Philadelphia Eagles could receive compensatory pick for Golden Tate

The Philadelphia Eagles may only have Golden Tate for eight games, but that may not be a bad thing when you look at his deal a little more closely.

There may not be a Philadelphia Eagles fan who isn’t excited about the acquisition of Golden Tate. He’s one of the guys who was seen as the most sought after targets as the NFL trade deadline approached. There’s just one thing. We all know that he was in the final year of a deal he signed back in 2014.

That means if the Eagles were to keep him past the 2018 season, they’d need to sign him to a long-term deal. That’s going to be difficult to do when there are other guys who also need new deals that may be seen as being more important for Philly’s long-term success.

Think about guys like Jordan Hicks, Brandon Graham, Ronald Darby and Jay Ajayi. The Eagles aren’t going to be able to keep everybody.

Philly and Howie Roseman know exactly what they’re doing.

Here’s three things everyone needs to think about.

One, no one thought that Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman wasn’t going to be aggressive. Second, he knew Tate needed a new deal when he traded for him. Third, he’s also very familiar with the Eagles’ financial situation.

The question then becomes why would he make this sort of deal and give up a third-round draft choice in the first place?

The answer is a simple one. The Eagles think they may be getting a pick back in return.

Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network said it best on Wednesday morning during Good Morning Football:

‘The Eagles are very familiar with system of compensatory picks.’

For those of you who aren’t, let us explain:

As we stated when LeGarrette Blount, Patrick Robinson, Vinny Curry and others left in the offseason, the Eagles could gain compensatory picks in the 2019 NFL Draft because they lost more players in free agency than they gained in return. Losing Tate after this season could net them one in 2020 as well.

With limited funds available for spending in free agency, Philly’s plan may be to work out deals for the players they already have. Their chances of being aggressive on the free agent market seem slim to none. If Tate leaves, they could gain a pick back for the one they lost

ESPN staff writer Tim McManus explained this in detail recently. Take a look:

"The Eagles are successfully exploiting the compensatory pick system in trading a 2019 third-rounder for Golden Tate. Philadelphia probably won’t re-sign Tate after the year, but given their cap situation, they’re also likely going to sit out free agency. Doing so will net them a comp pick for Tate in the 2020 draft, one which will most likely come in the fourth round. The Lions have $36 million in cap space and major holes on defense, so they’re far more likely to spend in free agency this offseason, which would have blocked them from getting a comp pick for Tate."

Pay attention to this one Eagles fans. We may be revisiting this subject fairly soon.