(973espn.com) - The NFL salary cap for the 2017 season has officially been set at $167 million, a 7.2 percent increase over last year’s budget of $155 million.

As the calendar turns to March that means the Philadelphia Eagles have about $12.5 million in space eight days before the new league year.

When you consider approximately $5 million of that will have to be budgeted toward the 2017 rookie class that takes things down even further, hardly enough to make a splash for a player like Kenny Stills never mind Alshon Jeffery or A.J. Bouye.

However, there are still dominoes left to fall and it’s almost a foregone conclusion that both defensive end Connor Barwin and running back Ryan Mathews will be released, moves that will open up $11.75M in cap space ($7.75M for Barwin and $4M for Mathews).

Others like center Jason Kelce, guard Allen Barbre and even running back Darren Sproles could be candidates to be released if the Eagles need more space.

As for their own players set to become free agents, it’s very unlikely that the Eagles will be able to keep defensive tackle Bennie Logan while the team has no interest in bringing back middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch.

If the price is right cornerback Nolan Carroll, offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski and special-teams standout Bryan Braman could be back.

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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