A detailed look at the Eagles’ cap figures really provides a fascinating look at how Howie Roseman likes to build a roster.
Now that we have detailed — and accurate —contract information about all 66 players the Eagles have under contract, let’s take a look at some of the trends that jump out.
The basics: The Eagles as of Thursday morning had $27,869,777 in cap space under their adjusted 2020 cap figure of $222,776,734, which includes a carryover from 2019 of $21,484,051. The Eagles have 66 players under contract, but only their 51 highest cap figures count against their cap. From that, approximately $9 million will be set aside to cover rookie wages. Roseman likes to keep at least $15 million in cap space going into the season, so they are right where he likes to be.
What Howie learned from Big Red: From the day he got here, Andy Reid preached the importance of both lines, and Howie and Doug Pederson both believe in that philosophy. The Eagles offensive and defensive linemen have a combined cap figure of about $86.4 million, or nearly 40 percent of their total cap allocation. That's the 4th-highest combined o-line / d-line figure in the league (behind the Chiefs, Colts and Raiders).
The new guys: The Eagles have signed nine players this offseason — five defensive backs, two defensive tackles, a linebacker and a quarterback — and they have a combined 2020 cap liability of just $20,831,875, and the highest cap figure of the bunch is Darius Slay's $4.3 million. It’s rare to be this active in free agency without using up a ton more cap space.
Cheap-o linebackers: All six linebackers under contract have cap figures under $900,000, and their cap figures average $773,661. According to Spotrac, only the Bengals have a lower composite cap figure for their linebackers (and they only have four under contract).
What's important to Howie? The Eagles currently have 19 players with cap figures of at least $2 million, and 15 of them are linemen, receivers or corners.
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Looking down the road: The Eagles have 36 players signed through 2021 but only 14 through 2022 and only six through 2023.
Bargain basement: The projected 2020 starters with the lowest cap figures are Nate Gerry ($825,000) and Miles Sander ($1.2 million). If either T.J. Edwards or Jatavis Brown starts at inside backer, they're also under a million.
Dead money: The Eagles have over $15 million in dead money in 2020, most of it coming from voiding the Malcolm Jenkins, Nigel Bradham and Ronald Darby contracts. Those three count over $14 million against the Eagles’ 2020 cap. When a team adds dummy years to a contract to pro-rate the initial signing bonus over more years and lessen the initial cap hit, they pay on the back end when they release that player because the remaining pro-rated bonus amounts accelerate into the next year’s cap.
Here are the 2020 cap figures for everybody the Eagles currently have under contract:
Quarterbacks [$21,345,065]
$18,656,536: Carson Wentz
$2,000,000: Nate Sudfeld
$688,529: Kyle Lauletta
Running Backs [$2,619,351]
$1,218,234: Miles Sanders
$750,000: Boston Scott
$651,117: Elijah Holyfield
Wide Receivers [$30,112,831]
$15,686,205: Alshon Jeffery
$8,609,000: DeSean Jackson
$1,125,278: J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
$750,000: Shelton Gibson
$750,000: Robert Davis
$697,348: Jordan Mailata
$675,000: Deontay Burnett
$675,000: River Carcraft
$675,000: Greg Ward
$610,000: Marcus Green
$610,000: Marken Michel
Tight Ends [$15,665,395]
$12,481,500:Zach Ertz
$1,533,895:Dallas Goedert
$825,000: Alex Ellis
$825,000: Josh Perkins
Offensive Linemen [$38,798,277]
$15,686,205: Lane Johnson
$7,790,632: Brandon Brooks
$7,414,000: Jason Kelce
$2,811,730: Andre Dillard
$2,326,000: Isaac Seumalo
$783,196: Matt Pryor
$697,348: Jordan Mailata
$679,166: Nate Herbig
$610,000: Keegan Render
Defensive Ends [$13,514,947]
$6,288,000: Brandon Graham
$4,088,951: Derek Barnett
$898,398: Josh Sweat
$825,000: Daeshon Hall
$797,098: Shareef Miller
$617,500: Joe Ostman
Defensive Tackles [$34,068,000]
$22,847,000: Fletcher Cox
$4,661,000: Malik Jackson
$3,450,000: Javonte Hargrave
$1,010,000: Hassan Ridgeway
$750,000: Bruce Hector
$675,000: Albert Huggins Jr.
$675,000: Anthony Rush
Linebackers [$4,641,666]
$887,500: Jatavis Brown
$825,000: Nate Gerry
$825,000: Duke Riley
$750,000: Genard Avery
$679,166: T.J. Edwards
$675,000: Alex Singleton
Safeties [$5,334,375]
$2,350,000: Rodney McLeod
$1,484,375: Will Parks
$825,000: Rudy Ford
$675,000: Marcus Epps
Cornerbacks [$16,110,730]
$4,300,000: Darius Slay
$4,000,000: Jalen Mills
$2,309,572: Rasul Douglas
$1,953,658: Sidney Jones
$1,100,000: Cre’von LeBlanc
$1,097,500: Avonte Maddox
$1,350,000: Nickell Robey-Coleman
$775,000: Trevor Williams
$750,000: Craig James
$750,000 Tremon Smith
Specialists [$4,476,000]
$2,629,000: Jake Elliott
$1,097,500: Rick Lovato
$750,000: Cameron Johnston
Dead Money [$15,471,695]
$6,111,000: Malcolm Jenkins
$5,302,500: Nigel Bradham
$2,800,000: Ronald Darby
$583,334: L.J. Fort
$205,776: Clayton Thorson
$158,917: Mack Hollins
$150,000: Richard Rodgers
$64,312: Shelton Gibson
$47,353: Jordan Matthews
$16,667: Aua Opeta
$6,667: DeAndre Thompkins
$6,667: Kevin Wilkins
$5,000: Joey Alfieri
$3,334: Ryan Bates
$3,334: Keegan Render
$3,334: Anthony Rush
$2,500: Alex Singleton
$1,000: Jay Liggins
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