While much blame was placed on coach Nick Sirianni for the Philadelphia Eagles late-season collapse in 2023, general manager Howie Roseman will have his work cut out this offseason trying to retool the roster and set the team up to return to the Super Bowl next year.
Roseman and the Eagles are slated to have $20,284,984 in salary cap space at their disposal this offseason, according to Over The Cap. In terms of effective cap space — which OTC defines as “the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster” — the Eagles will have $16,158,450 to play with.
The Eagles have the potential to open up significantly more cap space. Edge rusher Haason Reddick will have a team-high $21.877 million cap hit in 2024, which could be lowered significantly if the Eagles extend him. Safety Kevin Byard has a cap hit north of $14.4 million in 2024, making him a cut candidate, considering releasing him would leave the Eagles with just $1.386 million in dead cap space next season.
One candidate to be released based on his 2023 performance is cornerback James Bradberry, but his contractual status makes that complicated. In fact, his $4.335 cap hit next year is actually quite manageable. If he’s released before June 1, the Eagles would be left with a 15.238 million cap charge for him this season, so it would actually cost more to release him under that arrangement.
The Eagles could designate Bradberry as a post-June 1 cut, which would only leave them with $4.335 million towards their cap from him this season. The question then becomes whether the Eagles would rather pay him $4.335 million to be on the team or not on the team in 2024.
Cornerback and safety will be major needs for the Eagles this offseason. As are linebacker, edge rusher, running back and receiver depth beyond A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Some of those needs can be filled via the draft, but Roseman would benefit from creating some additional cap space beyond the $20+ million the Eagles are currently slated to have at their disposal. This isn’t a roster that’s far away from being a Super Bowl contender, but there is definitely some retooling that needs to be done.
