instance, the prior to the district’s admissions changes just 34 students met Lankenau’s criteria, but 81 students accepted offers for the ninth-grade class, Wolford said. That same year, eight students qualified for Parkway Northwest on paper, but 34 were admitted, according to district data.

    Schools like Lankenau and Parkway Northwest “were existing without following the criteria,” said Wolford.

    Trees, bees, and a Lorax

    Lankenau is putting up a spirited battle to stay open.

    Last week, an overflow crowd — more than 100 students, staff, parents, representatives from Lankenau’s many partner organizations, and community members — packed the school for a student showcase and district-led meeting about the closure. Some students dressed as trees, bees, and a Lorax, the Dr. Seuss character who “speaks for trees” — to emphasize the importance of their school’s setting amid 400 acres of woods.

    Community members at Lankenau High School applaud a student telling district officials why the school should not close. Lankenau is one of 20 Philadelphia School District schools proposed for closure.

    First, Lankenau students wowed visitors with presentations — about their study of natural resources, about the experience of foraging for ingredients to brew their own artisan teas — and then, it was down to business. Lankenau is too small, officials said, and the district must find ways to offer a more equitable experience for all students.

    “I don’t discount that there is magic inside of these walls,” Deputy Superintendent Oz Hill said. “What I’m sharing with you is if we can take that magic and enhance it with more extracurricular activities, more expanded academic programming, the sky’s the limit.”

    The parents, students, and staff in the audience weren’t having it.

    Lankenau was just certified to become the state’s only three-year agriculture, food, and natural resources career and technical education program — a designation that took years to achieve, and cannot transfer to a new building.

    Officials are proposing closing Lankenau a year and a half from now; that’s not enough time for the district to reapply for the designation for a new Lankenau-inside-Roxborough CTE program.

    District officials said at the meeting that they believe their “close relationship” with the state education department will give them enough time to get a new Roxborough program certified in time for the Lankenau closing.

    Multiple parents told district leaders they would not send their children to Roxborough High.

    And Akiraa Phillips, a Lankenau ninth grader, said she couldn’t imagine attending school in another setting.

    In Lankenau’s current setting, “learning doesn’t stop at the desk. Our campus is the classroom,” Akiraa said. “We learn science by being in it. Here, we don’t just talk about ecosystems, climate, and sustainability, we walk through it. That kind of learning sticks with you. You can’t stick this into any random building and expect it to work.”

    The community turned out in full force, but politicians and other decision-makers were in the room, too. Three school board members, including president Reginald Streater, attended the meeting.

    State Sen. Sharif Street (D., Philadelphia), the front-runner to replace U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans in Congress, said he “was against closing the school,” but noted that the decision didn’t rest with him, and said the state needed to better fund schools “because we have not met our obligation to fully fund the program.”

    And Councilmember Cindy Bass said she was particularly incredulous that the district was attempting to close a successful magnet — Lankenau has a 100% graduation rate.

    “If it works, why are you breaking it?” Bass said. “I do not understand what the logic and the rationale is that we are making these kinds of decisions. We’re not just closing a school, we’re disrupting the lives of young people.”

  • These outsourced Vanguard workers will be offered their jobs back

    These outsourced Vanguard workers will be offered their jobs back

    When Vanguard Group outsourced more than 1,300 retirement-plan office jobs to Infosys in 2020, both companies pitched the deal as a win for the Philadelphia region, not just another cost-cutting move.

    India-based Infosys called it a first step in attracting work from other U.S. financial employers.

    But with Infosys moving jobs back to Vanguard, the Trump administration discouraging visas for foreign workers at U.S. contractors, and Vanguard opening a large tech center in Hyderabad, India, that deal now looks as though it may have been a high point in U.S. outsourcing, not a sign of bigger things ahead.

    Vanguard spokespeople in 2020 stressed that Infosys planned to use the outsourced workers to open a “Mid-Atlantic Center of Excellence” facility in Malvern.

    Infosys officials said they hoped to hire more U.S. workers to outsource work from financial companies into the center under a veteran Vanguard manager, Martha King.

    Martha G. King headed a retirement services unit at Vanguard Group and moved with a large part of her team to Infosys when the work was outsourced in 2020.

    It was “the largest-ever deal signed in Infosys history,” Pravin Rao, chief information officer, told investors in a conference call the day after the deal.

    The stock jumped 15% on the news. Infosys president Mohit Joshi promised to improve retirees’ investment experience and set a higher service standard.

    But the expected new business didn’t materialize. Infosys’ growth slowed after 2020. The company’s stock is now worth less than when it signed the Vanguard deal, and its major U.S. office centers are elsewhere.

    The Vanguard arrangement itself has partly unraveled. Infosys “is in the process of transitioning services back to Vanguard,” according to a report an Infosys official in Atlanta sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry on Jan. 27.

    As a result, 248 remaining Infosys employees who work on Vanguard projects are being laid off this spring and summer. That includes 70 record-keeping account administrators, 32 project managers, and others in smaller categories.

    All but 10 will be offered jobs at Vanguard, according to the note, which referred state officials with any questions to a manager at Infosys’ Business Process Management (BPM) group in India.

    That Infosys BPM outsourcing unit, initially financed by New York-based Citibank, had grown through the 2000s and 2010s by acquiring other outsourcing firms in the United States, Europe and Australia, adding business even as the backlash against outsourcing U.S. jobs grew.

    The outsourcers tended to have lower pay. Vanguard employees who made the switch to Infosys got reduced benefits. New hires were paid lower rates than Vanguard veterans, according to former Vanguard and Infosys employees.

    President Donald Trump has said he will curtail H-1B visas for foreign workers who come in the U.S. to work for outsourcing companies and other contractors and added $100,000 yearly application fees, though these have not been applied to all H-1B employers.

    H-1B remains an important source of technology workers for U.S. government contractors and for state government contractors in Pennsylvania,New Jersey, and other states.

    Two people familiar with Vanguard operations says it will continue to have some work done by Infosys and other tech outsourcing contractors.

    Vanguard and Infosys declined to answer questions about what work Infosys will continue to perform for Vanguard.

    Vanguard offered a general statement: “We’re proud to attract top talent to deliver the best possible outcomes for our clients. We also value our relationships with outside specialists who bring unique skillsets and the flexibility to allow us to deliver for our clients.”

    A check of U.S. H-1B visa records shows Infosys relied less on foreign workers for its U.S. operations since signing the 2020 Vanguard deal — whether because it hired more Americans as promised or also because of a slowdown in new business.

    The total of Infosys H-1B visa holders in the U.S. peaked at around 21,000 in 2019, the year before the Vanguard deal, falling steadily to around 5,800 last year. The number of Infosys visa holders in Malvern dropped even more steeply over that period, the records show.

    But during the same period, Vanguard’s own use of H-1B visas for company employees increased, from an average of under 100 a year from 2020 to 2023, to more than 200 in each of the last two years.

    The visa holders include Vanguard’s $625,000-a-year-salary head of investor advice and wealth management, a post occupied by Canada native Johana Rotenberg, and its $300,000-a-year head of fraud strategy, now occupied by a banking-industry veteran, Pooja M, from India. Veteran Vanguard managers receive most of their pay as fund bonuses.

    Most of the Vanguard H-1B visa workers were paid between $100,000 and $200,000 a year. Roughly half of the Infosys visa workers were paid $100,000 a year or less.

    Inquirer staff writer Joe Yerardi contributed to this article.

  • Forget the apps and algorithms. To find love, maybe just go to a 166-year-old bar.

    Forget the apps and algorithms. To find love, maybe just go to a 166-year-old bar.

    McGillin’s Olde Ale House, the 166-year-old pub in Center City long owned by the same family, has determined that being a matchmaker is a strategic advantage in a crowded industry.

    Of course they serve draft beer, Philly cheesesteaks, and wings — but the bar has leaned especially hard into being, in its own description, the place where more couples have met than anywhere else in Philadelphia.

    At McGillin’s first reunion for such couples this month, attendees seemed less like regulars at a bar and more like alumni of the same beloved college club, touched by those who came before and rooting for those to follow.

    Everyone wore red-and-white name tags with the year their significant McGillin’s romantic event had taken place. The upstairs bar, where couples sat under tinsel hearts and drank from frosted glasses, was warm and close. There was merch; the crowd clapped especially hard for long marriages.

    Merch on display at McGillin’s, including a snow globe that says “where it all began.”

    It was also a media event: four TV news stations, as well as the Philadelphia Citizen and The Philadelphia Inquirer, came to capture the famous McGillin’s couples. Irene Levy Baker, the bar’s longtime publicist and author of the new book Cheers to McGillin’s, Philly’s Oldest Barwhich has its own chapter devoted to “mating magic,” is clearly good at her job.

    She is in touch with more than 200 couples who found love at the bar, and McGillin’s has so far filled up four guestbooks of signatures and anecdotes: Met New Year’s Day 2002. Engaged 9/22/12. Met here in 1996 when I was waitressing. Still together in 2024!

    “We actually met for the first time one bar stool over. I was eating a grilled cheese sandwich,” said Emily Dowling, 28, sitting beside her husband, Giacomo Trevisan, after a keynote presentation of McGillin’s love stories. Dowling and Trevisan’s name tags were marked 2022.

    On the fateful night that year, Dowling was out with a friend and Trevisan was visiting for the first time, having just arrived in the United States on an extended work trip from Italy. Hearing him speaking Italian, Dowling asked what had brought him to town.

    “I was impressed that a girl would just start talking to me. In Italy, it doesn’t work like that,” Trevisan, 32, said.

    The two got married less than a year later. They closed out the night of their wedding with a drink at McGillin’s.

    Irene Levy Baker, McGillin’s longtime publicist, and Chris Mullins Jr., co-owner of the bar, led a toast to couples who met there.

    In a world of loneliness and dating app dread, in which people pay matchmakers and make PowerPoint presentations and even take out billboards looking for love, there is a certain nostalgia to the idea that a bar, with salvaged oak tables and framed liquor licenses dating back to 1871, is the best place to find it. At some point, the legend probably becomes self-fulfilling.

    During an interview, Baker googled “where do couples meet in Philadelphia,” and the AI summary dutifully reported that “couples in Philly meet in classic old spots like McGillin’s Olde Ale House.”

    Diane and John Davison, for example, met in 1969: He was a regular, she was a first timer. The downstairs bar was smoky and packed. Patrons passed glasses of beer hand-to-hand above the crowd because no one could reach the bar.

    “I remember the first time I saw her face,” John said. “Nice smile.”

    “I remember the night,” Diane, 79, said. “John and I don’t exactly agree on some of the details.”

    The two have been married for over 50 years, and the bar is an intimate part of their story. John’s brother, who has since passed away, also met his wife at McGillin’s. Just before Christmas, John celebrated his 80th birthday there, and the other diners sang to him.

    At right, Diane and John Davison, who met at McGillin’s in 1969.

    Both Baker and Christopher Mullins Jr., who co-owns the bar with his parents, have theories about why McGillin’s is a magnet for connection: it’s unpretentious, it’s approachable. The tables are close. The beer obviously helps.

    At night it can get packed, but the atmosphere during the day is cozy; a fire crackles in the downstairs grate and patrons order soup for lunch.

    “We don’t want to be old-fashioned and forgotten, but we want it to be the same kind of feel that people experienced 50 years ago,” Mullins said.

    Kaitlynn and Amanda Capoferri laugh while telling their love story at the bar where they met.

    Of course, there are some differences. Kaitlynn Capoferri, 32, mentioned wanting to get wings and beers at McGillin’s — on her Tinder profile. So Amanda Capoferri, 32, asked her on a date to the bar in 2017.

    When Amanda proposed at the bar three years later, “All I could get out of my mouth after stumbling to pull the ring out of my pocket was, ‘I know how much you love McGillin’s, and I can only hope that you love me as much.’” (They’ve been married for four years).

    It’s all part of the lore, carefully curated and growing by the day.

    “There is one guy who sometimes comments on the Facebook page and he’ll say, ‘I met my wife there and we’re divorced now,’” Baker said. She wasn’t deterred. “I’m like, ‘Well, I’m glad you found love here once. Be sure to come back.’”

  • Czechia goalie Dan Vladař will face Flyers teammate Travis Sanheim at Olympics: ‘That’s going to be a fun one’

    Czechia goalie Dan Vladař will face Flyers teammate Travis Sanheim at Olympics: ‘That’s going to be a fun one’

    Dan Vladař joked that he told Travis Sanheim that once they land in Italy, the Flyers teammates will no longer be buddies, and that he’s blocking his number.

    At least … we think he’s joking.

    The Flyers goalie and native of Czechia, formerly the Czech Republic, will face Sanheim, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet, and Canada in the opening Group A game for both teams at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday (10:40 a.m., USA, Peacock). Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will be suiting up for Finland, which is in Group B and plays Slovakia on Wednesday (10:40 a.m., USA, Peacock).

    “That’s going to be a fun one,” Vladař told The Inquirer about playing the Canadians. “You know, I think I know more of his weaknesses than, hopefully, they know about my weaknesses, so I’m going use that power against them.”

    And the chatty goalie will 100% throw some chirps Sanheim’s way — maybe even in Czech — if he’s in net. Of course, there are no guarantees that he will be the starter at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, but there’s a good chance.

    His teammate Karel Vejmelka has more games (44) and wins (27) this season than Vladař (17 wins in 33 games), but the Flyers netminder has a better goals-against average (2.47) and save percentage (.905) than the Utah Mammoth goalie and Lukáš Dostál of the Anaheim Ducks.

    Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim is ready to take on Czechia with Team Canada.

    “Obviously, you don’t really want to share too much, but he’s been awesome for us this year,” said Sanheim when asked what he’ll tell his Canadian teammates about Vladař.

    “He’s a big reason why we’ve been in a lot of games and [I’m] not really looking too forward to going up against him. He’s been playing great — and I don’t score on him too much in practice.”

    Prague proud

    After toiling behind Tuukka Rask in Boston and Jacob Markström and Dustin Wolf in Calgary, Vladař is getting a chance to be a No. 1 goalie in Philly. And now he’ll get a chance to show his talents on the world stage as he tries to help his country win its first Olympic medal since the 2006 Torino Olympics and its first gold since the 1998 Nagano Games. In the final of that tournament, Dominik Hašek pitched a shutout against Russia, almost six months to the day after Vladař was born in Prague.

    “I was too little to remember anything,” Vladař said, “but just watching the highlights, and basically, I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m even playing hockey, is because, you know, obviously, my parents were watching, and the whole country was watching.

    “So I’m pretty sure a whole new generation of players are coming from that era. So, obviously, it’s going to be a great time for me, and I’m really proud.”

    Vladař is proud of Czechia and his hometown, Prague, and it shines through on his goalie mask. Working with Langhorne’s Franny Drummond of Paint Zoo Studios, who also designed his NHL game mask and worked with the Flyers’ goalies and children on their Hockey Fight Cancer masks, he brought his vision to life — with a twist.

    After having to scrap his original mask plan because the International Ice Hockey Federation and the International Olympic Committee did not approve it — Drummond told the Snow The Goalie podcast at the Flyers Charities Carnival that they originally had lions and lightning on the side — Vladař went simple with a tribute to home.

    On the sides are the national crest with the skyline of Prague, including Prague Castle and Prašná brána or the Powder Tower — “It’s a piece of my heart, back home, and I’m proud that I can be from the beautiful city like that,” he said — underneath each crest.

    Dan Vladař worked with Langhorne’s Franny Drummond of Paint Zoo to design his Olympic goalie mask.

    The checker pattern pulled from the team’s jerseys is intermixed, and the back plate sports the names of equipment managers, athletic trainers, and team service members.

    “I think they deserve it,” Vladař said.

    “Overall, in hockey, they don’t really get enough credit for the time they spend around us, and whatever they do for us. … So this is just a little something that I think I can do for them to get their names out there and just maybe people start recognizing them a little bit more.”

    Although he has the Flyers staff on his mask in Philly, there’s a chance he may need to cover the names in Italy based on IIHF and IOC guidelines.

    “We couldn’t really go wild with that because they’re pretty strict with the Olympics. But at the same time, I think, it’s simple, but simple is power,” he said.

    “I think it turned out to be a pretty cool, simple mask … and I’m always going to look up to it with hopefully a bunch of really good memories.”

    Mettle to Medal

    Like his friend Michal Krčmář, a Czech biathlete who won silver in the 10 kilometer sprint at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and is competing on Tuesday, there’s a good chance the Czechs will make some noise.

    David Pastrňák (Boston Bruins), Martin Nečas (Colorado Avalanche), Tomáš Hertl (Vegas Golden Knights), and former Flyers Radko Gudas (Anaheim Ducks) and Lukáš Sedlák (HC Dynamo Pardubice) will play in front of Vladař as he goes for his first medal since the 2014 IIHF Under-18 World Junior Championship.

    At that tournament, he was the backup to Vítek Vaněček when the Czechs lost to the United States in the gold medal game. That same year, he earned another silver as the starter against Canada in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, giving up four goals, with one scored by his Flyers teammate Travis Konecny.

    Flyers goaltender Dan Vladař uses his stick to stop the puck against the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 5.

    The netminder last played for Czechia at the 2025 IIHF World Championship — his first appearance since the 2017 World Juniors — posting a 3-0-0 record in four games with a 1.09 GAA and a .951 save percentage; Vladař relieved Vejmelka in the Czechs’ quarterfinal loss to Sweden.

    “I’m just proud I can be there,” he said of being in Milan. “Obviously, we have a lot of goalies that are successful, whether they are playing in NHL or in the top leagues in Europe.

    “So for me, it’s a big honor that I can be part of that group. And, obviously, I’m probably going to have a little tattoo on my body, too, because after 12 years, you just don’t know if you’re going to ever have the opportunity to go.”

  • House of the week: A mid-century modern home in Drexel Hill for $729,900

    House of the week: A mid-century modern home in Drexel Hill for $729,900

    “I hate to leave it,” said Stephanie Tauman, “but it’s just too big for me.”

    Tauman has spent six years in her four-bedroom, 3½-bathroom 1957 mid-century modern home in Drexel Hill. She bought the house sight unseen in 2019 after viewing it online.

    But now, at 3,314 square feet, “it has gotten very big,” so she is planning to move to a smaller home. Tauman, an artist and art teacher, hopes to settle in Philadelphia.

    Living room

    She does not know who originally commissioned the split-level house. She already owned some mid-century modern furniture and other items when she bought it.

    The approach to the house is along a slate walkway with arts and crafts style light fixtures. The exterior is stone and mahogany, and the foyer has a slate and mahogany theme.

    The four bedrooms are on the top level, and there are three terraces connecting to the outdoors.

    Kitchen

    The middle level has the foyer, dining room, kitchen, and sunken living room, which includes a working gas fireplace.

    The first level has the family room, powder room, and two-car garage with a heated workroom.

    The finished basement has Tauman’s art studio.

    Front hall

    The eat-in kitchen has a 36-inch cooktop, double convection wall ovens, Corian countertops, and refaced cabinetry.

    The family room has a wet bar with sink and second dishwasher.

    Terrace

    The primary bedroom has an en suite bathroom with whirlpool tub, stand-up shower, walk-in closet, and views of Pilgrim Park.

    Another bedroom has mahogany built-ins and could serve as a nursery or study. The hall bath has a large corner bathtub.

    Primary bedroom

    There is a high-capacity water heating system and landscape lighting.

    The house is listed by Joseph Bograd of Elite Realty Group for $729,900.

  • Joel Embiid’s return from a mysterious knee problem finally matured him. He’s playing like an All-Star, snubbed or not.

    Joel Embiid’s return from a mysterious knee problem finally matured him. He’s playing like an All-Star, snubbed or not.

    For the first time in a 12-year career that has been as sporadic as it has been incandescent, Joel Embiid is performing to the level of his potential.

    If that sounds demeaning for a player who won the NBA MVP award in 2023, then you didn’t appreciate his unprecedented potential then and you don’t appreciate his diminished potential now.

    Embiid had a chance to be the best big man in NBA history. However, a lack of professionalism rooted in indifference to discipline both on and off the court, combined with a cascade of injuries rooted in bad conditioning and bad luck, always limited his performance. He has missed almost half of the Sixers’ games in his career. This time last year, a lingering knee injury brought him to the brink of irrelevance.

    Now, though, he seems to be the best possible version of himself. His new self. And he’s only getting better.

    “I continue to see improvement,” Sixers president Daryl Morey said last week. “He feels like he’s improving still.”

    How?

    He listened to his doctors. He lost weight. He adjusted his game and is more deferential. He became a better teammate. He might not be going to the All-Star Game this weekend, but he’s playing at an All-Star level.

    Sixers coach Nick Nurse will not play Joel Embiid on the second night of a back-to-back.

    Embiid said last week he doesn’t care about what would be an eighth All-Star appearance: “I don’t need validation from anybody. I’m just excited to be playing every night.”

    Everything is a bonus.

    “Coming into this year, I thought it was going to be more of a tryout year,” he said.

    He’s played in only 31 games, which is probably why he was not elected as an All-Star by the fans, media, and players, who vote on the starters; nor by the coaches, who vote on the reserves.

    After all, Embiid missed 14 of the 76ers’ first 22 games as he grew accustomed to a new body and a new mindset and committed more fully to his rehab regimen.

    That commitment has borne fruit. Embiid has played in 23 of the last 30 games, averaging 29.4 points and 8.2 rebounds in 33.8 minutes in that span. The Sixers were 14-9 in those games entering Monday. They held the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, which is vulnerable due to the absence of stars in Boston and Indiana.

    Given the intermittent nature of a playoff schedule, there’s no reason to think that Embiid couldn’t be similarly productive throughout a postseason run. He doesn’t play in back-to-back games, and he probably never will again, but there are no back-to-backs in the postseason. He did not play Monday in Portland due to right knee soreness, another enduring issue, but missing just seven of 30 games on 31-year-old knees that have undergone a total of four procedures has been a best-case scenario.

    “We thought that Joel could still get to this level and play to this level,” Morey said. “I think there was a lot of very reasonable skepticism. But all I ever had was talking to our medical staff and doctors, and there was a lot of confidence that he could get to this place if he put in the time.”

    That was a big “if.”

    “He has,” Morey said.

    Clearly.

    Sixers center Joel Embiid shoots over New Orleans Pelicans guard Micah Peavy on Jan. 31.

    What, exactly, happened?

    Following the timeline of Embiid’s injuries is as convoluted as reading a map to Blackbeard’s treasure.

    Embiid underwent meniscus surgery in February 2024. He returned in April for the Sixers’ failed playoff run, then foolishly participated in the Paris Olympics with Team USA (he’s a naturalized citizen).

    He showed up for training camp on Sept. 30 both out of shape and far behind on his rehab, and missed the first three weeks of the season. He was hopeless when he returned. The Sixers insisted the knee was fit for play and there was no further injury, but Embiid could not endure the pain and swelling. Doctors said the process of recovery involved strengthening the muscles that surround the knee; weight loss, to reduce the stress on the joint; and overall body strength to better distribute the load. He just got worse.

    Embiid played in just 19 games last season, and, after the 16th one, suggested to a television reporter that he needed another surgery. To that end, Embiid eventually visited Dr. Jonathan Glashow, a Manhattan-based orthopedic surgeon and NBA specialist. Glashow performed an arthroscopic procedure on April 9.

    This, of course, undermined the medical advice Embiid received from at least six other doctors.

    So what, exactly, did Glashow do? Nobody will say. The Sixers, who since 2013 have been cursed by injuries like no other NBA team, are relatively transparent regarding significant medical procedures, at least eventually. Not this time.

    Glashow last month posted on social media, but only to offer thanks to a grateful Sixers community and to offer vague praise of Embiid’s “dedication and hard work.”

    The surgeon did not, however, reply for comment for this story.

    So, the question remains: What did Glashow do? Did he discover an injury other doctors missed?

    About a year ago I wrote a column interviewing orthopedic surgeons who detailed options open to Embiid, many of which might have cost Embiid this season. When presented with the options, the Sixers acknowledged that the list was complete.

    League sources indicate that Glashow did not perform any of the more radical procedures. According to the sources’ knowledge, Embiid underwent the most minor possible procedure on the list: putting the arthroscope into the knee, making sure there was nothing new causing irritation, and getting out.

    After the visit to Glashow, sources say, everything improved. Maybe the big guy got scared straight. Embiid got better rest, he ate smarter, he was even more focused in his rehab sessions. He lost weight. His pain tolerance increased.

    Maybe it just took more time than expected. Everybody heals at a different rate. Everybody’s commitment to rehabilitation is different. Doctors can project typical timelines, but returning to play seldom follows a straight line. There are setbacks. There are plateaus. The body has to develop compensatory strength and stability for strength and stability that has been lost forever.

    At any rate, less than a calendar year later, Embiid is back — at least, he’s more “back” than anyone expected.

    Can it last?

    Joel Embiid’s $188 million contract extension will kick in next season.

    Sustainability

    The Sixers will have 28 games left after the Knicks visit Wednesday and the All-Star break begins, with six back-to-backs. Can Embiid play in, say, 22 games? After this season, the Sixers owe Embiid $188 million over the next three years. How much will he be able to give them when he’s 34?

    “We do think it’s sustainable,” Morey said.

    He’s in good hands. Embiid singled out Simon Rice, the team’s vice president of athlete care, as the main reason for his comeback. But it’s not as if the Sixers hired Rice and then Embiid got better. Rice has been with the Sixers since 2020.

    No: This is less about the doctors than it is about the patient. Since last spring, Embiid simply has been more professional. More mature.

    Sixers sources say that, after Tyrese Maxey called him out last year for chronic tardiness, Embiid has not been as late as often for the team bus or the team plane. He is more present in the locker room during the team’s downtime. He has been more engaging with young players like rookie VJ Edgecombe, with new players like Dominick Barlow, and with fringe players like Quentin Grimes.

    Maybe Maxey’s emergence as the team’s MVP and spokesperson relieved from Embiid the pressure of a role for which he was never equipped.

    “He’s like the fun-loving uncle now,” said one Sixers insider.

    That’s something.

    He’s not MVP-level Embiid, and he never again will be. His defensive movement will never return to the all-defensive levels of his youth, but his positioning is good, and he occasionally blocks a shot. He’s even started dunking again. Gently.

    “I think, from now on, every single day … keep stacking them up, it’s only going to get better. With the hope that, whether it’s by the playoffs or next year, I’m really, really back to being myself. I’m on my way there,” Embiid told the Inquirer during the team’s West Coast trip.

    That’s a pipe dream, of course. But Embiid is so gifted that this new version certainly should be an annual All-Star contender.

    It’s always been hard to quantify Embiid’s intangible value. You can say he’s ninth in “DARKO” or seventh in “PER” or whatever composite metric you like, but the eye test will tell you that Embiid once again is among the NBA’s best players, night in and night out.

    That’s the truest test of an All-Star.

  • Your updated guide to the 2026 Eagles offseason: Staff changes, free agency targets and more

    Your updated guide to the 2026 Eagles offseason: Staff changes, free agency targets and more

    The 2025 NFL season officially came to an end Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks dominated the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl.

    The Eagles are no longer the defending champions, and their early exit from the playoffs one month ago has already ushered in major changes. Out is offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, in is new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, and with him more changes to the offensive coaching staff.

    The Eagles are facing a key offseason as they aim to make changes and improvements to make sure their Super Bowl window remains open in 2026 and beyond.

    Here’s an updated guide to the offseason:

    Coaching staff changes

    The Eagles hired Mannion, the 33-year-old Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach, on Jan. 29, and since then there has been some additional turnover on the offensive coaching staff.

    A day later, the Eagles hired one of their other offensive coordinator candidates, Josh Grizzard, to be the pass game coordinator.

    Mannion also brought Ryan Mahaffey with him from Green Bay and the Eagles made him the run game coordinator and tight ends coach. Notably, Mahaffey is replacing Jeff Stoutland in the run game coordinator role. Stoutland, the Eagles’ longtime offensive line coach, who worked under three head coaches since he was hired in 2013, decided to step away from coaching with the Eagles.

    Stoutland’s departure is a big one, as he has long been regarded as the best offensive line coach in the NFL. The Eagles hired his replacement on Monday by bringing in former Vikings offensive line coach Chris Kuper, who was with Minnesota as the line coach for the last four seasons before his contract expired. Kuper crossed paths with Mannion in 2023, when Mannion was a quarterback on the Vikings’ roster. He also worked under Vic Fangio as an assistant offensive line coach when Fangio was the head coach of the Denver Broncos (2019-21).

    The new hires also indicate that Parks Frazier, the pass game coordinator this season, and Jason Michael, the tight ends coach, could be on their way out with the Eagles as the team revamps its offensive scheme under a new coordinator.

    On the defensive side, there was a brief scare when Fangio was mulling retirement, but the defensive coordinator made the decision to return to the Eagles for the 2026 season. Fangio’s exit would have been a big blow, especially considering that the Dallas Cowboys plucked Eagles defensive backs coach Christian Parker, a highly regarded, 34-year-old up-and-comer, to be their new defensive coordinator. It had always seemed like a matter of time until Parker, who was also the defensive pass game coordinator, was lured to a better job with another team, and that time came.

    Parker, of course, has been instrumental in helping the Eagles develop their two young All-Pro defensive backs, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Those young players will now be under the tutelage of Joe Kasper, who will assume the role of defensive backs coach after being promoted from safeties coach, a position the Eagles need to backfill.

    Did Jaelan Phillips show the Eagles enough to get a new contract from them this offseason?

    Roster decisions

    Scheduled free agents

    The Eagles have 20 pending free agents — 10 on offense, nine on defense, and punter Braden Mann.

    Offense

    TE Dallas Goedert: Goedert reworked his deal last offseason to stay with the Eagles and scored a career-best 11 touchdowns, a tight end record for the team. Considering the Eagles don’t have any tight ends on the roster, they may look to bring the 31-year-old back after he got through the season relatively healthy.

    WR Jahan Dotson: The little-used third receiver could find a new home this offseason. WR3 is a tough position on this team behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and it seems unlikely the Eagles will find it worth bringing Dotson back.

    OT Fred Johnson: Johnson left for free agency after last season, but the Eagles traded for him before the season for some insurance at tackle, and they needed it. It remains to be seen how the Eagles approach the draft and free agency, but Johnson’s return would put an experienced body on the depth chart.

    TE Grant Calcaterra: As mentioned, the Eagles don’t have any tight ends. Calcaterra has been productive when the Eagles use him as a pass catcher, but he’s not a great blocker, and the Eagles need their tight ends to block.

    OL Brett Toth: The do-it-all lineman has been a valuable asset in the offensive line room. He can fill in at any position.

    TE Kylen Granson: Granson was a big part of the Eagles’ special teams, despite having a limited role in the offense. The tight end position is in flux, but Granson could return as a depth piece.

    OL Matt Pryor: The Eagles brought back a familiar and experienced face in the offseason for some depth. Pryor gave that and provided positional versatility. But he wasn’t all that great in relief.

    RB AJ Dillon: Dillon started the season in the mix to get snaps behind Saquon Barkley, but he fell out of favor after the Eagles traded for Tank Bigsby. Dillon was inactive for most of the second half of the season and logged just 12 carries. The Eagles are pretty set at running back with Barkley, Bigsby, and Will Shipley.

    QB Sam Howell: The Eagles weren’t comfortable with Kyle McCord as QB3, so they acquired Howell before the season. McCord has since landed with Green Bay.

    FB Ben VanSumeren: VanSumeren changed positions from linebacker to fullback and made the 53-man roster, but his season ended with an injury on the opening kickoff in Week 1. The Eagles signed Kansas City’s Carson Steele to a futures contract. Will they bring back VanSumeren and have a fullback competition?

    Defense

    Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips: The deadline acquisition stepped in right away and was a difference-maker along the defensive line. The Eagles need a top-end edge rusher to add to a unit that has Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith under contract. Phillips would make sense.

    LB Nakobe Dean: Dean returned from patellar tendon surgery in the middle of the season and looked like he didn’t miss a beat. But the Eagles drafted his replacement last season in Jihaad Campbell.

    S Reed Blankenship: Blankenship has been a big part of the defense for the last four years. He has started 50 games and is a leader. The Eagles are thin at safety, but it remains to be seen what Blankenship’s market looks like and if the Eagles will be in the mix.

    CB Adoree’ Jackson: Jackson was up and down in training camp and to start the season, but he played his way into a starting job opposite Mitchell. He’ll be 31 next season, and the Eagles probably want to get better at CB2.

    S Marcus Epps: Epps stepped in as a starter after Drew Mukuba went down. He just turned 30, although he could find his way back to the Eagles and compete for a job.

    Edge rusher Brandon Graham: Graham came out of retirement and briefly changed positions when Jalen Carter went down and the interior needed a boost. Will he go back into retirement?

    Edge rusher Joshua Uche: Uche seemed to be playing his way into a bigger role when the Eagles brought Graham out of retirement, which forced Uche to a lesser role. The Eagles are thin on the edge, though Uche seems to be more of a depth piece right now.

    Edge rusher Azeez Ojulari: Ojulari ended up behind Uche on the depth chart and then missed most of the season after being placed on injured reserve.

    Edge rusher Ogbo Okoronkwo: Okoronkwo made the team out of training camp as a depth edge rusher but suffered a season-ending injury in Week 4, the only game in which he played.

    Special teams

    P Braden Mann: Mann had a great season. He ranked fifth in the NFL in punt average (49.9 yards). It would make sense for the Eagles to want to bring him back.

    New deals?

    There are a few players under contract who could be in the running for a new contract with the Eagles.

    DT Jordan Davis: The Eagles picked up Davis’ fifth-year option last offseason and he remains under contract for the 2026 season. But after a breakout 2025 season, he likely earned himself a lot of money.

    DT Jalen Carter: The Eagles likely will do what they did with Davis and pick up Carter’s fifth year, but it might be time for an extension now. Carter didn’t have his best season after a dominant 2024. The Eagles may be able to sign him to a more team-friendly deal, though Carter and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, may opt to play 2026 on his current deal and revisit the big-money deal next offseason.

    DT Moro Ojomo: Ojomo is set to play the final year of his four-year rookie deal in 2026. The seventh-round pick has been a major success story. Will the Eagles look to lock him up beyond 2026? Will they be able to afford all of these defensive linemen with big contracts coming in the future for other defensive stars like Mitchell and DeJean?

    Contracted players who could be on the way out

    The Eagles have some players on the 2026 roster who may not be here when training camp starts.

    K Jake Elliott: Elliott has had two consecutive seasons in which he didn’t perform well enough. His 2025 field goal conversion rate was just 74.1%, the lowest of any kicker who played a full season.

    WR A.J. Brown: Will his frustrations with the offense cause him to ask for a trade? It would be a costly move for the Eagles, but they’ve willingly taken on dead cap in the past. The Eagles would have a big hole to fill if it came to that.

    RT Lane Johnson: Johnson remains one of the best tackles in football, but his availability was an issue this season. He missed the final eight games after suffering a Lisfranc injury in his right foot. The Eagles probably would love him back, but Johnson will be 36 in May and won’t play forever.

    LG Landon Dickerson: The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reported in a podcast during Super Bowl week that Dickerson’s return was no sure thing. The 27-year-old played through a lot of pain in 2025 and his body has taken a toll with multiple injuries since his college football playing days. An early retirement would leave the Eagles with a big hole.

    QB Tanner McKee: Will the Eagles look to ship McKee to another team for a draft pick? McKee’s Week 18 performance didn’t help their cause.

    CB Kelee Ringo: Ringo remains under contract on his rookie deal, but he seems like a change-of-scenery candidate. He has struggled to get on the field with the Eagles, though he has been great on special teams.

    2026 free agency targets

    What do the Eagles need most? What kind of players will be on the market?

    First, the Eagles need to know what happens with the futures of key offensive players like A.J. Brown, Lane Johnson, and Landon Dickerson.

    At the moment, they have just over $20 million in cap space, according to Over the Cap. That’s not a lot, but Howie Roseman has shown the creativity to use void years and spread cap hits out over multiple seasons.

    Free agency begins March 11.

    Jordan Mailata (left) will be back, but what will become of tackle Lane Johnson (center) and guard Landon Dickerson (right)?

    Position groups and players to target

    Offensive line: Will Johnson return? Will Dickerson ever be fully healthy again? Can Cam Jurgens bounce back? Those are big questions facing the Eagles, who need to restore their offensive line this offseason. Reinforcements likely will come via the draft, but free agency offers some options.

    Indianapolis Colts right tackle Braden Smith, for example, has dealt with injuries but could provide insurance for Johnson and help the Eagles bridge their way to the next young tackle. Old friend Isaac Seumalo fits that bill, too, at guard. Same with Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio.

    Wide receiver: Regardless of what happens with Brown, the Eagles could use some more help at receiver. They won’t be playing in the George Pickens pool, and probably not Alec Pierce, either, but what about Romeo Doubs, Kendrick Bourne, or Van Jefferson at WR3?

    EDGE: Jaelan Phillips should be at the top of the Eagles’ wish list. Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith are the only two edge rushers under contract. The Eagles will draft at least one rusher, but they need a top-end talent like Phillips. If not Phillips, other top options would be Trey Hendrickson, Odafe Oweh, Boye Mafe, Joey Bosa, and Khalil Mack. There’s always the possibility of Roseman figuring out a way to trade for Maxx Crosby, too.

    Tight end: Dallas Goedert may be in the running to return. But if not, the Eagles could eye someone like Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts, who finally played to his potential this season. Pitts attended Abington and Archbishop Wood before playing at Florida in college. Other free agents include Isaiah Likely, David Njoku, and Tyler Higbee. The Eagles probably will use a draft pick on one, too.

    Cornerback: Quinyon Mitchell eventually will re-sign at the top of the market, and you don’t see many teams spending that type of money on two players at this position. But there are some options the Eagles could target, like Tariq Woolen, Roger McCreary, and Jamel Dean. Will those players be too costly? We’ll see.

    Safety: Reed Blankenship has been solid for the Eagles, but he’s not great in coverage. The Eagles could be looking to pair Drew Mukuba with a better player on the back line, and they could look to do that via free agency. Old friend Kevin Byard has been really productive with the Chicago Bears, though he could command a bigger contract than the Eagles are willing to give out. Los Angeles Rams safety Kamren Curl could be an option.

    The 2026 NFL draft will be held April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.

    The 2026 NFL draft

    The Eagles’ needs here will become clearer after free agency, though our Devin Jackson released his first mock draft Monday morning and has the Eagles making a key addition to their offense at a position of need.

    The draft will take place beginning on Thursday, April 23, in Pittsburgh.

    The yearly NFL Scouting Combine begins on Feb. 23; and teams have until April 15 to conduct visits, tests, and interviews with prospective draft picks.

    League meetings (updated Jan. 17)

    The annual league meeting is from March 29 to April 1 in Arizona. It is there that the Tush Push likely will be another big topic of conversation and could meet its demise.

    But the Eagles’ lack of success using their signature play this season could result in some teams backing off a little bit. We’ll see.

    There’s also another league meeting May 19 and 20 in Orlando.

    2026 Eagles schedule (updated Jan. 17)

    The Eagles’ opponents are known. They play home games vs. their three divisional opponents (Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, and New York Giants), as well as other games vs. the Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Houston Texans.

    Besides their three NFC East road games, the Eagles also travel to play the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans.

    It remains to be seen if the Eagles will get an international game.

    The schedule is due out in May, but international dates will likely be released before that.