The Eagles during the Howie Roseman era have a history of acting quickly on offensive line contracts. More work in that regard has been done throughout this offseason. The team and Jordan Mailata had an agreement following the record-breaking Landon Dickerson deal.
Mailata has already agreed to an extension, and he is now expected to accept a more lucrative contract. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Eagles are offering their seasoned left tackle a three-year, $66 million contract. Included in Mailata’s new contract is a $48 million guarantee. Continuing one of the NFL’s more amazing success stories, Mailata was a rugby player who was selected in the seventh round before switching to the NFL.
For Mailata, who was bound by a four-year, $64 million deal agreed in 2021, this is a hefty boost. With this new deal, Mailata is now among the top five earners for his role. This AAV is exceeded only by Trent Williams, Andrew Thomas, and Laremy Tunsil. Dickerson is a guard-record $21 million a year, so the Eagles have made a significant investment on a line that still features dependable right tackle Lane Johnson.
This is a significant boost for Mailata, who was constrained by a four-year, $64 million contract agreed to in 2021. Mailata is now among the top five earnings for his role as a result of this new contract. Only Trent Williams, Andrew Thomas, and Laremy Tunsil surpass this AAV. The Eagles have made a substantial investment in a line that still includes solid right tackle Lane Johnson, as Dickerson commands a guard record $21 million annually.
Mailata has been ranked second by ESPN’s run block win rate measure for the last two seasons. The Eagles’ tackles finished first and second in this category the previous season. Saquon Barkley will have a far better setup behind the Eagles offensive line than he did running behind the lines he went behind as a Giant, despite the fact that Jason Kelce’s retirement presents a new problem for the team. Despite Jalen Hurts being a member of the $50 million-AAV club, the Eagles are also making the necessary payments.
In addition, Mailata’s rise is among the least probable in NFL history. After taking a chance on the 6-foot-8 Australian in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the rugby convert spent two full seasons growing under Jason Peters. Although the team moved up in the 2019 first round to get Andre Dillard, who appears to be Jason Peters’ successor, Mailata showed herself more capable of handling the position. The 365-pound tackle was placed on injured reserve for the later part of the 2018–19 season. Following Peters’ early season collapse in 2020, Mailata took over and started his ascent to this moment. In 2023, the Eagles converted Dillard to a swing tackle and allowed him to walk.
Even though Mailata spent six seasons in the NFL, he only turned 27 last month. On this third contract, the ascending tackle ought to have a good portion of his prime left. Now that three of the Eagles’ blockers are linked to $20 million AAV contracts, O-line investments are entering uncharted territory. Johnson is still committed to the $20 million annual contract he accepted in 2023. The Eagles support void years; they used four in Mailata’s last contract. Given the team’s offensive expenditures, which also include high-profile contracts for Dallas Goedert and A.J. Brown, it would seem plausible that this contract has more holes than others.
The Eagles have successfully reloaded after losing players like Brandon Brooks, Kelce, Peters, and Isaac Seumalo. Finding Mailata and Dickerson has been crucial to the Eagles’ success during the Hurts era, even though Johnson is still the team’s senior presence up front. Mailata is the Eagles’ oldest starting offensive lineman, ahead of Johnson.