The NFL's 52-hour legal tampering period arrived with a slew of stars receiving big contracts to either stay put or join a new team retooling its roster. Over the weekend,

A day after defensive tackle Milton Williams and edge rusher Josh Sweat agreed to leave Philly via free agency, the Super Bowl champs agreed to send safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans for guard Kenyon Green and a swap of late-round draft picks,

Free agency coincides with the start of the new league year and lots of players are hitting the open market. Here are the top 15 names on defense.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler shared that the current expectation is that both Josh Sweat and Milton Williams will hit the open market, meaning Philadelphia won't get new deals done ahead of then. "Baun was the Eagles' free agent priority,

The NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles are losing two of their defensive disruptors who pressured Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. Defensive tackle Milton Williams agreed to a deal with New England worth $26 million annually and edge rusher Josh Sweat is heading to the Arizona Cardinals on a four-year,

After contributing to a historic season, several members of the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning defense cashed in big on Monday. Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Isaiah Rodgers, and Oren Burks agreed to contract terms with new teams on the opening day of the NFL’s legal tampering period,

On practically any list of the top free agents that would be available when the so-called legal tampering period started Monday, there were two Eagles defensive players in the top five. Defensive tackle Milton Williams and defensive end Josh Sweat were two of the very few impact players to reach free agency.

Now, Sweat will be reuniting with Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon, Sweat’s former defensive coordinator for two years in Philly, including Sweat’s Pro Bowl season in 2021 — when he recorded 45 tackles and 7½ sacks. Local Arizona media believe acquiring Sweat has already revamped the Cardinals defense.

Philadelphia has lost key players in free agency, but a calculated approach could set the team up for major draft capital in 2026.