Adrian Fedkiw
This shouldn’t be a surprise.
Seldom-used Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks could be on the move this offseason, according to this report by Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.
According to a source, the Philadelphia Eagles are willing to move on from Mychal Kendricks this offseason, and it is anticipated that teams around the league will have interest in acquiring Kendricks via a trade.
Kendricks will count for $6,600,000 against the salary cap in 2017, $1,800,000 of which the Eagles would save if they released or traded him. Kendricks would count for $4,800,000 in dead money. As PhillyVoice reported a few weeks ago, the Eagles are expected to free up significant cap space this offseason.
Another option at the Eagles’ disposal is to designate Kendricks as a “June 1st cut.” In that scenario, the Eagles would save $5,000,000 (with only $1,600,000 in dead money) in 2017 if they released Kendricks, but that savings would not come until June 1. While that approach would offer added cap relief in 2017, it will affect the future salary cap, as $3,200,000 in dead money would carry over into 2018. In essence, it’s a way that teams can delay the impact of a cap hit, but the cap penalties eventually even out. It is not anticipated that the Eagles will opt for this approach, and it is unknown if the Eagles would release Kendricks at all if trade offers unexpectedly did not emerge.
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Considering Kendricks only saw 26.8 percent of the team’s snaps last year and him not being a fit here, you’d see why he’s expendable. He may fit another team’s need, Kendricks was solid his first couple seasons in Philly as a blitzing linebacker. He excels in that part of his game using his timing and speed, but hasn’t been doing that as much with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz liking to rush with four down linemen most of the time. Missed tackles in the open field has been his downfall with the Birds the last couple years.
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