Something

The Eagles did basically nothing on Monday. On Tuesday, things heated up, but don’t get too excited. The burner was still set to low.

The first order of business was for the Eagles to get under the cap. They did that in an interesting way.

Marquise Goodwin reverted back to the 49ers. Eagles get $4.28M in needed cap space.

— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) March 16, 2021

Per Over The Cap

The Eagles sit at $14.45 million over the cap with the Goodwin move already factored in.

OTC projects a $7m savings on Brooks in a restructure, $9.54m on a Graham extension.

That's $16.54m – $14.45m = $2.09m https://t.co/UpFrBo6msk

— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) March 16, 2021

After a bunch of moves and restructured deals, the Eagles are now a couple of million under the cap.

The Goodwin deal got even better.

With Marquise Goodwin reverting back to Niners roster, the Eagles get a ‘21 7th rd pick from SF, source confirms @MaioccoNBCS.

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) March 16, 2021

That’s a pretty good outcome. Goodwin goes back to SF and the Eagles get cap space and a 7th round pick. I didn’t see this coming when the day began.

The Eagles now have quite a bounty of picks.

1
2
3
3
5
5
6
6
6
7
7

A lot of them will be pick 200 or later, but those picks can still be valuable when you are trying to infuse youth into a roster. Just hit on a couple of those picks and you can help the team.

And the Eagles aren’t done.

The #Eagles have given long-time TE Zach Ertz, one of the faces of their franchise, permission to seek a trade, source said. Several teams have been engaged.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2021

Shocking news, right? This seems like a silly announcement, but the Eagles are probably just announcing to the world that Ertz’s agent can begin seeking out deals. If the Eagles start calling teams, they look weak and in theory would have to accept less. If the agent makes those calls, the Eagles have a better bargaining position. Again, this is all kind of silly, but that’s how the trade market can work at times.

The Eagles would love a fourth round pick for Ertz. At this point, they would probably settle for a fifth. There is talk that Buffalo could be in the mix. The Bills just traded one of their TEs tonight so maybe that’s a good sign. The Bills are putting together a team to make a run at the Super Bowl so the risk of trading for Ertz does make sense for them. When you’re trying to win it all, you can take your eye off the future.

The Eagles are one of a handful of teams (was seven at one point today) to not have signed a free agent from another team. They are still letting the big players make their moves and the market get set. That allows you to focus on overlooked players and positions.

One position that is struggling right now is wide receiver. Kenny Golladay, Curtis Samuel, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Will Fuller and Sammy Watkins are all unsigned. The only highly ranked receiver to switch teams is Corey Davis.

Could a soft market affect the Eagles thinking?

We’ve all focused on WR at pick six. If the Eagles decide to go after a receiver in free agency, they could shift their thinking to CB early in the draft.

A lot of CBs have already changed teams in free agency.

What gives?

Last year’s WR draft class was loaded. This year’s class looks loaded. Next year’s class will probably be loaded. Teams are throwing more and more at lower levels of football. Receivers are easier than ever to find. I know this is hard to believe based on the Eagles track record, but it is true.

It would seem that CBs are harder to find and that’s why teams are being more aggressive with them in free agency.

We’ll have to wait and see if the Eagles make a play for a receiver or if they hold off until the draft.

Will Wednesday bring some action? Stay tuned.

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