Adrian Fedkiw
Ahh, the annual Howie Roseman specialty.
The Philadelphia Eagles are a bit cash strapped at the moment following last year’s spending spree and according to the Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski, they’re going to free up “quite a bit” of cap space. So who could be on the way out in Philly?
Conner Barwin and Ryan Mathews seem like safe goners. The Eagles would save $7.75 million by trading or cutting Barwin, $4 million for the injury-prone Mathews. Barwin is better suited in a 3-4 defense. Jason Kelce ($3.8 million) played better the second half of the year, but Doug Pederson had to scheme for him. He’d prefer more power, preferably a 300-plus pounder. Kelce was around 285-290.
Leodis McKelvin ($3.2 million), Mychal Kendricks ($1.8 million), Allen Barbre ($2.1 million) and Nigel Bradham ($3 million) could be other options to free up space. McKelvin was atrocious, Kendricks has been a headscratcher, Barbre played really well last season and would consider keeping the versatile lineman, but he is 33 in June. Bradham of course has all of his off-the-field cases upcoming.
Jason Peters has a team-high cap number of $11.7 million and it appears that Pederson would like him to return. He returned playing at a high level, bouncing back in a slower-paced offense as opposed to Chip Kelly’s up-tempo attack, where Peters seemingly left every game with a nagging injury.
So what would all of this maneuvering set up?
There’s been a lot of speculation regarding a potential Alshon Jeffery signing following the hire of Mike Groh, Jeffery’s old wide receiver coach in Chicago for three seasons. He’s going to want a lot of money, however. He’s a playmaker and arguably a top 10 receiver in the league, but is he worth say an annual price in the $16-18 million range? He’s 26 and has the game to play in his 30s if the Eagles decide to bring him in longterm. He’s a win the ball at the catch point wideout and doesn’t use elite speed to dominate. He wins with positioning and hand strength.
The other route that’s been discussed is a reunion between DeSean Jackson and Philadelphia. The Eagles could obviously use a deep threat and he can still go. He’d be half the annual price of Jeffery I would assume, which would allow the Birds to add another wideout. Kenny Britt has been a name tossed around due to the Groh ties, as has Brian Quick and Marques Wilson.
The other big need on the team is cornerback. The draft is loaded with them and that would be the route I’d take regarding the position. Whether they take one in the first round, or double up with a pair in the middle rounds, the draft route appears to be the more promising avenue to attack this need. The wide receiver class hasn’t been as highly regarded as years past. Mike Williams seems to be a potential star, but I think he’ll be gone when the Eagles pick. Leonard Fournette and Dalvin Cook are other offensive options I’d seriously consider if they’re still on the board.
Howie talked about wanting to not only make the playoffs, but be good enough to get the byes. The draft is going to dictate that, but free agency can jump-start the process.
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