February 17, 2018

Eagles stay or go: Defensive tackle

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Now that the Philadelphia Eagles' offseason is (finally) underway, let's take a look at each position and figure out which players will be back in 2018, and which ones will be playing elsewhere. Here we'll look at defensive tackle.

Fletcher Cox

Cox is among the best interior defensive linemen in the league, and he was extremely disruptive in the Eagles' road to the Super Bowl. He's also locked in for the next few years on a very lucrative deal. Obviously, Cox isn't going anywhere.

#JimmyVerdict: Stay.

Your verdict:

Timmy Jernigan

Jernigan played really well over the first half of the season, and then kind of faded down the stretch. Still, he just signed a four year, $48 million contract extension, so he's not going anywhere.

#JimmyVerdict: Stay.

Your verdict:

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Beau Allen

Allen is a free agent this offseason, and it helps his value on the open market that he has played reasonably well in multiple schemes. I believe that Allen can start in the NFL, and while I don't think he'll break the bank by any means, I do think he'll receive an offer that the cap-starved Eagles will not be wise to match.

#JimmyVerdict: Go.

Your verdict:

Destiny Vaeao

In two of their three playoff games, the Eagles opted to go with just three defensive tackles, leaving Vaeao and Elijah Qualls on the inactive list. I think that was somewhat telling of what they think of Vaeao.

#JimmyVerdict: With Allen potentially bolting in free agency, Vaeao will have a chance to make the team again. Those chances will decrease if the Eagles address the DT position in the draft, which seems likely.

Your verdict:

Elijah Qualls

Qualls was mostly inactive this season, but he did appear in six games as a rookie. The team likely views Qualls as having more upside than Vaeao, which should give him a leg up in training camp competition next summer.

#JimmyVerdict: He'll still have to earn a roster spot, but I'd lean toward Qualls staying.

Your verdict:

#JimmyVerdict Stay or Go Results

Green = Stay

Red = Go

Orange = They'll make it to camp, and will have to prove they belong on the roster.

(Note: Some mobile versions will not display colors.)

Position	1	2	3	4
QB	Carson Wentz	Nick Foles	Nate Sudfeld
RB	Jay Ajayi	LeGarrette Blount	Corey Clement	Darren Sproles
RB (cont)	Wendell Smallwood	Donnel Pumphrey	Kenjon Barner
WR	Alshon Jeffery	Torrey Smith	Nelson Agholor	Mack Hollins
WR (cont)	Shelton Gibson	Marcus Johnson
TE	Zach Ertz	Brent Celek	Trey Burton
OT	Jason Peters	Lane Johnson	Halapoulivaati Vaitai	Will Beatty
OG	Brandon Brooks	Stefen Wisniewski	Chance Warmack
C	Jason Kelce	Isaac Seumalo
DE	Brandon Graham	Vinny Curry	Derek Barnett	Chris Long
DE (cont)	Steven Means
DT	Fletcher Cox	Tim Jernigan	Beau Allen	Destiny Vaeao
DT (cont)	Elijah Qualls
LB
CB
S
K/P/LS
Head coach
Defensive coordinator
GM