By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The new league year is set to begin on Thursday with the open of free agency at 4 p.m. With the dawning of a new league year, it officially marks the beginning of a very crucial offseason for Howie Roseman.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and rebuilding the Eagles won't be any different. Roseman is not going to be a miracle worker and vault the Eagles to contender status overnight. But he does need to start that process with some form of progress over the offseason.
It was last Wednesday when Roseman stepped to the podium at the NFL Scouting Combine to address the media regarding the offseason. It's no secret that the Eagles started the rebuilding process last season when they drafted Carson Wentz as the quarterback of the future for the franchise and gave him the reigns immediately. Now the task is building around him. But Roseman notes that it will take time and moves won't be forced.
"We are going to stick to our plan," Roseman said. "We are going to be disciplined with our process, and we are going to do the right things for this football team."
Having a plan is all well and good, but if you can't take that plan and bring it to execution, you start to lose support. This is a critical offseason for Roseman to continue to gain support from Eagles fans.
It was apparent in the 2016 season that the Eagles lacked weapons around Wentz. That didn't matter in the early going when the Eagles and their tremendous defensive efforts to start the season got them off to a 3-0 start. But that fizzled as the season progressed, as injuries and struggles started to pile up. The Eagles finished the season at 8-8.
Roseman said the goal is adding to the team, but that moves will not be forced. Nobody wants to see a team make a move because they feel like they have to. But on the other hand, the Eagles are so thin at certain positions that almost any move could be a good move.
There are certainly factors that will go into judging an offseason move, like price tag, term and the player's recent history and credentials. That said, the Eagles have seemingly put their due diligence in scouting out the free-agent market for wide receivers. The same goes for the draft, and not just at the wide receiver position. They met with cornerbacks, running backs, linemen, the works.
And if Wentz is the center of Roseman's plan, the Eagles are trying to use that to their advantage as well. Wentz has worked out with potential offseason targets represented by his agent. The Eagles are very much trying to have Wentz help court some players to Philadelphia.
The difficulty of a prolonged offseason after missing the playoffs is the time you get to think, to evaluate and to prepare going forward. The Eagles and Roseman have had that time.
It's understood that patience is needed in a process. But with the Eagles plan underway, Roseman needs to put together a team that starts to show some promise beyond the quarterback position. And given how last year turned out, Wentz aside, he needs to show sort of progress for his own good, before he becomes the casualty within his own process.
