PHILADELPHIA -- At the parade celebrating the Philadelphia Eagles' first Super Bowl title during the 2017 season, coach Doug Pederson took to the lectern and declared to the masses, "This is our new norm, to be playing football in February."
That phrase -- "new norm" -- stuck, and quickly became a team mantra.
It's proven easier said than done. The Eagles have made the playoffs in each of the two seasons since that title run, but went 9-7 both years and have experienced a decline in postseason success, going from a Super Bowl win to advancing to the divisional round in 2018 to losing a home game in the wild-card round this past season. Age and injury have turned a great team good.
In order to return to the top and fulfill the promise of the "new norm" as well sustained high-end success, the Eagles need to hit this offseason out of the park. With more than $40 million in salary-cap space and 10 projected picks in April's NFL draft, Philadelphia has the resources to get it done.
Here are five moves that will make the Eagles championship contenders in 2020:
Sign cornerback Byron Jones: As the top corner on the free-agent market, Jones is going to command serious money. The word coming out of last week's combine in Indianapolis is that his deal will come in around $17 million per season. But it buys peace of mind. One of the game's top cover corners, the 27-year-old Jones would help keep the big plays off the secondary -- a major issue for the Eagles in 2019 -- while providing the defensive line more time to rush the quarterback. He has the positional versatility that Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz covets, and has proven durable to this point, appearing in 79 of 80 games over his five-year career.
Draft wide receiver Justin Jefferson: Wide receiver sits alongside cornerback atop the priority list. It's a good year to be receiver-hungry, as this draft class is considered to be historic in quality. The feeling here is the Eagles will have to move up from No. 21 overall if they want to nab the likes of CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy or Henry Ruggs -- and with 10 projected picks, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has the capital to do it. There's a deep well to pull from if Philadelphia opts to stay put, a group that includes Tee Higgins, Brandon Aiyuk and Laviska Shenault. Jefferson (6-foot-1, 202 pounds) deserves serious consideration. He had an FBS-leading 111 catches for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns last season as a junior and further solidified his standing as a top-end prospect by running a 4.43-second 40-yard dash at the combine. This is a situation where the measurables and production match up. Plug him into the slot and let him and Carson Wentz work some magic.
Sign wide receiver Breshad Perriman: The Eagles brass wants speed, speed and more speed after watching its offense slog through much of the 2019 season once veteran wideout DeSean Jackson, 33, was lost to injury. Perriman has plenty of that. He ran a 4.24 40-yard dash at the combine in 2015 and still has the juice at age 26, finishing fourth in average yards per reception (17.9) last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Just the thought of him and Jackson lining up on the outside has safeties backpedaling as we speak. Perriman can also be viewed as quality insurance should injury hit Jackson again.
Re-sign offensive tackle Jason Peters: The conventional wisdom was the Eagles would move on from the 38-year-old Peters, given that they traded up in the first round last April to draft his successor, Andre Dillard. But Roseman left the door open for a return when speaking at the combine last week, and Pederson followed that up by emphatically stating he wants Peters back. Peters believes he's one of the best in the business. If he returns, it's as the starter. The fact Philadelphia is entertaining this scenario signals that not everyone is convinced Dillard, who turns 25 in October, is ready to assume the full-time role of protecting Wentz's blindside. Yes, the Eagles are committed to getting younger this offseason, but that doesn't need to be applied across the board. Exceptions can be made for the likes of Peters and safety Malcolm Jenkins, who wants his deal sweetened. Left tackle is not a position you leave to chance. If you have any doubt, keep the future Hall of Famer in the fold.
Sign quarterback Case Keenum: The Eagles know the value of backup quarterbacks better than anybody, as a very good one in Nick Foles saved their championship season a couple years back. Currently, there is only one QB on the roster beyond Wentz -- Kyle Lauletta -- so there's work to be done. Josh McCown was a valuable resource for Wentz last season and the Eagles would love to keep him around the team. But McCown, 40, fully tore his hamstring in the playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks in January and is in the midst of a six-month recovery. He hasn't committed to playing ball in 2020, yet. There are some decent free-agent options out there: the Eagles could take a look at Marcus Mariota, or explore bringing Nate Sudfeld back. But the best fit might be the 32-year-old Keenum, who was at the helm during the Vikings' playoff run in 2017 and has started 38 games over the past three seasons. Philadelphia needs a solid option if Wentz goes down. Keenum could keep things afloat over the short term.