Philadelphia Eagles reward Chris Long with a restructured contract
The Philadelphia Eagles seem to be doing all they can to keep Chris Long on board for another season.
Typically when an NFL player gets his contract restructured, it is to help out the teams current cap situation. But the Philadelphia Eagles decided to do something different for the veteran defensive end, Chris Long. It was announced on Wednesday morning that Chris Long had restructured his contract with the Eagles.
While many fans would assume the move is to clear up some more cap space, it was actually to reward Long with some more guaranteed money. ESPN NFL Insider, Field Yates has reported the changes in Long’s contract as the Eagles gear up for the remainder of the free agency period in the offseason.
Let’s take a look at Long’s new contract as he heads into his second, and final year on his short stint with the Eagles.
Long’s new deal:
Sources: the Eagles re-did the contract of DE Chris Long, guaranteeing him $3M this season. His base salary jumped to $2.5M guaranteed (from $1M non-guaranteed), with the team eliminating his $750k in per-game roster bonuses & $750k in incentives. Doing a good player a solid.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 21, 2018
If anybody out there had any doubt of Long playing this season, this move pretty much confirms that he will back in an Eagles uniform in 2018. A few rumors were flying around that Long could potentially be released to free up some cap room during the offseason. He also made a few statements in an interview a couple of weeks back with SB Nation that made it seem like he was questioning his future as he is 32-years-old heading into his 11th season in the NFL.
This move looks excellent on both ends. Long came onto the Eagles in 2017 and quickly became one of the most-respected veteran leaders in the locker room. Not only did he come in the clutch on the field, but he also did a lot of charity work outside of the game of football.
Next: Cris Carter believes there is no market for Foles as a starter
We can’t help but bring up the fact that he donated his entire 2017 salary to his charitable organization. Now, the Eagles are going to reward him with even more guaranteed money. There’s no telling if Long will keep it for himself or not, but we can always assume that his money will be put to good use no matter what.