The Eagles have cleared $850,000 in cap space by reducing slot cornerback Ron Brooks' 2017 base salary from $1.85 million to $1 million, according to a tweet by ESPN’s Field Yates.
Brooks, 28, was limited to six games last year, his first with the Eagles, after rupturing his right quad tendon in a game against the Vikings at the Linc.
Brooks was one of several former Bills to join the Eagles last offseason. He signed a three-year deal initially worth $6 million.
The move reduces Brooks' 2017 cap hit from $2.1 million to $1.25 million, which is his new $1 million base salary plus $250,000 in prorated money from his original $750,000 base salary
Brooks is due a $2.15 million base salary in 2018, but the Eagles could release him next offseason and absorb only $250,000 in dead money.
Brooks, a five-year veteran, is the only cornerback the Eagles return from last year with more than one year of experience. They signed seven-year veteran Patrick Robinson, a first-round pick back in 2010, earlier this week. The only other experienced corner on the roster is Jalen Mills, a seventh-round pick a year ago.
The Eagles had the option to release Brooks now and absorb $500,000 in dead money, but with such a thin depth chart at corner, they elected instead to bring him back for another year.
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The Eagles, who cut ties with both starting corners from last year -- Leodis McKelvin and Nolan Carroll -- are expected to be actively shopping for cornerbacks in the draft.
Four other corners -- C.J. Smith, Dwayne Gratz, Aaron Grymes and Mitchell White -- are also currently on the roster.