The future of Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham is one of the biggest questions facing the team this offseason.
An interesting wrinkle to an already complex situation emerged on Thursday when Kansas City Chief head coach Andy Reid decided to hire Steve Spagnuolo to be his new defensive coordinator.
Although nothing is certain, chances are that Spagnuolo will be running a 4-3 defense in Kansas City, the defensive alignment he has run throughout his career. Switching from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 would require the Chiefs to go out and add personal for the new formation, and it would be surprising if Graham isn't near the top of their list of targets.
Not only does Graham have history with Reid, but Spagnuolo was the Giants defensive coordinator in 2015 when the Giants nearly signed Graham away from the Eagles in free agency. If not for the Eagles swooping in at the last minute to re-sign Graham, he likely would have ended up with Spagnuolo and the Giants.
With $32 million in cap space, the Chiefs will have the money and the incentive to make a run at Graham, who is still one of the top defensive ends in the NFL. Add in the fact that he has experience in both a 3-4 and a 4-3 defense, and Graham would be a perfect fit in Kansas City, especially if the team doesn't bring back Dee Ford, who is set to become a free agent.
If the Chiefs do come calling, it will be up to the Eagles to decide just how much they are willing to spend to keep Graham.
Although Graham will be 31 by the time next season begins, and is coming off of a season in which he totaled just 4.0 sacks, there is no denying the Eagles need him. The Eagles' defensive could potentially lose Timmy Jernigan, Chris Long and Haloti Ngata, meaning they will already have plenty of spots to fill without having to worry about replacing Graham. Outside of Michael Bennett, Graham was arguably the Eagles second best defensive end last season.
Graham has made it clear he wants to come back to Philadelphia, even hinting he will be willing to take a team-friendly deal to make it happen. While their cap space will increase, the Eagles are currently around $12 million over the salary cap, and will likely not have the financial space to outbid the Chiefs if they decide to make a serious run at Graham.
The good news for the Eagles is that they are the only team that can negotiate with Graham until free agency begins in March. The bad news is that it looks like a familair face with plenty of money could be waiting for Graham once free agency begins.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
