Eagles: What to expect at NFL meetings

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman, and Doug Pederson rushed through the lobby of the Boca Raton Resort & Club minutes before 6 p.m. Sunday, when the NFL's annual league meetings began.

For Pederson, the Eagles' rookie head coach, it's his first such trip to one of the major events on the league's offseason calendar. Lurie and Roseman are veterans here, although they attend this year's iteration under different circumstances than recent years. Team president Don Smolenski is also in attendance.

It was at this event a year ago when Lurie first explained his decision to give Chip Kelly full personnel control and reacted to the acquisition of Sam Bradford and trade of LeSean McCoy. Two years ago, the Eagles' brass tried to downplay and even avoid the persistent rumors about DeSean Jackson's future. He was released two days after they returned home.

Here is what to expect at this year's meetings:

Doug Pederson will meet with reporters for an hour on Wednesday morning when the NFL coaches have roundtable interviews. Pederson has spoken at various points this offseason - from his introductory news conference to the Senior Bowl to the scouting combine to the opening of free agency - but his most extensive comments yet will come on Wednesday. Pederson will discuss the Eagles' busy offseason and their jump in the draft. He also could offer context about his plans and coaching philosophies.

In 2013, Kelly first uttered the "big people beat up little people" expression that became popular during his time in Philadelphia. He also spent much of that session addressing what was believed to be an innovative approach to NFL coaching. So the one-hour session often leads to valuable insight - especially from first-year head coaches.

Kelly will meet with reporters a few feet away from his replacement on Wednesday. Now with the 49ers, Kelly will hold court during the coaches' breakfast. He has spoken to San Francisco-area reporters since his hire, but he has not taken questions from Philadelphia-area reporters since Lurie fired him in Week 17. That will change on Wednesday.

Lurie has not spoken publicly since the Eagles hired Pederson, but he has taken questions at this event in recent years. There is much for the owner to weigh in on this week.

Lurie did not go into detail about the Eagles' front-office structure in January because he said the team would hire a personnel executive. That search has since been delayed until after the draft, and Roseman is in charge. The Eagles again were major players on the transaction wire this month, including the jettisoning of big contracts given out under Kelly. Lurie likes to tout the necessity of finding a franchise quarterback, and the team guaranteed $22 million to Sam Bradford before free agency opened. The No. 8 draft pick also offers the fourth-highest selection since Lurie bought the team in 1994, so the owner awaits a pivotal spring. And he has had two months to see how Pederson and Roseman coexist after watching tumult in the front office for the last two years.

The owners will consider 19 proposals for rules changes this week. Among the most noteworthy is a proposal to eject players who commit two personal fouls during a game. The league is also voting on whether to permanently move the line of scrimmage on extra points to the 15-yard line after using that distance throughout the 2015 season. The competition committee has a proposal that would eliminate the chop block. One topic that won't be addressed: the definition of a catch, which will stay as is.

There also will be more interest in how owners and league personnel view concussions after Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president for health and safety, said last week that there is "certainly" a connection between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Giants owner John Mara said Sunday that the competition committee watched tape of almost every concussion last year to see the cause, and the league has experts studying the issue.

"I don't think we're hiding from it," Mara said.

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm