Howie Roseman's mythical powers working the Eagles salary cap are well known at this point. From dummy years, to moving guaranteed money into bonuses, Roseman's intuition and ability to find new ways of moving money around has been a large reason why the Philadelphia Eagles have been able to build such an intimidating roster so quickly, and one where the cornerstones aren't going anywhere, any time soon. But a recent flurry of moves have left several people wondering...is there yet another ace up his sleeve?
Most recently, Roseman was able to convert $7M of Zach Ertz' contract into a bonus. It's important to note that the franchise Tight End isn't taking a pay cut by any means, but it does push the Eagles to around $27M in cap space, ranking them ninth in the league. Who'd have thought that to be the case at the start of the offseason?!
But the Eagles seem to be finished with their free agency shopping list and now have more than enough money to pay the upcoming draft class of 2019. Nobody is saying that the Eagles have to stretch the limits of the cap every single year, but this move wasn't exactly a 'must-make', especially after Jason Peters restructured his own deal this offseason. So what is Roseman plotting?
Here are two potential reasons why the Eagles have been extra-meticulous with their cap space over the last few weeks.
Continued on the pages below.
The big one...
Carson Wentz is entering his contract year. It's a scary prospect, but maybe that's because both of his last two season's have been cut short due to injury. That, mixed with his electrifying play, almost give his career a shot of adrenaline that makes it hard to remember just how amazing he is at times.
The Eagles are in an interesting spot. They can either choose to ride out the current rookie deal, pick up his fifth-year option (which would cost around $25M) and then experiment with the franchise tag if no deal can be agreed...
...or they can cut their nose to spite their face, pay Wentz the big bucks now and hope that it's a gamble that will pay off. There are pros and cons to both sides of the coin, but it ultimately comes down to one thing...durability.
Wentz now has a full offseason ahead where he will be working with his teammates, his Head Coach, and most importantly of all, an offensive coordinator who spent the entirety of last offseason and the opening two regular season games, planning with Nick Foles as the team's quarterback. The timing, chemistry and concepts that were almost embedded in the team for a year will now reset with Wentz back to his best.
If we're to take that dazzling sophomore season as an example, we could be preparing for a Carson Wentz breakout like no other. A statement season from a man who has had two playoff runs and a Super Bowl ring ripped from under his feet. The chip on his shoulder will be enormous and if the Eagles don't pay him now, they could end up having to pay so much more if this comes to fruition.
Another thing to factor here is Dak Prescott is in the same boat. Howie Roseman has consistently shown an interest in penciling contracts before the market needles move, forcing him to pay extra. If the Cowboys give Dak a big-time contract first, it's only going to increase the price to pay for Carson Wentz.
It wouldn't be surprising to see Roseman preparing for this eventuality now, moving numbers around in order to guarantee Wentz money. After all, it would take a LOT to get Jason Peters to give up some money...and seeing that Zach Ertz as restructured a deal of his own, maybe his teammates want to help add that long-term security right now.
Don't be surprised if it's Carson Wentz who signs the next blockbuster quarterback contract.
A big name...
There have been plenty of whispers around the NFL as of late, as to be expected with the Draft rapidly approaching. But one of the most underrated has been what the Texans plan to do with Jadeveon Clowney.
The latest to come out of Houston is that there is reportedly 'no deal in sight' for the Pro Bowler who isn't slated to attend any of the Texans offseason workouts until mandatory. Can Houston really afford the $15M tender? Or will they instead look to ship Clowney while they can in order to cash in?
Insert Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles, a team who would simply salivate over the idea of adding a pass-rusher who has registered 18.5 sacks in the last two seasons. Brandon Graham won't be around forever and if the Eagles can find a way to pen Clowney to an extension that Houston can't, then that front four would be terrifying. When you factor in Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat and developmental outside pieces, it's almost enough to get you flustered...almost.
Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack and DeMarcus Lawrence set the tone for increasing premium pass-rushing contracts (shoutout to Howie for penning Graham's contract before the snowball rolled) and if Houston can find some compensation, they may want to invest their funds elsewhere...ahem, Mr. Watson.
This sounds is unlikely...but is it? After all, this is Howie Roseman we're talking about here and if there's a chance to land a talent like Clowney because the Texans had eyes bigger than their belly, then why wouldn't he take the shot?
The management side...
This may be the most likely and unfortunately for Eagles fans, most boring by comparison. Howie Roseman is a mastermind when it comes to the Salary cap, but it doesn't mean he's immune from its restrictions, ones that only pull harder whenever Roseman appears to push away.
Because every 'Roseman worked deal' follows the same trait, what we often see is that the Eagles will end up swimming even more desperately against the salary cap tide with each season that passes. The deals are all structured with longevity in mind, giving players more money each season they spend with the team. This gives the Eagles some immediate cap relief to make more moves, before ultimately encountering windows like the one Roseman is currently working through.
What Howie Roseman does is essentially sign a key player to a long-term deal with a huge signing bonus in order to lower the base salary. As that base salary then increases in conjunction with other moves and production, Roseman opens a restructure that will either add ‘dummy years’ to help spread the cost of said deal or turn the majority of that salary into a bonus that can be paid over the remainder of the deal.
But if we're to now look at the contracts of those cornerstones from a few years ago, (namely, Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox) what we see is that Roseman is going to have to paddle even harder to cough up the money he's now backloaded.
Lane Johnson is set to make $800k in 2019, counting for $7M of cap utilization. That number then doubles next season. Ertz faces a nearly identical rise.
Fletcher Cox will count for $11M in 2019 and if the Eagles do decide to take the potential out, they will avoid paying Cox a whopping (and thoroughly deserving) $24M in 2020.
So it's all well and good that the Eagles have $27M in cap space...but when you take into account the rookies of 2019 and trying to keep all of the aforementioned and then some aboard, he'll need every last penny.
We may see a Carson Wentz extension, we may see a big signing. But the biggest move of all would be to just keep swimming and fighting the currents in order to keep this team
