Eagles' Early Offseason Outlook: What happens if it all stays the same?

With the season now over halfway through, the Eagles are coming off a big win against the Chicago Bears. The outcome of the remainder of the season will have a huge impact on what could be one of the more important offseasons in recent memory. With the grand gesture to cement Carson Wentz the face of the franchise being made this summer, the Eagles will have to do their best to capitalize on his prime years. To do this, the team has three options; outlined in the intro article to this series below:

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This article will be diving into the train of thought that the Eagles have the pieces to contend now; they simply need a redo. Over the past two seasons, the Birds have been struck with terrible injury luck. This year, both of the team's major offseason acquisitions have been lost for long periods of time after tantalizing glimpses of what they can bring to the team. Fortunately, both players are locked up for the immediate future and will have another swing at a full season next year. That is also the case for some of the Eagles young budding stars. As we saw from the most recent back-to-back wins, this is still a team that knows how to push through adversity and seal the deal. At full potential, there is no doubt that this team can make the playoffs and compete. However, there have been two major hindrances to success. The first is offensive consistency. Some games, like the win over Buffalo, the offense hums. The offensive unit has been at its best when they can run the football and Carson can limit his mistakes. The young signal-caller has been relatively efficient this season, however, as, throughout his career, his mistakes tend to come in bunches. Nevertheless, Wentz is among the top in touchdown passes and hasn't had to rack up numbers to put his team on a winning path. He has also done so with some very suspect performances from his receiving corps. Therefore, perhaps the solution is a simple tweak in personnel. Welcoming a healthy DeSean Jackson into the fold may be all that's necessary...but that won't be an eventuality in 2019 anymore, it seems. We saw just how much of an impact he can make against the Redskins in week one. With bated breath and the trade deadline behind us, it's just a matter of how long the team can wait for deep threat help. Far from having a clean bill of health, counting on a full season from Jackson moving forward may also be a fool's game. The second major issue for the Philadelphia Eagles has been the pass defense. We won't limit it to simply the secondary as the pass rush hasn't been as formidable as we are accustomed to either. Again, in both of these cases, hoping for help from returning players may be all that's necessary. Immediately with the return of Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills to the lineup, the Eagles defense held the Bills to just 169 yards through the air and were extremely productive in keeping the Bears offense quiet. But Buffalo isn't exactly a high-flying offense and...Mitchell Trubisky exists. The pass rush was better as well, mostly containing a very mobile Josh Allen and registering four-team sacks. The Eagles welcomed back Timmy Jernigan to the lineup on Sunday, which will only strengthen the rotation. Add a recovered Malik Jackson and Hassan Ridgeway to the mix and all of a sudden a relative weakness becomes a strength once again. Overall, it is reasonable to believe the Eagles' main concern is less about performance and more about the availability of their best players. There aren't many other early Super Bowl favorites that have dealt with quite so much adversity. However, it's still plausible Howie Roseman will want to make some offseason moves to upgrade the team. It would be weird if he didn't, honestly. With some big contracts on the books and some well-known names coming off the books for 2020, he won't have much room to work with. That's never stopped the cap-wizard himself from working some magic. So, let's dive into the options, keeping in mind the goal is to retain as much of the current squad as possible. Re-sign/ Let Walk It's always a difficult task to estimate when teams are willing to shell out to retain certain players. Deals made around the league can set the market and inflate otherwise reasonable offers. Therefore, the numbers below are simply ballpark estimates based on similar contracts and are rounded to the nearest $0.5M to keep it simple. The explanation for each decision is found below.

Estimated 2020 Cap Space (Spotrac)		$38.5M
Nate Sudfeld	Re-sign	$3.5M
Josh McCown	Retire	--
Jordan Howard	Re-sign	$8.0M
Darren Sproles	Retire	--
Corey Clement (RFA)	Walk	--
Nelson Agholor	Walk	--
Jason Peters	Retire	--
Halapoulivaati Vaitai	Re-sign	$3.0M
Vinny Curry	Re-sign	$2.5M
Tim Jernigan	Walk	--
Hassan Ridgeway	Re-sign	$2.0M
Nigel Bradham*	Opt in	[$9.7M]
Kamu Grugier-Hill	Re-sign	$4.5M
Rodney McLeod	Re-sign	$4.0M
Jalen Mills	Walk	--
Ronald Darby*	Re-sign	$5.5M
Andrew Sendejo	Walk	--
Rick Lovato	Re-sign	$1.0M
Jake Elliott (RFA)	Re-sign	$2.5M
Salaries		- $36.5M
Remaining Cap Space		$2.0M

*Club option Quarterbacks The Eagles think highly of Nate Sudfeld and will likely offer him a similar contract to last season. Even though he only played in one preseason game this year, there will be other teams interested in his services. The front office may have to pay a little extra to keep their backup of the future in town. Josh McCown was already retired and the assumption is that he will return to retirement after the season is over. Running Backs Comparatively, Jordan Howard's asking price will be similar to that of Devonta Freeman. Both backs play similar roles in their respective offenses and had early success in their careers. Really, Howard was a more productive back over the first three seasons of his career, but it hasn't been in the Eagles wheelhouse to invest heavily in their running backs. $8M per year for 3 years with some backloading and a team option seems ideal, but the 5th year back may want to look for more elsewhere. Again plagued by injuries, this wasn't the comeback season Darren Sproles had planed. Expect him to retire at the end of the season. Corey Clement simply can't stay healthy and Boston Scott has finally gotten some run in the 3rd running back role. The Eagles will have a chance to match any offers from other teams, so it will depend on what Clement is offered. He's been a hometown favorite in Philly since his rookie year but hasn't been able to stay on the field since. Receivers With fans calling for his head already, it's not hard to tell how Philly feels about Nelson Agholor's performance this season. After an electric third season, everyone was hoping Agholor was finally showing his true colors. Instead, he has fallen back into a routine of drops and a lack of effort; not a great look for a young player in a contract year. With Willie Snead getting $6M from the Ravens for one season, it would be hard for the Eagles to convince Nelson to bet on himself and take a one-year prove-it deal. Some team out there will be willing to take a chance on his potential. Offensive Linemen Similar to Darren Sproles, Jason Peters' swan song hasn't gone as planned. Andre Dillard is entering his third start in his place and has looked good in relief. At this point, Peters should take the time to relax poolside while he waits for his gold jacket in the mail. It's always had to tell how much of a market swing tackles and backup guards will get. The Eagles due tend to value depth along the line and may be willing to overpay to keep Vaitai in Philly. In this scenario, he gets a little less than former first-round pick Ereck Flowers. Continued on the page below. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Defensive Linemen While some expected him to be moved at the deadline, Vinny Curry is still in midnight green. While he's not the same Vinny Curry he was in his last stint with the Birds, he is still a very solid rotational run stopper. The Eagles could probably convince him to stay for a hometown discount. With so much youth at the defensive end position, it might be wise to do so. As much as I love Tim Jernigan, he just can't stay healthy. On top of that, he always seems to be at odds with coaching staff. Even though he took a pay cut to be here last season, it might be too much to ask him to do it again. The Eagles will have Malik Jackson back at some point and are very high on Hassan Ridgeway as a third defensive tackle. As good as he has been coming off of injury, the Eagles need someone that can stay healthy opposite Fletcher Cox, and Jernigan has not. Speaking of Hassan Ridgeway, the coaching staff loves him. He's still a young player and doesn't have the stat sheet that Jernigan does, but expect him to earn a similar deal. Linebackers Every offseason there seems to be some debate as to whether Nigel Bradham will still be with the team. His contract is expensive, but he fits the defense to a tee and free-agent options will be somewhat limited. If the Eagles feel confident that TJ Edwards can take over, the team will have a club option on Bradham's deal both this year and next. In this scenario, they keep him but may ask him to restructure. Kamu Grugier-Hill looks like he'll be in the Eagles plans for the foreseeable future. He still hasn't shown he can consistently produce as a starter in the NFL, but that's mostly because he was sidelined for the beginning of the season. $4.5M/year is the same as Mychal Kendricks got from Seattle, and a tad less than Kyle Van Noy and Kiko Alonso received from New England and Miami, respectively. Defensive Backs $4.5M is more than Rodney McLeod made last season after reworking his contract but less than he was offered in the original deal. The Swiss cheese consistency of the Eagles secondary has overshadowed just how good of a player McLeod has been. Just two years ago, he and Malcolm Jenkins made one of the best safety tandems in football. This contract would be a huge win for Philadelphia. Based on the current state of affairs, the Eagles can probably only afford to keep one of their starting corners. As a 7th round draft pick, Jalen Mills has been underpaid for first years. Even if his play has been spotty, he'll want to be compensated like a number 2 corner. At $4.5M, he would make the same guaranteed cash as Ronald Darby did last season. Darby's contract was very team-friendly but included a lot of incentives. It seems unreasonable to count on Mills taking a team-friendly deal and young corners are often overvalued in free agency, but a deal similar to Darby's may be enough to convince him. He's a candidate to get overpaid by another team this offseason. Between Mills and Ronald Darby, the choice will likely be the latter. He's been best Eagles corner the last few years, and he's still only 25. Eventually, it will be the time to look to other options on the outside, but with Darby already willing to take team-friendly deals it's clear he wants to be in Philly. He may want more than what he got from his heavily discounted wage last season -- reflected in the extra $1M per year. The question is whether or not the Eagles are willing to pay. Eagles 3rd safety position is incredibly important, but the Eagles always seem to find someone to fill the void. Expect Sendejo to field offers for a more expanded role. Special Teams Rick Lovato's contract will be similar to his current one. $1M is rounded up. Jake Elliott has been one of the most consistent kickers in the league so far in his career. $2.5M is at the low end of the upper echelon kickers. It may seem steep, but the Eagles do not want to have kicking problems. Plenty of teams will be willing to shell out some money for a kicker. The final price could even be higher than $2.5M, but Eagles will get a chance to match. Obviously making all these moves leaves the Eagles with very little space to maneuver. By retaining all these players, they would essentially play themselves out of the 2020 free agency stakes. With the belief the Birds can contend now if they can avoid the injury bug, maintaining a bulk of the current roster would be a win. Plus, in his tenure with the Eagles, Howie Roseman has been masterful with restructuring contracts and finding wiggle room. Restructure Unfortunately, with all the previous restructuring, the Eagles have a lot of back-loaded contracts that aren't realistic candidates for restructuring. For example, the Eagles could restructure Carson Wentz's new contract, but they would barely save any money, with the quarterback base minimum salary being close to what he is owed. Also, being owed almost double in 2021 what he is due in 2020, adding a lump of money owed to future years isn't a fiscally responsible option. The same could be said for multiple contracts on the roster. Although small amounts of value could be squeezed from each contract, it would put a lot of financial strain in 2021 and 2022. Among the players that have already recently restructured their contracts are: Alshon Jeffery (2019), Rodney McLeod (2019), Zach Ertz (2019 and 2018), Lane Johnson (2019 and 2018), Brandon Brooks (2018), Fletcher Cox (2018), Malcolm Jenkins (2018). While many of these players have already restructured their contracts in multiple years, it is a big ask to continually convert base salary into prorated signing bonuses -- even if it is to help the team. Nevertheless, the team will need to find money somewhere, and putting the onus on future years is just how business is done in the NFL. Therefore, below are all of the current candidates for restructure. If the Eagles truly believe they are in win-now mode they will have to find some money to compete in free agency. The amount saved represents the maximum amount possible if a salary is converted to the base minimum. That means the amount saved is the highest it can get. Keep in mind that longer salaries are better candidates for restructures as it lengthens the proration and therefore decreases the average yearly payout.

	Expires	Owed	Base Minimum	Saved
Fletcher Cox	2023	$23.8M	$16.2M	$7.6M
Carson Wentz	2025	$18.6M	$18.1M	$500K
Alshon Jeffery	2022	$15.7M	$9.7M	$6.0M
Lane Johnson	2022	$13.6M	$10.0M	$3.6M
Brandon Graham	2022	$13.4M	$7.3M	$6.1M
Zach Ertz	2022	$12.2M	$8.5M	$3.7M
Malik Jackson	2022	$10.0M	$5.6M	$4.4M
Nigel Bradham	2023	$9.8M	$4.5M	$5.3M
DeSean Jackson	2022	$8.9M	$5.5M	$3.4M
Jason Kelce	2022	$6.4M	$6.0M	$400K
Isaac Seumalo	2023	$4.0M	$2.3M	$1.7M

Based on the number above, there are a few options you can rule out. Wentz, Kelce, and Semualo wouldn't save the team much more than pennies by restructuring their deals. The top candidates for restructuring are Cox, who could save the team a whack of money and has the longest remaining contract outside of Wentz; Graham, who just signed on for an extra three seasons and hasn't recently restructured; and Alshon Jeffery. Nigel Bradham could also save the Eagles a good amount of money, but the Eagles could create a lot of dead cap space by pushing back his payout if they eventually decide to cut him. The Eagles could create a maximum of $19.7M by restructuring the contracts of Cox, Jeffery, and Graham. If Bradham is figured into the equation that number could rise to $25M. Either sum would be plenty to engage in free agency. Therefore, if Philadelphia believes they can win another Super Bowl with the current roster -- give or take a few pieces -- it's absolutely manageable. If not, a bigger overhaul is in order -- one which we will look into next week. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports