Evaluating roster quality is different than evaluating roster longevity (the ability to maintain the status quo, especially with key players). Understanding where the roster is headed requires diving into Eagles contracts, which can be reviewed on the web site Spotrac. Looking at the Eagles Salary Cap status exemplifies a quote from Geoff Mosher (Inside the Birds Podcast done with Adam Caplan), that “No team borrows against tomorrow like the Philadelphia Eagles.”
The Eagles do this advantageously, stealing from
tomorrow’s greater salary cap years (where the cap will be higher, so those $
are more plentiful and therefore cheaper to use) to help pay players
today. Concepts like “voidable years,” “cap hits,” “roster bonuses,” “prorations,”
“option bonuses,” “dead money” and others get leveraged to manipulate future
vs. present dollars so the Eagles can seem to endlessly “find money” to sign
players. It’s a team effort spearheaded not only with the expertise of Howie Roseman (who learned under Joe Banner), but also by both Jake Rosenberg and
Alec Halaby, the former one of the league’s top cap specialists, the latter
preeminent in NFL circles for his understanding of league rule subtleties (and therefore
loopholes!). They and their staffs enable the Eagles to “work cap
magic.” And, of course, this is done with the cooperation and blessing of
owner Jeffrey Laurie, who understands the benefits, and provides the requisite
financial flexibility to keep this success humming.
Reviewing Eagles contracts must start with
Quarterbacks, and more specifically Jalen Hurts, who, at 50 million per year
for 5 years (thru 2028) signed this past spring the largest per year sum in NFL
history (for 4 days, till Ravens QB Lamar Jackson then surpassed him by – 1 mil
per year). When examining the subtleties of this contract, if the Eagles for
some reason needed to do so, they could get out of the contract after the 2025
season (This would be a highly unlikely scenario, requiring either a massive
regression akin to Carson Wentz’s unprecedently bad 2020 season, or a career threatening
injury). Hurt’s cap hits (A cap hit is the $ a player counts against a finite NFL maximum each team can spend annually on players... This year it is 224.8 million, a 7.9% increase over 2022) against the Eagle salary cap are as follows:
2023: 6.15 mil (includes his prorated signing bonus of 24 mil… prorated
means the number is distributed equally across the life of the contract. Note his
cap hit this year is also mitigated by the fact that it is the final year of
his inexpensive rookie year). 2024: 13.6
mil. 2025: 21.8 mil. 2026: 31.8 mil. 2027: 45.8 mil.
2028: 54.1 mil. Hurts then has 4 “voidable years” on his
deal, where about 86 mil in cap hits are deferred as future “dead money”
against the Eagles cap in 2029 - 2032. (Voidable years are
extra years extended on the back end of a contract that the player will never
either play or get paid for. These “dummy
years” exist for the sole purpose of lowering an annual cap hit, especially in
the contract’s initial year. The team must
carefully manage the “real” final year of the players deal, though, because
things like prorated signing bonuses that were (fictionally) part of
the void years become triggered as part of that true (non-voidable) final
season.
Concluding the QB discussion, Marcus Mariota was
signed as the backup at a cost of 5 mil (veteran quality backups now range from
5-9 mil across the NFL). Ian Book and Tanner McKey are both so
inexpensive it’ll be interesting to see if the Eagles carry a 4th QB on their
practice squad (I’d say yes). This
author believes a goal of the Eagles will be to keep Mariota as a backup for 1
year, then have Book or McKey (or perhaps both) as an inexpensive backup(s) in
the QB room.
In the running back room, the Eagles top FIVE
running backs (Rashaad Penny, D’Andre Swift, Kenny Gainwell, Boston Scott and
Trey Sermon) will, COMBINED make 200k less than Miles Sanders 6.3mil salary
with Carolina this season! And the guaranteed money across those FIVE is
1.65 mil total! This is a terrific allocation of resources by Howie
Roseman. It shows how he takes certain positions like Running Back and finds "market opportunities." For Running Backs, he is fulfilling the position requirement with highly talented players at costs well below market, so he can re-allocate those funds to positions where this technique is not possible. Competitive
note: With the late draft day acquisition of Swift, there is a lot of talk that
Penny may have a fight to make the roster. This is ridiculous.
Penny, while highly injury prone, is incredibly productive when on the field
(5.7 YPC best in NFL history for runners with 300+ attempts). If he stays healthy as part of a
committee, he will be a great “protect the lead while killing the clock” ball
carrier. The Eagles will carry 4 RB’s and try to sneak Trey Sermon onto
the practice squad, UNLESS they get great value trading one of the backs as the
preseason winds down, or someone gets hurt. As far as longevity, though, that
is the vulnerability…only Gainwell and Sermon are signed beyond this year (both have 2024 on their deals). Still,
while other players on offense are more “sure things,” the value of 2 premium
players like Penny and Swift both at very low salaries and cap hits is
extraordinary (The “price” to acquire Swift did additionally cost a future 4th
round pick).
The market value for Wide Receivers changed
dramatically (exploded!) LAST offseason with the signings of Tyreke Hill in
Miami and Christian Kirk in Jacksonville, with reverberations across the League
regarding costs for premium and good wide receivers, respectively.
Devonta Smith is entering the 3rd year of a rookie (and therefore very cost
beneficial for the Eagles) deal (2.55 mil this year), where he just set an
Eagles record for catches by a wide receiver (95). They cannot make him
an offer to extend till AFTER the 2023-2024 season (i.e. not till after his 3rd
year). Howie likes to lock in key players and Smith brings the skill set,
attitude and “want to” that would make him a candidate to do so. The
former Heisman Trophy winner may have actually exceeded expectations so
far. Since he is a 1st round pick the Eagles would have the 5th year
option (drafted rookies get 4 year contracts, except those drafted in the 1st round, who optionally can be retained for a 5th year at significant cost) in the 2025-2026 season to keep him that season if an extension cannot
be worked out. He is already arguably a top 10 NFL wideout who has great
chemistry with the QB… It’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds. Bottom
line… Adam Caplan of Inside the Birds refers to Smith’s “compensation to play
quality ratio” the Eagles best on offense, & perhaps the team.
Meanwhile, Smith’s partner in crime is of course
AJ Brown, the monumental trade and sign acquisition in last years (2022)
draft. He got a 24 mil signing bonus last year as part of that
transaction, while Roseman worked his magic to limit Brown’s 2022 cap number to
5.7 mil. With the sorcery of “option bonuses inside the contract,” his cap
number this year will be 8.3 mil. In the ‘24-‘25 season Brown’s cap number
will be 12.5 mil. Presuming he stays healthy, the Birds will be motivated to do
something after that season, since his cap hit will then move to 26 mil for
the 2025-2026 year (as he enters his age 28 season), and over 40 mil for the
subsequent year. Brown is a superlative (NFL top 5 level) receiver who is a
close friend of the franchise QB, but he has a physical style of play and is
unfortunately not only injury prone, he also has knee issues. After 1
year, the medical evaluation and handling has gone well, but this will need to
be managed carefully, especially when considering the massive reinvestment the
player may expect as he enters his late twenties.
Continuing with the wideouts, the new slot wr
(Olamide Zacchaeus) is looking at an affordable cap number approaching 2.5 mil
(He only dropped 1 ball per year his last 3 seasons). As far as Quez
Watkins, many players not drafted in the first round have a “base escalator” in
their 4th (final) year of their rookie deal. Watkins was a rare Eagle that had
a bad year in 2022-2023 (his third), possibly exacerbated by a shoulder injury,
after having a good sophomore season. So his salary jumps from just under
900k last year, to 2.74 mil (non-guaranteed) in this final (4th) year of his
rookie deal. Can the Eagles justify Watkins at that salary level if Zacchaeus is
going to get a large number of snaps in the slot? An interesting
conundrum, since this author sees Watkins as the primary backup on the outside to
both Brown & Smith, while also being able to add the unique dimension of
elite speed that Zacchaeus and the other legitimate wr’s behind Smith and Brown
lack (The Eagles have a “lottery ticket” {meaning possibility a player will pan out well} in professional hurdler Devon Allen,
but he does not appear committed to football over hurdling). The Eagles
may actually approach Watkins and guarantee his vet minimum of 1.05 mil in
exchange for reducing his overall salary, and Watkins might be forced to accept
that rather than be cut (and replaced by one of the Eagles younger, but significantly slower practice
squad kids). The Eagles 5th wr will be punt returner and back up slot
receiver Britain Covey, who is in the second year of a very inexpensive rookie
free agent deal (Covey started out poorly in 2022, but after a few shaky games returning punts, he was one of the NFL's best the remainder of the season, not even including a terrific 27 yard return in the Super Bowl). This author does NOT believe the Birds will carry more than 5
WR on the 53 man roster. Adequate depth beyond the aforementioned 5 will
be safely (and inexpensively) positioned on the practice squad.
At tight end, Dallas Goedert’s career start was
successful but slow, since he was behind a record setter in Zach Ertz. He
signed an extension in 2021, and it started with relative modesty given his
capability (terrific all around tight end, both blocking and receiving, easily
leading to his current status as a top 5 TE in the game, annually competing to
be a top 3). The cap number this year is only 6.5 mil. But next
year ((2024-2025), do to an option bonus, proration, and a salary that has not
yet been restructured, his cap number will jump to 19.5 million. The last
year of his deal (2025-2026) the numbers are equally intimidating. Goedert
was on pace for almost 1100 yards before sustaining a 5 game injury last year in a
fumble pile-up. If he stays healthy he’ll likely have a monstrously good
season. So AFTER this year the Eagles will likely be extending Goedert
with some form of mutually beneficial restructure.
At Tight End, Goedert’s backup, Jack Stoll, is
entering the last year of a Rookie FA contract. This enables the Eagles
to match any offer next year. He is a valuable backup, a terrific NFL
blocker. Dan Arnold is on a 1 year veteran minimum deal, and Grant Calcaterra
is on the 2nd year of a cost controlled 4 year rookie deal. They will duel for
the 3rd TE role.
On the offensive line, the Eagles value
depth. Jack Driscoll enters his 4th and final contractual season (on his
rookie deal) as a valuable depth piece, likely 1st off the bench this year at
multiple OL positions (he plays all but Center). Could he and the Eagles
agree to a relatively modest multi-year deal, providing him security, or will
the Eagles let him walk for cheaper depth pieces after this season? This
author would not expect Driscoll, a “graduate” of “Stoutland University,” to
accept backup money when he can test his value on the open market. He is
a dark horse candidate to compete with Tyler Steen and Cam Jurgens for the
starting right guard spot, too, and has reportedly bulked up anticipating the
opportunity.
Meanwhile, both Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens
are former 2nd round picks each earning 1-1.5 mil this year on affordable
rookie contracts. Dickerson, who just finished his first pro bowl season
in his 2nd year is perhaps the most clear candidate for an extension offer
after this, his year 3 season (drafted rookies are not eligible for extensions
till after their 3rd season). At 1.44 mil this season, next to Devonta
Smith, he is probably the best Eagle contract in terms of team cost vs.
projected player performance value ratio. If Dickerson has another Pro
Bowl season, an extension will be costly (A good comparison is the Quinton
Nelson extension. Nelson got 3 years, $60 mil). So, assuming Jason
Kelce is in his last year, an optimum scenario for the Eagles is Dickerson
earns a top tier Guard extension while his mates on the interior are Cam
Jurgens at Center and Tyler Steen at Guard, 2 still very affordable rookie
deals.
Speaking of Kelce, the center (thankfully for
Birds fans) decided not to retire after an All-Pro season ending in a closely
fought Super Bowl loss. He is on a 1 year 14.5 mil contract, with 3
voidable (dead money) years as part of that deal. There is
(unfortunately) a significant amount of dead money (i.e. cap space responsibility for the player even after he is no longer with the team) the Eagles will eat for that
3 year period after Kelce retires (likely after this season).
At Tackle, folks forget Jordan Mialata had back
issues prematurely ending his first 2 seasons, so his first productive year was
his 3rd, in 2020. In September of 2021, with Mialata having won the
starting LT role but with those injuries (along with his pedigree as an
undrafted player) fresh in everyone’s mind, Mialata signed what has been
acknowledged as one of the most team friendly contracts in the NFL (although
that contract had 2 voidable {= dead money} years. For Mialata, the
millions presented to him were still overwhelming given his recent status just
hanging onto an NFL dream. He is signed thru 2025-2026 (this season plus
2 more). But Mialata’s play, patience, leadership and value had the
Eagles reward him by shifting more $ to the next 2 seasons (via an option
bonus, and adding 2 more voidable years for a concerning total of 4!) on
his current deal. So Mialata’s deal will almost certainly be reworked
entering the 2025-2026 season. Note option bonuses, like signing
bonuses, allow teams to prorate the amount across the remaining life of the
contract, presenting the player with more immediate money while reducing the
immediate cap hit (but pushing the team’s obligation to incur a high % of that
hit later, both an advantage and disadvantage of “borrowing against tomorrow”).
On the other side of the line, Right Tackle Lane
Johnson recently signed a 1 year extension taking him out thru the 2025-2026
season, but making it impossible for him to play for the Eagles without a
massively restructured deal if he does decide he wants to play for more than 3
more seasons (he’s 33 now, at that point he’d be considering his age 37
year). Many national people feel Lane Johnson is a late in career arrival
to best Offensive Lineman in football, especially after his superlative playoff
performance while seriously injured (torn abdominal abductor). It will be
interesting to monitor his potential Hall Of Fame status over these next few
seasons. He’s a fascinating story, especially as a kid QB where a massive growth
spurt forced a move to Tight End, and then where a second massive growth spurt
forced a move to Tackle.
On the defensive side of the football, let’s
discuss the costs around the defensive line, including Edge rushers, sometimes
elsewhere referenced as linebackers. One consideration the Eagles
have prioritized is depth via numbers on the D-line, accentuating the skills of
each player that can excel amidst the plethora of team talent in this group…
opposing teams can’t focus on a couple stars when multiple quality players
require their attention!
Hassan Reddick is in the 2nd year of a 3 year
deal. He had an incredible 1st year in Philly, competing for the
Defensive player of the year award, finishing as 2nd team All-Pro. His 17
sacks in the regular season ranked 2nd in the league. He is the Eagles
top Edge rusher from the Sam LB position. His cap number this year is
just under 7 mil, but his cap number next year is 20+ mil (with none of that
2024 $ guaranteed). So he will be in line for either an extension or a
restructure if he has another terrific year (that 2024 cap number will be too
high to maintain as it currently stands) because at that point he will already
have completely outplayed his contract.
Josh Sweat is the Eagles top defensive end, and their
#2 Edge (behind Reddick). He had signed a 3 year extension thru
2024. Next year his base salary will jump from 1.1 mil to 13.8 mil.
His cap number will jump from 6+ mil this year to 18+ mil next year (although
none of that 2024 $ is guaranteed). He was a deserved Pro Bowler last
year, a double digit sack guy really coming into his own. If both Sweat
and Reddick perform well again, the Eagles will face a challenging decision
because it may be difficult to keep both players.
Brandon Graham is a 35 year old who successfully
returned from an Achilles injury last year that he suffered in 2021. He
had the best sack year of his career (11), getting numerous opportunities given
the aforementioned attention opponents allotted to others on the D-line.
He has a 1 year 5 mil deal, a bargain as he played terrifically last year as
the #3 Edge rusher, with a smaller number of snaps at defensive end
(effectively behind Hassan Reddick). Still, his leadership and energy for
the position group, the entire D-line and in fact the whole team cannot be
overstated. He is one of the “core 4” veteran Eagles (along with Lane
Johnson, Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox). He represents for this Eagle team
a similar role to that filled by Chris Long on the 2017 Eagle Super Bowl
winners. He was ranked by Pro Football Focus as a top 10 Edge rusher in
2023. As Graham ages, his snap count and therefore his on-field value are declining, but at 5 mil his cost/performance is still great value, so the
resign made total sense. Meanwhile, the
Eagles added further to incredible depth on their D-line via rookie Nolan
Smith. He’ll be on the 1st year of a relatively affordable (late 1st
round) rookie deal, basically backing up Hassan Reddick as he carves out snaps
and a role as the Eagles #4 edge rusher… on a rookie deal!
Derrick Barnett (14th pick in the 2016 draft) was
a rotational piece entering 2022 who previously had played the run quite well
setting the edge. He was a coaches
favorite but not a fan favorite, having limited sack totals while frequently
being responsible for “dumb” penalties. He lost virtually all of 2022-23 to an
ACL tear in week 1. He just turned 27, and is in the 2nd year of a 3
year post rookie contract deal (3.1 mil cap hit, fully guaranteed). Considered
a “good locker room guy,” he should be fully recovered from the ACL and while
the Eagles can throttle his snaps, given their depth, his anticipated ’22 role likely
changes in ’23. Barnett is a pure defensive end. Two ways to look
at his role… He’s the #3 defensive end behind Josh Sweat and Brandon
Graham. But he’s really the 5th Edge rusher, also behind Hassan Reddick
and Nolan Smith in that role on this defense. So currently he slots in as
the likely #5 edge rusher on the line (where he was to be #4 last year before
his injury). Barnett is too expensive as a 5th Edge, but he’s
considered a legit NFL Defensive End who could conceivably start for some
teams. His skills & dead cap hit (10.5
mil) are too high to cut him. If perceived as a declining veteran too costly at
his current cap number, finding a good trade partner is desirable. This author believes the Eagles will keep 5
edge rushers on the 53 man roster (with the current 6th best being Janarius
Robinson, a candidate for the practice squad if Barnett is not traded, Robinson is a young player with all the desired measurables, so would be hard to hide on the practice squad... He'd likely be poached by another team).
Fletcher Cox has a 1 year 10 mil contract (a 4 mil
cut from his 14 mil 2022 salary). He appears, at 32, to be entering his
last year as an Eagle. He brings an important veteran presence, a
maturity, to an otherwise young interior group. With Javon Hargrave leaving, he
was retained for continuity at the Defensive Tackle (DT) position. His salary is considered
high, although he did manage 7 sacks in the regular season last year. Milton Williams enters the 3rd (inexpensive…
1.1 mil cap hit) year of his rookie year. He’s developed well, and is a
very good rotational piece for the Eagles at defensive tackle behind Fletcher
Cox. If Williams plays well again, with Cox likely leaving after this year
(unless he’s willing, like Brandon Graham, to reduce his snaps as a backup, and
of course, his salary) Williams will become an extension candidate before
entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2024. He may see
himself as NOT a rotational tackle though (5 mil), and could play out his deal
and pursue a starting role (and $) in Free Agency.
Ex-Georgia teammates Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter
are projected DT starters for 2024. They are on the 2nd and 1st years
respectively of rookie deals, although, as the 13th and 9th picks in their
respective drafts they are not inexpensive rookie deals (6 and 4 mil cap hits
this year). Pun intended… Big things expected from both interior
players this year.
The Vic Fangio defensive scheme implemented by the
Eagles under Jonathan Gannon is one Sean Desai intends to continue to
run. DT has really become 2 positions under this scheme- Nose Tackle vs
Defensive Tackle. Of the aforementioned Cox, Williams, Davis and Carter,
only Davis is really capable of playing the “0 technique” I.e. a traditional
“Nose” position over the center. Jalen Carter brings tremendous flexibility
and is capable of lining up on any position of the D front with the possible
exception of the 0
technique (even at 315, he’s a bit light to play the
0). Williams is more a 3 or 4
technique DT. Cox prefers those roles
too, although like Carter he can play all but the “0” tech. Still, the
Eagles will need at least 1 player to back up Davis, capable of playing the
“0.”
Behind Cox, Davis, Carter and Williams (Totaling
across the four a 21.1mil cap hit this year) will reside the competition for
5th and 6th DT’s. FA signing Kentavius Street brings a solid NFL resume
while carrying an affordable 1.3 mil cap, 530k of that guaranteed. 7th
round pick Moro Ojomo was a value pick by the Eagles (his talent and on field
performance anticipated a draft position in the top 10 picks of round 4) and he
will compete… He’s of course on an inexpensive rookie deal. Both Street
and Ojomo bring some interior flexibility on the DL, but again neither can back
up Jordan Davis and play a pure Nose Tackle. Marlon Tuiapolotu PERHAPS can back
up Davis… Note although he is returning from a 2022 injury, he is also on the 3rd year of
his inexpensive rookie deal. Finally, Noah Ellis is a big body Nose
Tackle, a possible true backup to Jordan Davis, also on a rookie deal (2nd year
of a RFA contract). These 4 represent tremendous depth behind the top 4,
and this author believes the Eagles will keep two of them along with the top 4
interior linemen on the 53 man roster, while trying to stash the other two on
either the practice squad or IR.
At “off ball” or “stack” linebacker, Nakobe Dean
enters his 2nd year as a 3rd round rookie LB (just under 1 mil), while Nick
Morrow has been brought in on a very inexpensive Free Agent deal (1.15 mil but
no guaranteed $). Christian Ellis is the third off ball LB, on an
inexpensive rookie deal. He’s a ST ace who will compete for a starting
job. Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley are other LBs “in the room,” both
rookies on inexpensive deals. Taylor is incredibly athletic but lacks LB
instincts. Bradley is a very good ST player, but has not shown enough to
climb the depth chart. Ben Van Sumeren is a RFA (inexpensive!) who, like
Davion Taylor, brings a wealth of athletic ability, but also like Taylor is not
instinctive at the position (Taylor has a real uphill battle to make this
roster). Van Sumeren certainly has ST potential though so could make the
53. This, on paper is a very cheap “room” (position) for the Eagles.
Unfortunately, even given the positive projections for Dean, the remaining anticipated
talent here reflects that. So it is possible Howie could spend some $,
either via FA acquisition or trade, before the season starts, to increase the
talent here.
At CB, the Eagles unexpectedly managed to keep
both their outside guys… Darius Slay and James Bradberry. Slay is a 5
time pro bowl corner. Bradberry was 2nd team All Pro last year.
Slay, after almost getting cut as a cap saving move, was retained after a rare
re-negotiation and the corresponding decision not to bring back safety CJ
Gardner Johnson (it would have been virtually impossible for the Eagles to bring
back all 3 under their DB budget). Slay’s contract is a 3 year 42 mil
deal (22.5 mil guaranteed) that also includes 4 voidable years thru 2029.
Slay actually signed the new deal for less $ per season than his prior deal,
the trade off here for Slay being his prior deal no longer contained guaranteed
money moving forward. Slay now knows he’ll likely be with the team 2 more
years. For the Eagles to retain him in that 3rd year of the deal he’ll
need to truly play ‘lights out.” His 16.1 mil 2025 option bonus is the
mountain he’d face approaching age 35. He otherwise has a chance to retire as an
Eagle. As to Bradberry, he resigned with the same structure as Slay, 3
years 38.1 mil (20 mil guaranteed) plus 4 voidable years thru 2029. His
option bonus is like Slays (16.6 mil entering his 3rd year). Bradberry is
a good player but the pass rush helped him, and the tape apparently has
revealed he’ll have to earn his money in 2023-4 (he had some coverage holes
teams did not expose in 2022-3).
Next at CB is slot guy Avonte Maddox. This
year he has a veteran min 1.08 base salary (cap hit is just under $ mil), plus
a roster bonus of just under 30k per game (he has to be active on the 46
man active group in the game to get that bonus). He is a good, but injury
prone player. His cap hit rises to 10 mil next year (2024). If he
cannot stay healthy this year, the Eagles will likely view the 8 figure cap hit
as too high for a slot CB. Zech McPherson is on a rookie (cheap 4th
round) deal and this author believes he’ll be is backing up Maddox in the
slot. McPherson primary role this year should change from outside corner
to slot corner, a good thing, since he’s a more natural slot corner.
Their mutual performances will determine whether they are 2024 Eagles.
The likely 3rd string slot corner is Josiah Scott, a RFA who last year played
behind Maddox when Avonte was hurt, but will likely be a practice squad
candidate this year assuming McPherson performs up to capability and surpasses
him in the slot.
As far as backup outside corners, Greedy Williams
is a 5th year veteran coming over from the Browns after signing a 1 Year 1.18
mil dollar deal. He brings a 2nd round pedigree plus good measurables for
the position, but injuries (like Maddox, he has a per game roster bonus of 10k
if active) and poor performance had the Browns let him walk, and made him
available to the Eagles at this inexpensive number. The 4th outside
corner, 2nd off the bench if you will, will likely be another Georgia rookie,
Keelee Ringo, whose 4th round rookie deal is still being negotiated. But
it is slotted, will almost certainly be signed before camp, and will be
inexpensive. He represents a great insurance policy on the depth chart
who has incredible measurables for the position, brings an under-rated
performance from Georgia on his resume, and represents a potentially prolific young corner of the future as well. Further, the Eagles have a pair
of inexpensive but highly touted RFA’s (Eli Ricks and Mekhi Garner) cornerbacks likely
slated for the practice squad.
At safety, Terelle Edmunds was a starting safety
for 5 years for the Steelers, a former 1st round pick who, while not a bad
player, is just an average one, never having played up to his
height/weight/speed potential, nor his draft pedigree. He received a
modest Eagle deal (1 year, 1.13 mil, 600k guaranteed) with 670k in per game roster
bonuses that would take him close to 2 mil. Safety Justin Evans was
another highly drafted (2nd round) player who was also an inexpensive Eagle
signee… Not do to his play, but rather because he’s suffered a few serious
injuries and so has missed a lot of time. His contract is identical to
Edmunds, except somewhat lower in per game roster bonuses (total
260k). Competing with them on the depth chart will be 3 cheap contracts…
Reed Blankenship on the 2nd year of a cheap RFA 3 year deal, Sydney Brown on an
inexpensive 1st year of a rookie 3rd year deal (870k), & Kavon Wallace on
the final year of his rookie deal (1 mil non-guaranteed), likely the one most
fighting for a roster spot. It is interesting to note that by %, veteran
safeties Edmunds and Evans have higher roster bonuses than most other
Eagles. Unlike a signing bonus, the amount of a roster bonus is not prorated
over the lifetime of a player's contract, so the roster bonuses for the 2 new
Eagle veterans above can be used (and all 3 of these apply to Edmunds and
Evans) to…
-
Front-load the salary cap impact of a contract, lessening its impact on future
years.
-
Not necessarily be paid, creating an ability to optionally cut the player reducing
guaranteed $.
-
“Awarding” via roster bonus, weekly player availability (protect against
lack of availability due to injury).
So what are the key negotiating positions for
contracts? For the player, always concerned about injury, it’s “When does
my guaranteed money run out?” For the team, it’s “When is the earliest I
can get out of the deal,” if they missed on the evaluation. The Eagles are
fearless, and aggressive when it comes to contracts. They like signing
veterans to 1 Year prove it (cheap) deals, believing guys with the right psyche will be
additionally motivated by the scenario. They believe in sports science,
medical evaluations & acceptable injury risks. This has allowed them to
position heavy dollars into the future to leverage player value across seasons,
thus attracting great players (Hassan Reddick, AJ Brown, etc) to either come or
stay. The only example where they got burned with this methodology was
the resigning of wr Alshon Jeffrey after the 2017 Super Bowl season (he got
hurt and was unable to return at his prior level of play… we’ll similarly see
how Derrick Barnett performs this year after being lost to injury last year). Their
more recent use of 1 year deals and option bonuses are good examples of how
their approach has evolved since 2018-2019, enabling them to mitigate some of
that catastrophic injury risk.
But the reality and down side of being a really
good football team is you can’t pay everybody. What appears a natural
projected progression from Jason Peters to Jordan Mialata, Branden Brooks to
Landon Dickerson or (soon) Jason Kelce to Cam Jurgens will need to continue
(Fletcher Cox to Jalen Carter, Brandon Graham to Nolan Smith). Perhaps the biggest key is to leverage
the cost/benefit of highly talented players on rookie contracts!
So the secret sauce for good cap management? Good roster management in 4 areas- Veteran
Administration, Player Acquisition Management, Resource Management AND Cap
Financial Management. These are the
techniques in each area used by the Eagles (with player names that are examples)...
Veteran Administration:
- Contract restructures for valued vets (Darius
Slay, Lane Johnson…)
- Appropriate veteran releases (Jason Peters,
Rodney McCloud {Marcus Epps? Isaac Seumalo?) …)
- Re-sign declining vets at reduced $ that, while
aging, can still play well (F Cox, B Graham…) OR
- Trade declining veterans (Zach Ertz, Carson
Wentz…)
Player Acquisition Management:
- Free-agent signing bargains (Haason Reddick,
James Bradberry…)
- UDFA’s (Undrafted Rookie FA’s)... Find ‘em, use
‘em (R. Blankenship, Brit Covey {Ben Van Sumeren?} …)
- Draft success = young, low$ players who play
well quickly (D Smith, L Dickerson, {N Dean? J Davis?}) …
- Good $ value trade acquisitions (AJ Brown, CJ
Gardner-Johnson {D’Andre Swift?}) …
- One year FA prove it deals for low $ FA guys
(Kyzir White, Zach Pascal, {Rashad Penny? Nick Morrow?}) …
- Ring Shoppers, leverage the ‘vet ring shopper
market’ (Linval Joseph, Ndamukong Suh…)
- Coach up late draftees to max potential
(Jordan Mialata, Jason Kelce {Keelee Ringo? Moro Ojomo?}) …
Resource Management:
- Positional $ Allocation, choose positions to
spend well under League avg (RB, LB, Safety)
- Improve future draft position w/cur picks
('22 Saints trade got extra 2nd,'23 6th for '24 Bucs 5th) …
- Future draft picks for perceived better present value
('24 4th for D'Andre Swift, '24 3rd for Keelee Ringo) …
- Compensatory picks for loss of FA ('23 FA
losses add four '24 picks, lotsa 1 yr expiring '24 deals) …
- Compensatory picks if losing minority
coordinators (All 3 2023 Eagle Coord, including Michael Clay are minority) …
Cap Financial Management:
- Signing bonuses prorate initial payments to
close deals across deals life (Name your Eagle veteran)
- Option bonuses, like signing bonuses prorate
across remainder of contract (Josh Sweat, D Goedert) …
- Roster bonuses are to mitigate injury risks
&/or flexibly cut (A. Maddox 30k/game, J. Evans 10k/game) …
- Restructure Bonus- Convert base salary or
roster bonus into restructure (Derek Barnett, J Elliott) …
- Workout Bonus is added to vet deals to entice
participation & front load (Sua Opeta, Aaron Siposs) …
- Voidable years in expensive vet contracts
borrow against tomorrow's cheap $ (Name your Eagle veteran)
Eagle Lessons Learned: So how will the “Nobody borrows against
tomorrow like the Eagles” philosophy play out across a longer period of time? Perhaps this was what
Jerry Jones was referencing late last season when criticizing the Eagles as
“emptying the bucket and get to the Super Bowl.”
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