Eagles news: Birds add RB AJ Dillon, re-sign LB/FB VanSumeren; Slay lands in Pittsburgh; latest on Mekhi Becton

The Eagles elected not to extend a tender offer to wide receiver and return specialist Britain Covey before the start of the new league year according to a league source, making the 27-year-old an unrestricted free agent.

PhillyVoice was first to report the news.

Considering the minimum tender offer would have been $3.2 million, the decision to let Covey enter unrestricted free agency isn’t all that surprising and still leaves open the possibility the former Utah standout could eventually re-sign with the team at a lower number.

The Eagles re-signed fullback/linebacker Ben VanSumeren to a one-year deal on Wednesday, according to a league source confirming an NFL Network report.

The 24-year-old linebacker earned a part-time role as a fullback in the Eagles offense last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury that required surgery during a practice in late November. VanSumeren, an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State, has been around the NovaCare Complex rehabbing and figures to factor into the team’s linebacker depth while also offering utility on special teams ace and as a fullback once again next year.

VanSumeren played in 11 games before suffering the injury, logging 22 offensive snaps while also playing 75% of the team’s special teams snaps.

Nearly three days into NFL free agency, nine former Eagles players have yet to be signed by other teams.

Among those yet to sign is right guard Mekhi Becton, a former first-round pick for the New York Jets who flourished last season after signing a one-year deal with the Eagles.

The Birds did acquire guard Kenyon Green from the Houston Texans in the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade, but the Eagles could still end up re-signing Becton.

The Eagles enter the new league year with roughly $24 million in effective salary cap space, according to online database Over the Cap. This number accounts for the future cost of rookie contracts in next month’s NFL draft and the minimum amount needed to fill out a roster.

It does not include the expected releases of Darius Slay and James Bradberry, because the team cut both players with a post June-1 designation and won’t receive the space from those moves until then.

The team’s effective salary cap, which accounts for unused cap space from the previous year and incentives paid out to players from last season as well, is $293 million.

Going into the new league year, the Eagles have eight draft picks, all of which fall somewhere between the first and fifth rounds of next April’s NFL draft.

While each of their first three picks are original to them, four of the eight selections come from other teams due to the high volume of trades Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has brokered in the last few seasons. Here’s a list of the picks they have:

The fifth-rounder from Houston and the one from the Lions came earlier this week, the former coming from the Texans in return for C.J. Gardner-Johnson and the latter coming from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Kenny Pickett.

The first two days of free agency were mostly what we expected.

There went the Patriots, with Milton Williams. And the Vikings, with Isaiah Rodgers. And the Cardinals, with Josh Sweat.

The good news for Eagles fans is that Roseman has been here before. The result was a Super Bowl.

Entering day three of free agency, the Eagles have yet to add any new free agents. ESPN’s Adam Schefter doesn’t expect that to change much. 

“I think they are more likely to shed more salary than acquire more salary,” Schefter said on 97.5 The Fanatic Wednesday morning. “You’re asking if there’s a trick up their sleeve? No, again, I think they are more likely to shed – shed – more salaries, make more moves the other way, more outgoing than incoming, I think.”

Schefter said the Eagles wanted to re-sign cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, but weren’t willing to give him the two-year, $15 million contract he landed with the Minnesota Vikings. 

At least he'll remain in Pennsylvania.

Kenneth Gainwell, who backed up Saquon Barkley last season, is signing a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to multiple reports.

The 25-year-old running back has been a solid backup after being drafted by the Eagles in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft. But the Eagles appear ready to elevate 2024 draft pick Will Shipley into the role of Barkley's primary backup, who "flashed as a runner and a receiver on the few occasions he got an opportunity" last season, according to The Inquirer's Jeff McLane.

As NFL free agency moves through its second day, the Eagles have a few holes to fill on defense.

One free agent who could make sense for the Birds is New York Giants edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, a second-round pick in 2021 who attended Georgia with several current Eagles defenders.

Here's what The Inquirer's EJ Smith wrote about Ojulari last week:

Add safety to the list of Eagles needs this offseason.

By trading C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the team freed up some short-term cash and created some salary-cap space in the years to come, but will now need to reinforce the defensive secondary as a result.

Here are some options, one internal, one in free agency, and one through the draft, who could replace Gardner-Johnson in the Eagles’ safety room: