The Philadelphia Eagles’ path to a Super Bowl title defense in 2025 hinges on unexpected contributions from their current roster, much like the breakout performances that fueled their 2024 championship run. Last season, players like offensive guard Mekhi Becton, a former first-round pick revitalized after being discarded by the New York Jets, and rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean, who erupted as a nickel starter and sealed a Super Bowl LIX victory with a pick-six against Patrick Mahomes, provided that spark. However, the most surprising hero was inside linebacker Zack Baun, whose one-year, $1.6 million contract in March 2024 turned into a season for the ages, earning him NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors after transitioning from edge rusher. Baun’s stellar year led to a massive 3-year, $51 million deal with the Eagles on March 5.
For 2025, analysts are eyeing third-year cornerback Kelee Ringo as the next unlikely star to mirror Baun’s meteoric rise. The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia, while discussing NFC East grades on “The Ringer NFL Show” on June 18, pegged Ringo as a potential breakout candidate to replace veteran Darius Slay, who signed a 1-year, $10 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on March 12. “You gotta hope one of them is the next Zack Baun,” Kapadia said. “Maybe it’s Kelee Ringo.”
A Winner’s Pedigree
Winning is in Kelee Ringo’s DNA. From high school to the NFL, his teams have consistently hoisted trophies. As the nation’s No. 1 cornerback recruit in 2020, Ringo won a state championship at Saguaro High School in Arizona. At Georgia, he claimed two College Football Playoff national titles in 2021 and 2022, earning All-SEC honors and cementing the 2022 championship with a 79-yard interception return for a touchdown against Alabama. Over his final two college seasons, the Bulldogs went an astonishing 29-1. Drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round (No. 105 overall) in 2023, Ringo added a Super Bowl ring in 2024, marking his fourth championship in six seasons since his junior year of high school.
Ready to Step Up
Ringo has played every regular-season and playoff game over the past two years, starting five, and is now positioned to seize the starting outside cornerback role opposite Quinyon Mitchell. He’s listed above free agent signee Adoree Jackson on the Eagles’ depth chart, signaling the team’s confidence in his potential. Eagles Wire’s Geoffrey A. Knox wrote on June 16, “This coming offseason represents Kelee’s best chance to win a starting job since his arrival. He’s had to wait behind Slay and (Isaiah) Rodgers, but Vic Fangio and his defensive coaches will provide him with ample opportunity to win a starter’s role. Nothing will be handed to him, and he knows that.”
Kelee Ringo’s pick-six is one of the greatest moments in @GeorgiaFootball history đ
Now, he’s @Eagles bound đ€ pic.twitter.com/lWhiyzjFIr
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 29, 2023
Training camp will be a proving ground for Ringo, where competition and cooperation will shape his path to a starting role. Like Baun, who transformed a low-risk contract into a career-defining season, Ringo has the chance to become the Eagles’ next breakout star. If he capitalizes on this opportunity, he could not only fill Slay’s shoes but also become the perfect replica of Baun’s improbable rise, helping propel Philadelphia toward another Super Bowl run in 2025.