Eagles offseason: Free agents, draft needs, and what’s next for Haason Reddick and Jason Kelce

The 2023 Eagles season is over, but the offseason has just begun.

Over the next several months, general manager Howie Roseman and his staff will make a number of decisions that will change the makeup of the Eagles roster. From free agency to the draft, the Eagles will have multiple opportunities to retool their personnel in an effort to rebound from their wild-card playoff exit.

With the new league year beginning on March 13, here’s a primer on some of the most important Eagles offseason topics, including salary-cap space, free agency, and the draft:

» READ MORE: Eagles center Jason Kelce: ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen for me’ next season

The NFL set the 2024 salary cap, an unadjusted figure that accounts for a portion of a team’s player costs in a season, at $255.4 million on Friday. This figure is a $30.6 million rise over last season’s salary cap of $224.8 million, making it the largest dollar increase since the cap’s inception in 1994. The 13.61% rise between 2023 and 2024 is the largest percentage increase since 2021 to 2022 (14.08%) amid the pandemic.

While the unadjusted cap for the 2024 season is $255.4 million, the adjusted salary cap that the Eagles will actually operate under is a different figure that is impacted by other factors like cap carryover and incentive adjustments. In most cases, the adjusted cap for each team is greater than the unadjusted, leaguewide salary cap, and the Eagles are expected to be no different in 2024.

Over the Cap projects that the Eagles will have $27.35 million in cap space at the start of the new league year. However, this figure is likely slightly smaller because it does not account for the contract of tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, whom the Eagles signed to a one-year extension on Friday before he was set to hit free agency. The team currently has 65 players under contract. Only the top 51 cap charge’s base salaries count against the cap when the new league year begins.

Additionally, Over the Cap estimates that the Eagles will need roughly $4.13 million in cap space to sign their 2024 rookie class, bringing what the database calls the team’s “effective cap space” down to about $23.24 million (minus Okwuegbunam’s cap charge). Still, that figure will be in flux leading up to the new league year and afterward as Roseman makes decisions on the players under contract with the team and adds to the roster via free agency.

Let’s take a look at some of the candidates for trades, extensions, restructures, and cuts that could impact the Eagles’ cap space this offseason. One of the most obvious candidates for any of the first three options is two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Haason Reddick, who is going into the final season of a three-year deal. He’s due for a raise, seeing as Over the Cap ranks his contract 17th in total value among edge rushers and he has eclipsed double-digit sacks in each of his two seasons with the Eagles.

According to Over the Cap, Reddick’s cap charge in 2024 is expected to balloon to $21.88 million, which accounts for a team-high 8.5% of the Eagles’ estimated salary cap. The 29-year-old Reddick has made it clear that he would like to remain with his hometown Eagles and sign an extension, but the team has granted him permission to seek a trade partner, according to a league source, allowing him to explore what he could command on the market in terms of a new deal.

» READ MORE: Opinion: Should the Eagles trade Haason Reddick? Sure, if possible.

If the Eagles are looking to trade Reddick, they would have to decide if they want to do so before June 1 or afterward. Trading Reddick before June 1 would provide a 2024 cap savings of up to $1.2 million, according to Over the Cap, whereas a post-June 1 trade would give them a savings of up to $16 million. But if the Eagles trade him after June 1, they wouldn’t get to use their newfound cap space toward the bulk of free agency, which begins with the new league year and essentially wraps up in June.

Alternatively, the Eagles could opt to extend Reddick for a maximum cap savings of $11.83 million in 2024 according to Over the Cap, or they could restructure his existing contract for a savings of $11.09 million.

Another candidate for a restructured deal is nickel cornerback Avonte Maddox, whose cap hit is set to jump to $9.68 million this season. Maddox, 27, spent the bulk of 2023 on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle and ultimately played four regular-season games and the Eagles’ lone postseason game. A restructure could provide up to $4.41 million in cap savings in 2024, according to Over the Cap.

Among the players whose contracts also expire after 2024 who could be candidates for extensions this offseason are edge rusher Josh Sweat, left guard Landon Dickerson, and kicker Jake Elliott. A Sweat extension in particular could clear up to $2.54 million in cap space.

Similarly, the Eagles also have candidates for extensions whose contracts expire the following year in 2026, including left tackle Jordan Mailata and wide receiver DeVonta Smith (assuming they exercise his fifth-year option before the May 2 deadline). A Mailata extension could create up to $2.80 million in cap savings.

Aside from determining if they’d like to hand out extensions or restructure contracts, the Eagles could also opt to cut various players. One possible option is safety Kevin Byard, whom the Eagles acquired at midseason in a trade with the Tennessee Titans.

Byard, 30, has one year remaining on his deal and is set to count for $14.42 million against the cap (5.6%). Cutting Byard with a post-June 1 designation would yield the Eagles up to $14.07 million in cap savings, while a pre-June 1 cut would create up to $13.03 million in cap space. Maddox could also be an option to cut ($7.12 million in savings post-June 1).

Free agency begins on March 13 at 4 p.m. with the beginning of the new league year. Starting at noon on March 11 and ending just before the new league year, teams are permitted to contact and enter into negotiations with representation for pending unrestricted free agents.

The Eagles have a total of 22 pending free agents, including 21 unrestricted free agents and one restricted free agent in tight end Jack Stoll. Wide receiver Devon Allen, who finished the season on the practice squad and hasn’t been re-signed, is already a free agent.

The team’s unrestricted free agents include center Jason Kelce, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, defensive end Brandon Graham, quarterback Marcus Mariota, running back D’Andre Swift, running back Boston Scott, inside linebacker Zach Cunningham, safety Justin Evans, inside linebacker Shaquille Leonard, tackle/guard Sua Opeta, running back Rashaad Penny, wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, inside linebacker Nicholas Morrow, punter Braden Mann, tackle/guard Jack Driscoll, linebacker Shaun Bradley, wide receiver Quez Watkins, wide receiver Julio Jones, nickel cornerback Bradley Roby, long snapper Rick Lovato, and tackle Roderick Johnson.

Kelce’s future remains one of the biggest questions of the Eagles offseason. He has not made an official announcement regarding whether he plans to retire or continue his playing career. Cox also could decide to retire. Graham said after the Eagles’ wild-card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he aspires to return to the team for one more season.

The Eagles will also decide if they want to bring back Swift or let him walk. The 25-year-old Philly native finished fifth in the league this season with 1,049 rushing yards, marking the first year Swift has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in his four-year career. He’s deserving of a raise, but the Eagles don’t have a recent history of paying their running backs.

The draft will be held in Detroit from April 25-27. The Eagles are projected to have nine selections in the draft, including four compensatory picks for the 2023 free-agency departures of defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, guard Isaac Seumalo, tackle Andre Dillard, and inside linebacker T.J. Edwards.

The precise order of the draft will be set when the league officially awards compensatory picks. Last season, that occurred in early March.

» READ MORE: The Eagles have two second-round draft picks. Here are seven prospects worth targeting.

Eagles 2024 projected draft picks: Round 1 (No. 22 overall), Round 2 (two selections, including one acquired in a 2022 draft-night pick swap with the New Orleans Saints), Round 3 (one compensatory pick for Hargrave), Round 5 (four selections, including one acquired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 2023 pick swap and three compensatory picks), and Round 6 (one from the Atlanta Falcons in the defensive tackle Kentavius Street trade)

The Eagles have not made three picks in the first two rounds of the draft since 2019 when they selected Dillard (Round 1, No. 22 overall), running back Miles Sanders (Round 2, No. 53 overall), and wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (Round 2, No. 57 overall). They have not made nine picks since the 2021 draft, a class that includes Smith and Dickerson.

The Eagles have the opportunity to address weaknesses in the roster through the draft and free agency, supplying new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio with personnel to fit their schemes.

On the defensive side, the Eagles have needs at just about every position coming off a season in which the unit ranked No. 30 in scoring and No. 26 in yards. The Eagles are particularly thin at inside linebacker and safety, and they could also benefit from adding a top outside corner if they decide to part ways with starter James Bradberry (or, at least, minimize his role considering that cutting him after June 1 would leave them with $4.34 million in dead money).

» READ MORE: Three personnel needs for rebuilding the Eagles defense under Vic Fangio

With Reddick and Sweat entering the final years of their deals and Graham potentially hitting the market, the Eagles could also continue to add to their corps of edge rushers. They began that process on Feb. 14 when they signed free-agent edge rusher Julian Okwara to a one-year, $1.3 million deal, and they could stand to add another through the draft.

The Eagles don’t have many starting roles on offense up for grabs next season aside from running back (and potentially along the offensive line if Kelce retires). Three of their four running backs on the active roster last season are set to become free agents in Swift, Scott, and Penny.

One of the Eagles’ top offensive priorities should be identifying a developmental tackle through the draft who could potentially serve as right tackle Lane Johnson’s eventual replacement. Johnson, who turns 34 in May, has three more years left on his contract.

Additionally, with Watkins, Jones, and Zaccheaus being pending free agents, the Eagles will likely look for third-receiver candidates this offseason.

Feb. 26-March 4: Scouting combine in Indianapolis

March 24-27: Annual league meeting in Orlando, Fla.

April 15: Beginning of the Eagles’ offseason workout program

May 3-6 or May 10-13: Three-day, post-draft rookie minicamp