Regardless of how you view the Eagles’ offseason approach, the franchise has to right the ship on the defense no matter what. The team has to correct their mistakes of the past and focus on improving a secondary that was their Achilles heel last season. While Darius Slay did hold his own last season, we witnessed the fall from grace that was James Bradberry’s season under a new contract.
Although Bradberry only allowed 59.4% of passes against him to be completed, the veteran allowed a passer rating of 114.3 while allowing 740 receiving yards, 219 yards after the catch, and a career-worst 11 touchdowns against him. That’s enough to not only piss off a fan base but to push a franchise to do unthinkable things in order of getting rid of that contract.
There’s a possibility that Bradberry’s play resulted from a weak safety group and a poor defensive scheme. For all we know he could bounce back under Vic Fangio and have an All-Pro season. Or he could get worse and end up being the highest-paid benchwarmer in Eagles history. Both could be strong possibilities.
The unknown that surrounds James Bradberry could allow Howie Roseman to get a bit creative in the cornerback market. If he does or does not move on from JB, L’Jarius Sneed could be the apple of Roseman’s eye.
Should the Eagles be all-in on Sneed?
He’s a Super Bowl-winning cornerback who could create an elite tandem with Darius Slay and finish his prime years in Philadelphia. At 27 years old, Sneed is coming off of his best professional season thus far. He allowed a career-best 51% completion percentage against him and kept all assignments in front of him as not a single-player score on the stud cornerback.
That’s why the Eagles need a cornerback especially since Darius Slay won’t be around forever and no one knows what the young guys are truly capable of just yet. This could lead to a tandem of Ringo and Sneed once Slay retires which could be a sight for sore eyes in Philadelphia.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. As reported on Wednesday, the Chiefs have decided to place their franchise tag on Sneed in hopes of moving him and being compensated. While the Chiefs may hope for a king’s ransom in exchange for Sneed, that’s nowhere near a guarantee, especially with the number of talented corners in the draft and free agency on top of the other top corners that may be available for trade.
The Chiefs could be attempting to work a market that’s working against their intentions which could favor a team like the Philadelphia Eagles. Now to say that Howie can pull a fast one over the Super Bowl champs would be a huge lie but Howie Roseman can get away with trading for Sneed and not feeling the repercussions of it.
The Eagles currently own two 2nd round draft picks and four 5th round draft picks. The Eagles’ pick is currently at 50th overall while the Saints’ pick that they own is the 53rd overall pick. I’m fully convinced that either of those picks paired with either a 5th rounder from this year or their only 2025 5th rounder could get the job done.
Back in 2020, the Eagles traded a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick in exchange for Darius Slay. After that trade, Slay signed a three-year deal worth up to $50 million with $30 million guaranteed. L’Jarius Sneed could be had for a 2nd rounder and a 5th rounder in an offseason where the Eagles have two second-round picks.
The only part of this scenario that could get tricky would be the extension. With the Eagles being tied to James Bradberry, what would be a fair price to pay for Sneed? At 27 years old, according to Spotrac.com, Sneed’s market value would be at a 4-year deal worth $63.3 million with an average salary of $16.3 million. When the Eagles extended Slay, they made him one of the top-paid cornerbacks in the league and he was worth every penny.
This deal wouldn’t put Sneed in that bracket but it would be a significant payday for a player his age. Not too many teams would give game-changing cornerback money to a player who’s older than 25 years old which is completely understandable. If Sneed wants to come to Philly then the extension would be the most intriguing part of the equation.
How would you feel about the Eagles trading for one of the top ten cornerbacks in the league?
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
