May 17, 2022
The Philadelphia Eagles have, by my count, 30 players playing on the final year of their contracts. Obviously, some of those players are more important than others. Here we'll put those 30 soon-to-be free agents into various buckets, and analyze which of them the Eagles should be interested in keeping in Philly, long-term.
Last year, this bucket included players like Jordan Mailata and Josh Sweat, who both got long-term deals done. This year, there's only one player who fits in this bucket.
We can quibble over the value of interior defensive linemen, but the Eagles clearly value them heavily. Hargrave got off to a slow start in his first year in Philly in 2020. He closed strong, but few noticed since the team was a train wreck. In 2021, Hargrave was dominant to start the season, but his production tailed off some as the season progressed. Still, he did enough to (rightfully) earn a Pro Bowl nod.
Hargrave turned 29 in February. He'll be a round, taboo age of 30 when free agency rolls around next offseason. As such, he would be smart to strongly consider an extension now. The Eagles, meanwhile, have a player in Hargrave who appears to have just entered his prime as something of a late bloomer. A three-year extension would make sense.
The Eagles should only be interested in extending non-premium position players at reasonable, team-friendly costs.
Sanders is explosive and a big-play threat, but his reliability in the passing game (both as a receiver and in pass protection) has not been consistent, and he has often failed to get the easy yards that are blocked up for him.
If he can show in 2022 that he can put it all together and become a complete back, then the Eagles should attempt to re-sign him to a team-friendly extension. Otherwise, they should be willing to let him test free agency in 2023.
We should probably take a more comprehensive look at Sanders' situation soon. (Adds it to the writing schedule.)
Technically, these players aren't considered free agents in 2023, because they have scheduled salaries on the books. However, those salaries will become guaranteed for like eleventy bajillion dollars on certain dates, so action will be required by the Eagles (or the players) before those dates.
Kelce will decide on a year-to-year basis whether he wants to continue to play in the NFL, and Graham is probably right there with him at this point.
The Eagles have a handful of valuable players who could perhaps be more useful to other teams around the league. The should consider trading them at the right price rather than losing them for nothing in free agency next offseason.
This is a well-covered bucket, and you can catch up here. Back in January, we said that the Eagles should consider accepting fourth-round picks for Dillard or Minshew. With the Eagles looking more and more like contenders after a strong offseason, thus making Dillard and Minshew potentially more valuable to the Eagles as depth pieces, I'd probably bump that up to third-round picks for each player.
These players hit the open market this offseason, and were likely disappointed with the interest they received around the league. They signed "prove it" one-year deals with the Eagles.
We'll call this the Alshon Jeffery / Steven Nelson bucket.
In 2017, Jeffery signed a "prove it" one-year deal at a discount rate, had a good start to the season, and received an in-season contract extension. I believe that could be on the table for White or Pascal (perhaps more so White) if they prove to be valuable players.
In 2021, Nelson signed a "prove it" one-year deal, started all season, increased his value, and signed a decent contract with the Texans this offseason.
This bucket consists of players who aren't ever likely to break the bank in free agency, but the team likes them and would theoretically like to have them around a little longer.
Both Edwards and Epps saw their roles increase in 2021. Edwards now has competition for his starting job in Nakobe Dean, while Epps could eventually be challenged by a free agent safety acquisition as this offseason continues.
The Eagles extended Edwards' contract by a year in November last year.
In this bucket, you have a group of players who are very unlikely to warrant an in-season contract extension, and their status with the team will be reevaluated at the end of the season.
I debated where to put Seumalo, since I believe he is an under-the-radar trade candidate. But this is probably the best spot for him.
This was the Joe Flacco / Ryan Kerrigan bucket last year. Kudos to the Eagles for not adding any super old dudes this offseason (so far).
Roster bubble players:
RFAs are players with only three accrued seasons with expiring contracts. If the team tenders them, they will get a modest bump in pay for one season, before becoming unrestricted free agents the following offseason.
The above players should warrant at least a tender discussion at the end of the season, but they are not candidates for long-term in-season contract extensions.
More accurately, these guys aren't likely to make the team this year.
ERFAs are players with only two accrued seasons with expiring contracts. The team can opt to keep them for an additional year at the end of the season, and continue to pay them peanuts.
And then there's Matt Leo.
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