Eagles Don’t Play Tag

There was some speculation recently that the Eagles would use the franchise tag on Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. That did not happen. It was never going to happen. The Eagles simply don’t have the cap room to do that. That was lazy thinking by anyone who really knows free agency and how the cap works.

Free agency is not going to be fun this year. Parents get empty nest syndrome when their kids go off to college. Eagles fans are going to suffer through empty nest syndrome as they watch these guys sign elsewhere.

GONE

James Bradberry
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson
Isaac Seumalo
Kyzir White
Suh/Joseph/Quinn
Andre Dillard
Fletcher Cox

MAYBE

Javon Hargrave
Miles Sanders
Marcus Pascal
Gardner Minshew
Boston Scott

STAYING

TJ Edwards
Marcus Epps
Brandon Graham

These are all educated guesses. I’m sure the Eagles would love to keep CGJ, but I’m guessing he’ll be too expensive and they’ll keep Epps, who is much cheaper.

We know they would love to keep Hargrave. It’s all about the market with him. If the price is too high, he’s gone. If they can make it work, it would be great to keep him around.

https://twitter.com/Jay_MostWanted/status/1633146330796158977

That doesn’t feel encouraging, but I’ll keep hoping they can work something out.

I think Edwards will be affordable. He’s homegrown and young so keeping him would be good. BG won’t stay for nothing. The Eagles do value pass rushers so I’m guessing they will do everything possible to keep him around. Both sides will want to make that work.

The Eagles won’t do much shopping. They’ll be selective, but will do some bargain hunting. You never know who will be on the market and not getting the offers they expect. There will be some good options for smart shoppers.

Jimmy Bama offered his thoughts on the free agents and also comp picks.

Projecting what the Eagles’ free agents will make in free agency, and their compensatory pick values https://t.co/WreaIDGycU

— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) March 7, 2023

Just to be clear…the comp picks would be for 2024. The Eagles will get multiple picks, but will have to wait a year for them.

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https://twitter.com/Ravens/status/1633137632464056320

I hate losing Wilson, but it was more important to choose the right defensive coordinator. Wilson’s lack of experience is a major issue. As I’ve mentioned multiple times, teams that win the Super Bowl have veteran DCs or defensive head coaches. Wilson might prove to be a terrific DC down the road, but he wasn’t the right person for the 2023 Eagles.

We’ll have to wait and see if Sean Desai is that guy.

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One of the things that I don’t see talked about much in regard to free agency is the overall lack of cap space. We keep hearing about players getting huge money, but there aren’t a lot of teams that have a lot of room. I know teams can be creative with structuring contracts. It just seems there are more cap-strapped teams than usual and that could limit the market for some free agents.

Think about some of the guys we’re seeing get cut already.

LB Bobby Wagner
DE Frank Clark
LB Eric Kendricks
RB Joe Mixon (to be cut)
QB Jameis Winston (to be cut)
OT Taylor Lewan
DE/LB Bud Dupree
DE/LB Leonard Floyd (to be cut)
OT Donovan Smith

If there is a soft market, that could help the Eagles keep an extra player or two.

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As a reminder…there will be a ton of people claiming to have info on free agents. Some of this is pure bullshit. Other times the reports are very agent driven and the agent has an agenda to create a market for their player.

It is fun to read rumors, but don’t put too much stock in anything that doesn’t come from a trustworthy source.

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I’m hearing that Matt Patricia has a shot to land with the Philadelphia Eagles on the defensive staff, presumably as a linebackers coach.

— Karen Guregian (@kguregian) March 5, 2023

No idea if this is true or just a rumor.

Patricia was a good LBs coach from 2006-2010. He was up and down as a DC. He was an awful head coach in Detroit. If Nick Sirianni thinks Patricia can help the team, I’m fine with it. I trust Sirianni. We will have to wait and see if this is true or was just speculation.

The huge X-factor with this move would be the fact that Darius Slay hates Patricia from their time together in Detroit. The only way Sirianni would make the hire is if he thought he could make this work. I’m guessing Patricia probably won’t end up in Philly. We aren’t hearing the local writers say much about it so that makes me think it was more speculation than anything.

The Eagles do need a LBs coach and a secondary coach. It would be great to have those positions filled as Pro Days start. Teams send positional assistants to Pro Days to check out prospects of interest.

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If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can check this out.

. @lawlornfl on #Eagles Potential Draft Targets, Combine Standouts, Takin… https://t.co/Ms0gaWQCuM via @YouTube @JAKIBSports #NFLDraft #NFLCombine

— John McMullen (@JFMcMullen) March 7, 2023

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