Eagles free-agent wish list headed by James Bradberry, Jason Kelce, C.J. Gardner-Johnson

The challenge for every executive who manages a top-tier NFL team lies in how to prioritize the players who will keep that team on top the longest. Some of those answers are easy; the Eagles will undoubtedly extend quarterback Jalen Hurts as soon as possible, the better to beat the monstrous deals that soon will come to Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and maybe even Tua Tagovailoa.

With so many QBs looking at $250 million paydays, the calculus regarding paying the rest of the roster becomes complicated. Looking at how the Eagles’ personnel managed to go 13-1, it seems obvious. The offensive line is the best unit. The secondary is the second-best. The defensive line is third.

» READ MORE: The Eagles have a ton of free agents on hold until Jalen Hurts’ contract extension gets done

Every NFL season is a one-year window. The Eagles have a large number of pending free agents.

This is how they should prioritize their wish list of players to keep. If they manage to retain even three of the top six, it would make for a very happy new year.

1. James Bradberry, cornerback: Three years, $50 million ($30 million guaranteed) or four years, $65 million (same guarantee).

This is, essentially, an updated version of the contract the Eagles gave Darius Slay in 2021. The Eagles can back-load Bradberry’s deal because Slay can come off the books after 2023, when he’ll be a 33-year-old free agent.

If the Eagles choose to keep Bradberry and Slay together, they could extend Slay’s deal through 2024. That likely would mean back-loading Bradberry’s deal as a four-year contract to make him more expensive in 2025 and 2026, when he’s 32 and 33, and might show signs of slowing.

Neither has shown any real sign of slowing to date. Slay just made his fifth Pro Bowl in six years. Bradberry is having his best season in pass coverage, according to profootballfocus.com, which ranks him fifth in the league. Slay ranks eighth.

2. Jason Kelce, center: One year, $8 million.

Kelce, 35, might retire, and if he does, he’ll be the first player in Eagles history to walk away from the game as the team’s most valuable player. Lane Johnson is a better lineman, Hurts is the most important player, and A.J. Brown is the least replaceable. But when factoring in leadership, intelligence, knowledge, and execution, Kelce is the most valuable.

Hopefully, $8 million — $1 million less than he got in 2022 — will be enough to convince him to put his pending broadcasting career on hold.

Why is Kelce more important to retain than, say, running back Miles Sanders? Because much of Hurts’ success in 2022 depended on Kelce. He interpreted defenses designed to confuse and contain Hurts. Certainly, Hurts will be a year wiser in 2023, but he’ll still need lots of guidance as NFL defenses adjust to contain him. In his third year in Nick Sirianni’s offense, Kelce is the best possible guide.

3. C.J. Gardner-Johnson, safety: Five years, $60 million ($35 million guaranteed).

His six interceptions still lead the NFL, and he’s been outstanding in his first season as a converted cornerback, and he just turned 25. He’ll be looking to break the bank after vastly outplaying his fourth-round rookie deal that paid him just $3.3 million.

Is he worth it? Or is he, as indicated by the suggested contract above, not quite elite just yet?

Since converting to full-time safety in 2021, CJGJ has spent parts of the last two seasons on injured reserve. Further, his picks have come behind a defensive line that has the Eagles ranked No. 1 in sacks, with 55. They’ve come between two elite cornerbacks, Slay and Bradberry. The defense actually got better in his absence.

That is not to say CJGJ hasn’t been a big part of the 13-1 Eagles, and it’s intriguing to consider what he might become given a second season in this defense. Marcus Epps is a free agent, too. Are the Eagles comfortable going into 2023 with undrafted rookie Reed Blankenship and stalled 2020 fourth-round pick K’Von Wallace?

» READ MORE: Eagles’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson gets Malcolm Jenkins’ seal of approval

4. Fletcher Cox, defensive tackle: One year, $7 million.

This might be a minority opinion, but, all things considered, Cox has been worth every penny of the controversial one-year, $14 million deal he signed after the Eagles cut him last spring. He rebounded from a moribund, 3½-sack 2021 with six sacks in 2022. He has been the unquestioned leader of the defense, again. Most significantly, he hasn’t missed a game since early 2017.

Cox was inconsistent early this season, but he has been utterly brilliant the last two months. Four Eagles — Haason Reddick, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham — have at least 8½ sacks so far this season.

None would have nearly as many if not for Fletcher Cox.

5. Miles Sanders, running back: Four years, $30 million ($15 million guaranteed).

Eight running backs should go in the first three rounds of the 2023 NFL draft. All have high ceilings; and most would’ve been top-45 picks in a different era of the NFL. But asking a rookie to fill the role Sanders has filled in Sirianni’s scheme, which is especially demanding of running backs, would be unreasonable. A team that expects to compete for a Super Bowl in 2023 doesn’t need to be teaching an inexperienced running back which player to block and which route to run.

Sanders just made his first Pro Bowl. Will some team overpay him to play the lowest-paid position besides punter?

» READ MORE: Miles Sanders can prove he’s worth an extension from the Eagles at Dallas

6. Javon Hargrave, defensive tackle: Two years, $25 million ($12 million guaranteed).

This essentially would be a one-year, $12 million deal, which effectively would be a $1 million pay cut. If that seems preposterous for a defensive tackle who has already logged a career-high 10 sacks this season and led fan Pro Bowl voting for his position, understand that he didn’t return to the Pro Bowl because players and coaches, who account for two-thirds of the vote, didn’t consider him worthy. Both he and Cox are alternates.

Also, Hargrave will be 30 in February.

» READ MORE: ‘What else do I have to do?’ Javon Hargrave is among the Eagles’ Pro Bowl snubs despite his 10 sacks.

If the Eagles can re-sign linebacker T.J. Edwards to a short-term deal for about $4 million per season, that might be good value, since he has more tackles over the last two seasons than every Eagle except Alex Singleton in 2021 and DeMeco Ryans in 2013. His 249 tackles and his dependability are sure to lure some other team that doesn’t regard linebackers as imminently interchangeable.

Besides, the Birds drafted Nakobe Dean in the third round in April to replace Edwards, and he will do so nicely.

Similarly, another one-year, $3 million deal for linebacker Kyzir White might be a decent value for both sides, as would a one-year, $2 million contract for utility back Boston Scott.