Brent Celek, as he always does, showed to be a team player when he agreed to take a $1 million pay cut, dropping his 2016 cap hit from $4 million to $3 million.
In need of salary cap relief, the Eagles simply extended Celek’s guarantee over one more season on his $13 million deal (with $6 million promised) from last offseason.
The tight end’s announcement barely makes a debt in the Eagles’ deficit, which will stand just over $9 million after they spend what is expected to be $6 million in draft picks next week.
A Jason Peters restructure could be next, if the future Hall of Fame left tackle agrees, as his $11.7 million cap hit could really help Philly if they were able to figure out a team-friendly compromise.
Other expendable players include Ryan Mathews and Jason Kelce, whose releases would open nearly $4 million apiece in cap space.
The Eagles are also exploring trade options to move Mychal Kendricks — a dynamic 3-4 linebacker who had trouble getting on the field last season — though his deal is not particularly attractive to any possible trade partner.
With eight picks in the upcoming NFL draft, don’t be surprised if a few players on the current roster are moved in addition to any possible trades of picks or draft position. With Howie Roseman’s notorious salary cap creativity, anything is possible — especially in the post-Brock Osweiler megatrade era (as the Browns essentially were send a draft pick as compensation for also taking on the salary of the overpaid Osweiler).
