Philadelphia Eagles must make decision on Vinny Curry by March 18th

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Vinny Curry
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Vinny Curry /
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Don’t be surprised if defensive end Vinny Curry isn’t in Philadelphia Eagles green after March 18th.

The tough decisions continue for the Philadelphia Eagles. Defensive end Vinny Curry has spent every one of his six seasons in the NFL with ‘The Birds’. Now, as the NFL Combine is fully underway and the free agency period approaches, there are a litany of roster and contract decisions the Eagles organization and executive vice president of football operations, Howie Roseman will have to face.

Add Curry to a list that includes Mychal Kendricks, Torrey Smith, Jason Peters, Nigel Bradham and Brandon Graham. Kendricks, Smith, Peters and Curry represent some of the biggest contracts on the Eagles roster if they aren’t moved or restructured. Graham is entering the final season of his current deal in 2018. Bradham may be priority one as he’s set to hit the free agent market if the Eagles can’t get a deal done.

Let’s take a deeper look at Curry’s deal.

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If Bradham is priority one, we could say that Curry is a close second. The Eagles have one of the best situations in the entire NFL at defensive end, but the current nucleus could change relatively quickly. Chris Long is signed through the 2018 season. Derek Barnett has three years remaining on his rookie deal. Steven Means is there as well, a guy the Eagles like a lot.

Keeping a special group like this one together is on everyone’s mind, especially the Eagles front office. If they’re going to do so, however, they’ll need money. That means decisions will have to be made on guys like Curry.

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His deal, in 2018, includes a base salary of $9 million and a $2 million signing bonus. The Eagles are currently $8 million over the cap. They’ll need to get under the threshold by March 14th. A decision needs to made on Curry by the 18th. Otherwise, he’s guaranteed $5 million of the $9 million base salary.

The Eagles may want to allow Curry to walk. That would allow them to make some very important moves later.