🐺 Wolf Sports Weekly

Eagles celebrate and eyes turn to 2025

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Wolf Sports
February 18, 2025

Good morning! The NFL franchise tag window opens today at 4:00 PM ET and closes on March 4. The Bengals reportedly plan to franchise tag WR Tee Higgins for the second straight year if they cannot agree to a long-term deal.

🏆 Eagles Super Bowl parade scenes

The Eagles celebrated their Super Bowl LIX victory over the Chiefs with a parade on Friday, culminating at a rally on the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

RB Saquon Barkley went viral for again showcasing what a guy he is, pulling an Eagles ball boy he recognized in the crowd over the barrier to join him during the parade.

QB Jalen Hurts revealed that he told himself when he got drafted he wouldn’t go on the Rocky steps until he won a Super Bowl.

And WR A.J. Brown yelled “ADRIAN!” like Rocky before sharing blunt words for his critics.

⚜ Coaching news: Saints officially hire Moore

Former Eagles OC Kellen Moore officially took the head coaching job with the Saints, and the search for a new offensive coordinator for the Eagles is underway.

More coaching moves from the past week:

📝 Player news

Bills OT Tommy Doyle medically retired after four NFL seasons.

Recent transactions were headlined by the Dolphins:

A report emerged about the Steelers inquiring about trading for Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, but NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero says Pittsburgh “never” called Jacksonville about the former No. 1 pick.

The Chiefs are reportedly giving TE Travis Kelce until mid-March to make a decision on his future. The All-Pro has an $11.5 million roster bonus due March 15, and he sounded like he might be leaning toward retirement on his New Heights podcast, sharing that he’s had a lot of wear and tear on his body.

Bengals LB Germaine Pratt has requested a trade, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noting how close the team captain was to fired DC Lou Anarumo. Meanwhile, Bengals QB Joe Burrow said the Eagles seem to be paying everyone, so hopefully Cincy can do “whatever they’re doing.”

Bills RB James Cook indicated on Instagram that he wants $15 million per year on a contract extension, which would make him the second highest-paid RB in the league.

Cowboys LB Micah Parsons says he wants to see the team be “aggressive” in free agency.

Free agent WR Kadarius Toney was arrested for alleged strangulation of a woman, according to TMZ Sports.

📰 More NFL news and notes

Bills mailroom employee “Slick Rick” discussed what it meant for QB Josh Allen to shout him out during his MVP speech—and West Herr New York gifted him a car after he rode the bus to work for 15 years.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and WR DeVonta Smith shared a great moment toward the end of their Super Bowl LIX victory.

The Giants are looking into selling a minority stake in the franchise, retaining Moelis & Company to explore a potential sale.

Former Dolphins OL Jonathan Martin told ESPN the “Bullygate” scandal involving Richie Incognito from over a decade ago was overblown.

Bill Belichick shared his first ever All-Belichick Team, headlined by Bills QB Josh Allen.

Past a full week without football, we’re counting down the days to the 2025 NFL season opener on Thursday, September 4. You can check out the nine options to face the Eagles here, but this is our top three.

3. Dallas Cowboys
If the Cowboys face the Eagles, first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer would be thrown into the fire for his debut. However, unlike Chicago, Dallas is led by a veteran quarterback in Dak Prescott, with plenty of talent on both sides of the ball including Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb, and Trevon Diggs. Also, the Cowboys are obviously one of the biggest brands in sports.

2. Denver Broncos
The schedule-makers made the bold move of putting the Lions in the 2023 season opener against the Chiefs, and they pulled off the upset at Arrowhead. Despite just making the playoffs with a 10-7 campaign, the Broncos are arguably a little behind that path roster wise (a stellar 2025 offseason would help)—but this choice would still feel very fresh and exciting. Sean Payton and Bo Nix are not the duo to get frazzled, creating an intriguing challenge for the defending champs if the second-year quarterback is surrounded with more talent this offseason.

1. Detroit Lions
Lions All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is already talking about this possibility, boldly wondering how a matchup between a healthy Detroit team and Philly would operate. Based on the down year for the 49ers in 2024, the Lions and the Eagles should clearly be considered the class of the NFC entering next season. Several options would be fine choices, but the Lions are the obvious top pick to open the 2025 NFL season at Lincoln Financial Field.

Other Sports Updates

🏁 William Byron won the Daytona 500 for the second consecutive year.

🏒 Team USA beat Canada, 3-1, in an intense 4 Nations Face-Off matchup that included three fights in the first nine seconds after the U.S. anthem was again booed by the Canadian crowd. The countries will play in a rematch in the championship Thursday at 8:00 PM ET.

💰 The U.S. Department of Education rescinded guidance regarding Title IX and NIL which called for equal revenue sharing between male and female athletes.

⛳️ Ludvig Åberg won the Genesis Invitational for his second PGA Tour victory.

🎾 World No. 1 Jannik Sinner accepted a three-month ban from tennis after two positive doping tests last year.

🐺 Found on wolfsports.com