The new CBA was passed on Saturday night, and with it, a new salary cap for the 2020 season was announced on Sunday.
According to multiple reports the salary cap for the 2020 season will be $198.2 million, an increase of $10 million from 2019.
So where does that leave the Eagles?
Figuring out the exact number for each team is tough, but with the new cap announced, we can get pretty close to seeing how much Howie Roseman has to spend.
According to Over The Cap, the Eagles currently have $172 million in committed contracts (for their top 51 players) for the 2020 season. Under the new CBA, however, the minimum salaries for players go up. The current estimate is that each team will see an increase of around $3 million. With a salary cap of $198.2 million, that would give the Eagles roughly $23.2 million in salary cap space. According to the NFLPA, the Eagles will be rolling over $21 million from the 2019 season in salary cap space. When you add that to the $23.2 million in cap space they are projected to have, their number jumps to around $44.2 million.
That number is likely to change plenty over the next 24 hours, but as of now, the important thing to know is this -- Roseman has more money to spend this offseason than he has had in years.
Now that the cap is set, and free agency could potentially start on Monday, here is everything you need to know:
Key Eagles Free Agents:
Jason Peters
Nelson Agholor
Jalen Mills
Ronald Darby
Nigel Bradham
Rodney McLeod
Vinny Curry
Timmy Jernigan
Josh McCown
Jordan Howard
Halapoulivaati Vaitai
Kamu Grugier-Hill
Nate Sudfeld
Vinny Curry
Corey Clement (restricted free agents)
Potential Cap-Saving Moves:
Most years, Roseman has the ability to add a ton of space if needed. This year, he is starting with a large amount of cap space, so he doesn't need the flexibility. That is good news, since he really doesn't have much wiggle room left in terms of creating cap space.
The most realistic options are:
Cut/Trade Malcolm Jenkins: What the team does with safety Malcolm Jenkins will be one of the biggest of the offseason. The team would gain $5 million in cap space if they either traded or released Jenkins, which is possible if they don't come to an agreement on a new deal with the starting safety. Another way the Eagles could create space with Jenkins is to sign him to an extension, which could potentially lower his cap hit for the 2020 season, which is currently set to be $10.8 million.
Trade Sidney Jones: It is hard to say what kind of market would be out there for Jones, and it is possible that if they don't get much in return, they will decide to bring Jones back and give him another chance at carving out a role on the team. Cutting or trading Jones would give the team around $1 million in extra salary cap space.
Trade Rasul Douglas: There will likely be more teams interested in Douglas than Jones, who has played more and has shown he can be a quality starting cornerback when he is given the chance. Douglas might return more in a trade, but he is also a more valuable part of the roster, as he has been the team's go-to starter on the outside when they have had injuries at cornerback. Trading Douglas would save the team around $2 million.
The Alshon Jeffery Question: In terms of salary cap space, the biggest decision the Eagles will have to make this offseason is what to do with with receiver Alshon Jeffery. Coming off of a serious foot injury, and already appearing to be on the decline, there are obvious reasons to move on from Jeffery. Roseman has said he wants to get younger and faster, and moving on from Jeffery would help make both of those things happen. If the Eagles decide to outright cut Jeffery they would lose around $10.5 million in salary cap space, a pretty big blow to their available space, but one they could absorb and still make plenty of moves.
Ideally the Eagles would able to trade him. If they can find a taker for Jeffery the Eagles would only lose around $1 million in salary cap space. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Eagles package a pick with Jeffery to convince another team to take on his contract.
The lack of a CBA beyond 2020 is also playing a factor in what they do with Jeffery, as once there is a new CBA, they could release Jeffery with a post-June 1st designation. That would allow the Eagles to spread out his dead money over two seasons instead of one.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
