March 13, 2018
The Philadelphia Eagles went a long way toward freeing up much need cap space on Tuesday, when they restructured the contract of Lane Johnson, by converting a big chunk of his 2018 salary into a signing bonus that they can spread out over the remainder of his deal. Per Field Yates of ESPN, that move will free up $7.5 million in 2018.
Source: the Eagles have created $7.5M in cap space for 2018 by restructuring OT Lane Johnson's deal. His new cap hit is now $4.98M, down from $12.48M, with Johnson also collecting a $4.192M signing bonus.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 13, 2018
In my view, Lane Johnson was the best offensive tackle in the NFL last season. Not "right tackle," to be clear. Just the best tackle, period. He was better than Tyron Smith, Trent Williams, or any other name you might throw out.
Obviously, he will be a big part of the Eagles' offense for the foreseeable future, so adding money onto his contract down the road, thus making him more difficult to cut, should not be a worry for the Eagles' front office.
The Eagles now have less than $3 million to free up to get under the cap by 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
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