Eagles Moves Don’t Add Up
PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - Maybe Jon Dorenbos could create the illusion of more salary-cap space.
The Eagles keep spending like Congress extending the debt ceiling and we keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. After adding at least $20.5 million to the 2017 cap with only about $14 million to spend, Howie Roseman piled on again Friday by re-signing veteran offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski to a three-year deal.
That of course came a day after the team added another interior lineman, Chance Warmack, in free agency from Tennessee on a one-year, $1.51M contract.
Needing space, that would seem to suggest that veteran center Jason Kelce was on his way out either by trade or an imminent release but not according to Howie Roseman.
"No," the Eagles executive vice president of football operations said at his Friday afternoon press conference. "In fact, the first thing we (he and personnel chief Joe Douglas) talked about this morning was the outstanding depth we have on the offensive line."
That depth includes second-year man Isaac Seumalo, who is in the mix to start at left guard or center, as well as Allen Barbre, who was previously granted permission to seek a trade before Philadelphia backtracked and insisted it wanted to keep him.
The number of bodies seems redundant to a certain degree but Roseman insisted that's not the case.
"When you look at it, you can say you're committed to the lines, but then the actions have to back that," he said. "As we look at our offensive line and the depth that we had ... we played five right tackles this year. We know we're going to need all those guys. It's a position around the league that people are looking for.
"We're really excited and our plan is to keep all of those guys."
That sounds great but the Eagles had just under $14 million in cap space after releasing Connor Barwin and have since added receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith as well as Warmack, while re-signing linebacker Najee Goode and Wisniewski.
Once the additions pass their physicals and put pen to paper, the Eagles have to file the paperwork with the league and be under the salary cap of risk penalties that could result in fines or even lost draft picks.
In other words, something has to be done.
"I think from our perspective, we're going to have to look at things as they come through," Roseman said, attempting to deflect from the cap situation. "Obviously as the draft comes too, things are going to change. We're going through all that now. I think that as we look past this moment, we're going to be OK. But it is a unique situation that we've had. And I think as you look out at the league, people have had it. We're looking at that. I'm trying to not be too specific because I don't want to get into strategy here."
-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen