Seven Remain from Eagles Super Season Just Four Years Ago

The retirement of Brandon Brooks and the likely departure of Rodney McLeod in free agency leave four legacy players and three others from the Super Bowl LII championship

Tom Brady retired. Then he didn't retire.

It was all very confusing.

Right now, the legendary quarterback has not yet announced whether he will play or not play next season, despite NFL insiders jumping the gun and announcing he had retired on Saturday.

Whenever that day comes, and it could very well be after he gets his $15 million bonus called for in his contract if he is still a member of Tampa Bay's roster on Friday, Eagles fans will never forget the day they beat Brady.

The anniversary of that evening will be on Friday, a date that changed the lives of countless Eagles fans forever.

Four years ago on Feb. 4, 2018, the Eagles won their first Super Bowl.

You don’t need to be reminded of that, but what is telling about this anniversary is what little is left of the roster that upset the New England Patriots, 41-33, on a sunny day in Minneapolis that belied a temperature outside that never made it above 10 degrees.

Fans in attendance that day didn’t care about frozen eyelashes or the threat of frostbite.

Fans not in attendance that day didn’t, either.

They bested Brady and the New England Patriots, interrupting a run of what would have been three straight Super Bowl titles, with Brady and his Patriots bunch winning in 2016 and again in 2018.

Brady went to 10 Super Bowls in 21 years, losing three, the most recent loss was to Nick Foles and the Eagles.

Brandon Brooks served up a reminder of that super moment when he retired last week.

“One thing I didn’t realize was how important a championship was to this city,” he said, then talked about watching fans dump their loved ones’ ashes during the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade days later.

Brooks is a vanishing breed. He was one of the few members still left on the roster from that championship. His retirement shrunk that number further.

With the offensive lineman off to try to get into business school at the University of Pennsylvania, there are just six leftovers still under contract from a team that will live forever in the hearts of Eagles fans.

Safety Rodney McLeod and defensive end Derek Barnett do not count as remaining members since they are scheduled to hit free agency and are not under contract.

Jay Ajayi (left) and LeGarrette Blount celebrate Super Bowl LII victory / Ed Kracz

Certainly, there have been other teams that have been dismantled so quickly and thoroughly so shortly after winning a title, but this feels awfully fast, Even the head coach, Doug Pederson, is gone.

Here’s what’s left, and the first four names are four of the best to ever play for the Eagles:

Brandon Graham. The defensive end will return, according to GM Howie Roseman. He is coming off a season-ending Achilles’ tear in Week 2 and will be 34 in April. His days are numbered, but at least he will be back for one more go and perhaps more depending on how well he does this season.

He has played in 161 career games as an Eagle, which is tied for eighth-most games played in team history. If he plays all 17 next season, he will end up in the top five. Graham also has the fourth-most sacks in team history with 59, behind Reggie White (124), Trent Cole (85.5), and Clyde Simmons (76).

Fletcher Cox. Right now, it appears as if the DT will return. There are no guarantees, though. He could be the next one to move on. His 58 career sacks are the most for a defensive tackle in team history. No one in Eagles history has played more games at DT than Cox, who has played in 156.

Jason Kelce. The veteran center has not announced his intentions yet as to whether he will return or retire. The guess is he will return for a 12th season. He has made 122 straight starts and his 159 career games played puts him third on the team’s all-time list of offensive linemen to play that many games, behind Chuck Bednarik (169) and Tra Thomas (166).

Lane Johnson. The right tackle has overcome injuries and mental health issues to become one of the best in the game at his position How long it lasts, with him set to turn 32, remains to be seen. 

Isaac Seumalo. The last player still on the roster from the 2016 draft class, the former third-round pick is expected to return even though injuries the past two years have limited him to just 12 games played. If he cannot stay healthy, he won’t be around after 2022, with this being the final year of a contract extension he signed in 2019 with two voidable years beyond this season.

Rick Lovato. The long snapper never gets any recognition until he flubs a snap, which Lovato doesn’t do much, if at all. He took over for Jon Dorenbos, who long-snapped for 11 years with the Eagles. Lovato was a Pro Bowler in 2019.

Jake Elliott. The kicker just completed his fifth season with the team, and it was one of his most consistent seasons, if not his best. Who can forget the 61-yarder he hit to be the Giants, an early win that catapulted the Eagles into a nine-game win streak.

Jeff Stoutland. The offensive line coach is one of three assistants from 2017 still with the team, along with assistant special team coordinator Joe Pannunzio and offensive quality control coach T.J. Paganetti, but Stout is the most prominent of the three.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.