On the Clock: 2023 Philadelphia Eagles (from the New Orleans Saints)

The Eagles were the breakout team in 2022 amassing the best record in the NFC and doing so under the guidance of Howie Roseman.  Roseman saw the Eagles win the Superbowl, blew up the team, and then rebuilt it again to almost win another one.  Along the way they were able to secure a Top 10 pick in the process.  The Eagles are in prime position to once again make it to the big game and have a lot of pieces to do so.

How did Philadelphia get New Orleans Pick​

2022 Record: 14-3
GM: Howie Roseman
HC: Nick Sirianni
OC: Vacant
DC: Jonathan Gannon

Statistical Leaders:

Offense: 3rd Scoring
Jalen Hurts 66.5%, 3701 22-6, 165-760-13
Miles Sanders 259-1269-11
DeVonta Smith 95-1196-7
A.J. Brown 88-1496-11

Defense: 8th Scoring
TJ Edwards 159 Tak, 10 TFL
CJ Gardner-Johnson 6 Int, 8 PD
Hasson Reddick 16 Sacks, 11 TFL
Josh Sweat/Javon Hargrave/Brandon Graham 11 Sacks

Notable Free Agents:

Pos, Name, Age, Contract Status, 2022 Snap Count
CB - James Bradberry (30), Void, 97.5%
LG - Isaac Seumalo (30), Void, 96.4%
RB - Miles Sanders (26), UFA, 57.1%

Draft Picks:

(6) Projected Cost of Rookie Picks in 2023: $9.9m
Round 1 #10
Round 1 #30
Round 2 #62
Round 3 #95
Round 7 #221
Round 7 #251

Salary Cap:

The Eagles are 9.9m under the cap currently and have 65 players already rostered.  They have 6 picks in the upcoming draft with 4 of them in the Top 100.  That is a nice place to be, but don’t expect GM Howie Roseman to stay there.  Darius Slay will be entering his age 32 season and will account for 11.1% of the Eagles cap hit.  He has 3 voidable years on his deal which makes getting rid of him a tough sell for Roseman.  He will incur a 22.4m dead cap hit unless the Eagles designate him as a post-June 1st cut, in which they will only have an 8.6m cap hit.  
Lane Johnson is another player who has 3 voided years built into his contract, however his bonus hasn’t been prorated as his voided years go until 2028.  He has a large base salary which the Eagles could convert to bonus to prorate it as well, but coming into the season at 33, that is a large hit for a player even one as talented as Johnson. 

Restructure/Re-sign:

The way that the contracts are built for the Eagles, their top 5 salary cap hits all have multiple years built into their deals.  The proverbial “kicking the can down the road” is going to eventually catch up to the Eagles and doesn’t give them a lot of wiggle room when it comes to restructuring.  Especially when the franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts is set to become a free agent in 2024.  I expect Roseman to be very savvy when it comes to the off-season talks with some of his older players who are costing a lot against the cap.  How much longer does he want to pay players by adding voidable years?

Free Agency/Draft:

I don’t imagine the Eagles will make a big splash in free agency, but with 2 1st-round picks, I would expect one of those picks to be traded for selections in future years.  Remember the Los Angeles Rams, yeah, the opposite of that.  Due to the contracts and the pieces that will be coming up in the next few years, the Eagles would be wise to flip one of their first-round picks for picks in 2024 and 2025 because by that time they will need the cheapest options to fill their roster with Hurts set to make franchise quarterback money.  Teams commonly want to jump back into the first round for the 5th-year option on a player and pick #30 is a perfect place to do that.  Time will tell if that is what Roseman will do come draft time.