Bleeding Green Nation
No money, mo’ problems
As the high from the Super Bowl starts to fade, a harsh reality is about to set in: the Eagles have several key free agents, and they can’t afford to keep them all. They can’t afford to keep most of them.
The Eagles have just under $14M in effective cap space, currently the 21st lowest (and they’re 27th in 2026 cap space and 32nd in 2027 cap space). The Eagles have basically no avenue create more cap room.
Because they have structured contracts to be extremely bonus heavy, every player not on their rookie contract makes the minimum in salary. This means that they can not convert anyone’s 2025 salary into a bonus to create immediate cap space because no one makes enough in salary to restructure. Nor can they cut or trade anyone to create meaningful cap space, the only player who saves more than $1.5M to move is Cam Jurgens, which isn’t going to happen. The only on paper option available to the Eagles to create significant cap space would be to restructure the contract of Jalen Hurts to lower the salary cap hit of his option bonus.
So get ready for the Eagles to lose some players they would like to keep. At least they go out as Super Bowl winners.
Eagles Unrestricted Free Agents, in order of snaps played:
The Eagles got outstanding linebacker play in 2024 and it’s possible that neither starter plays a snap for them in 2025. Nakobe Dean could be out for the entire season. Baun might get a payday elsewhere that’s too rich for the Eagles. The franchise tag is not an option, projected at $27M for LBs because the rules make no distinction between inside LBs and pass rushing outside LBs. As an organizational philosophy the Eagles have never heavily invested in interior LBs, but they may have to make an exception.
The worry is that Baun’s out of nowhere season was a one year wonder. The Saints tried to make him an interior LB and couldn’t get it to work. Keeping Baun is a risk, but letting him walk is a bigger one.
Baun is the hardest free agent for the Eagles to replace as they have no in house replacement available, can’t have a reasonable expectation to draft a replacement, or to find another diamond in the rough in free agency.
Becton sitting on the field tearing up as he soaked in winning the Super Bowl was an awesome moment. Getting out of New York showed that he can play, and there’s never a shortage of demand for offensive linemen in free agency. The Eagles will have options to replace him. Tyler Steen was adequate in his stead, this draft is strong in interior OL, and they should have no trouble signing a Becton-like change scenery veteran if they want. Go get your money, Mekhi.
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