Are the Philadelphia Eagles Running Out of Cash?
Are the Philadelphia Eagles spending too much money?
There are some of you out there who get annoyed at people like me, a Philadelphia Eagles fan who dares to question the grand plan of a franchise that has never, ever won a Super Bowl.
Yeah, I’m the crazy guy.
Well, bad news for you, because I have more questions this week, and again, because it’s the offseason, they center around one key thing.
Money.
Here’s the Monday Morning Touchdown:
1) Vinny Curry
I’ve always been of the opinion that Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry has been underutilized. But I’m also not a football coach, and maybe there is stuff (run defense, maybe?) that Curry doesn’t do all that well, which is what would explain him being on the field only about a third of the time.
Apparently, Howie “Moneybags” Roseman disagrees with all of those coaches. Where we differ is that when I disagree, I would write a blog about it. When Roseman disagrees, he makes a guy the sixth-highest paid 4-3 defensive end in the NFL.
Let that sink in for a moment.
2) Salary cap stuff
As CSNPhilly’s Reuben Frank points out in this article, the genius of Roseman in writing these contracts is that they’re done in such a way that the initial cap hit isn’t very high. And that’s wonderful, but as Reuben also points out, eventually all of the dollars in the five-year, $43 million contract have to go somewhere.
So, while Curry might only have a $3 million cap hit in the first season of the deal, the numbers grow significantly to $9 million in 2017 and then top $11 million for the final three seasons.
Here is a list of just some players who the Eagles will not have under control when free agency arrives in 2017: Malcolm Jenkins, Darren Sproles, Fletcher Cox, Donnie Jones, Kiko Alonso and Cody Parkey. And in 2018: Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff and Beau Allen.
Those are just a handful of names plucked out of much larger list.
3) What’s the point?
The Eagles have some serious roster needs over the next few years including, well, the upcoming 2016 season. Remember, they still don’t have things like a quarterback, or an offensive line. And according to this article on NJ.com, after a deal to sign defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (which still hasn’t happened, by the way), the Eagles will only have about $14 million in cap room.
That’s terrifying. Forget being players in free agency, the Eagles are going to struggle to get players, period.
4) Stacking up
Just for fun, here are how the Eagles compare to the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, by position, according to overthecap.com. I’m taking the highest paid player of each position from each team to put this together.
Running back: Eagles, fifth; Carolina, seventh; Broncos, 60th
Wide receiver: Broncos, fourth; Eagles, 34th, Carolina; 60th
Tight end: Eagles, fifth, Panthers, seventh; Broncos, 10th
Offensive line (top from a pool of all positions): Eagles, fourth; Broncos, sixth; Panthers, 19th
Defensive line (top from a pool of all positions): Panthers, seventh; Eagles, 18th; Broncos, 19th
Linebacker: Panthers, third; Broncos, seventh; Eagles, 17th
Secondary: Eagles, fifth; Broncos, 11th; Panthers, 97th
Do those numbers jive with two teams playing in the Super Bowl and one that finished 7-9?
5) Nick Foles
That was fun yesterday when everyone was freaking out because unnamed sources said the Eagles had interest in bringing back Nick Foles, wasn’t it?
Yeah, I didn’t think so, either.
More reports that Murray is unhappy and wants out, quickly followed by Murray himself saying he has no idea where that’s coming from.
You have to wonder how this keeps happening. Personally, I couldn’t care less if DeMarco Murray is back next season. He loafed through 2015 and his lack of commitment to the plan torpedoed much of the Eagles’ offensive plans.
Extra Point:
I don’t like the idea of the Eagles letting quarterback Sam Bradford walk and just drafting and developing a quarterback to play behind a journeyman signal caller for a year or two. But as the days drag on, I think that is going to be our reality.