Breaking down the Eagles 13 unrestricted free agents and the impending roster moves
13 February 2018 Eagles News
Although the high from winning the Super Bowl is still in the air in Philadelphia, the Eagles do have some important decisions to make going forward. With under one million dollars in cap space, the Eagles are going to have to let some players go.
This offseason, the Eagles have thirteen unrestricted free agents, here is a list of all those players.
Running back: Darren Sproles
Linebacker: Nigel Bradham
Tight-end: Trey Burton
Safety: Corey Graham
Running back: LeGarrette Blount
Kicker: Caleb Sturgis
Linebacker: Dannell Ellerbe
Tackle: Will Beatty
Linebacker: Bryan Braman
Linebacker: Najee Goode
Cornerback: Patrick Robinson
Running back: Kenjon Barner
Defensive tackle: Beau Allen
Defensive back: Jaylen Watkins
There are a lot of players on this list who will not be on the Eagles team next season. For some, it does not make sense for them to come back to the team, however, for others, the money other teams can give them will lure them away from Philadelphia. For example, Eagles tight end Trey Burton is not going to get tight end one money with the Eagles, but elsewhere, other teams can offer him that.
Even though the cap space is tight, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has shown his ability to work the cap bill very nicely. With that being said, the Eagles do have the ability to sign a couple of these players and even actively shop in free agency. Obviously, no big money signing will happen, but those one-year deals which can prove to be very helpful are probable.
For the Eagles to have the freedom to do that, players will have to depart first. Jason Peters, Brent Celek, Vinny Curry are all players who the Eagles can, unfortunately, get off the books with a nice reward of extra money. But, no matter what happens this offseason, the Eagles will have 20 of the 22 starters in the Super Bowl on the roster as all those players are under contract. When it gets down to this point, there are no hard feelings, people tend to forget this is a business.
Realistically, ten of those thirteen players can leave the Eagles and they will be fine. Signing Nigel Bradham, Najee Goode and Beau Allen will be good moves for the Eagles. All the other players can be replaced, although, for the most part, most of them did play a big role in getting to where the Eagles got. It is going to be tough for the team down the road, but the future is still bright in Philadelphia.
Photo Credit: AP
Ryan Neal Darren Sproles, Jason Peters, Nick Foles, Nigel Bradham., Philadelphia Eagles, Trey Burton, Vinny Curry