Every year fans get excited when they see the salary cap number rise, but every team’s cap increases, and with the rise in the cap, come exorbitant free agent costs. The Eagles rarely dip into the deep end of the pool in free agency, and this year has not been any different, and it is the smart way to be.
Rising Prices
More money means agents want more for their clients. This is one reason why Eagles GM Howie Roseman has extended his players with backloaded contracts before they reach free agency. Extending early and paying later is successful when you choose the right players to do it with. You pay interest-free loans with the knowledge that you get a pay raise every year (cap increases) but I digress. In short, the Eagles are smart to avoid this time of free agency, most of the time. Not signing top-tier players does not mean they have been inactive.
Howie SZN Via Trades for Eagles
Howie and the Eagles have been relatively quiet on the Free Agent front, but the team has been busy orchestrating trades to free cap space in future years to have the ability to pay out the contracts their young core will demand when they extend them. Drafting ahead of needs is also key in establishing depth so you can afford to move on from players, who are not part of your core future, and still compete for titles. A few recent examples include, but are not limited to, Moro Ojomo potentially taking over for Milton Williams, Sydney Brown over CJGJ, Jalyx Hunt for Josh Sweat, and Tanner McKee for Kenny Pickett. Now that their bases are covered, they can hunt for bargains, which happens once the dust settles after the first 48 hours of free agency.
Costs Normalize after the Frenzy
Once the initial free agency signing period ends, prices normalize and teams who are patient can start to get some discounts. The Eagles do not like to go into the FA market, or the draft, with glaring needs for that reason. They accomplish this by having players on the roster who are prepared. The signings that the Eagles usually make in free agency are for backup roles, and to create competition. If a top-tier player falls into their laps, they pounce. They have landed many a good contributor late in the offseason, including Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in 2022, whom they acquired via trade in late August of that year.
Prioritizing the correct positions in the Draft
The Eagles invest heavily in the trenches during the draft, and there are many reasons, including costs. In 2021, the Eagles selected Milton Williams with a third-round pick, in 2022, Jordan Davis with a first-round pick, in 2023, Jalen Carter with a first and Moro Ojomo with a 7th (a steal). I would not be surprised for them to draft DT within the first two rounds in 2025. The reason? Between 2020 and 2024, the average cost of the top ten Defensive Tackles has increased 69%.
In 2020, the average yearly salary for the top 10 DTs was $ 13.1M, in 2024, it soared to $22.1M. That used to be how the Edge market was, but now DT reigns as King. During that same time frame, the top-ten average salary for Edge rushers went from $17.6M to $22.2M, good for a 26% increase. Still notable, but not comparable to defensive tackles.
Their counterpart on the lines, the iOLs, have had a 25% increase over the past three years with their average top-ten contracts at $17M last season. So as that illustrates, Howie was ahead of the curve in seeing, and reacting, to the trend, and investing heavily via draft capital. Paying free agents at these positions kills your cap, and limits you from signing your core players long term. In the next year, the Eagles will be able to extend Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and Cam Jurgens.
The Eagles will need to have the resources available, as they did when they kept Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, and Brandon Graham together as the core-four during the 2010s into the 2020s. For Philadelphia to keep Carter, Smith, Jurgens, and others together into 2030, they will need that same flexibility in payroll. The new core has the same talent to play together for ten or more years as well.
The Offseason
While some may think the heavy lifting on structuring a team is done in March, or April, the offseason is a long process with ebbs and flows and many changing parts. The 2025 Philadelphia Eagles are not close to being finished, and the face and personality of the team are far from a completed product. Howie SzN has just begun!
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Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
