Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has been no stranger to adding veteran playmakers to buttress a Super Bowl-caliber roster in recent years, and those moves have mostly been big winners.
Even before Roseman and the Eagles won the Shaq Leonard sweepstakes, signing the former three-time All-Pro linebacker despite an overture from the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia previously plucked veteran safety Kevin Byard from the Tennessee Titans just before the NFL trade deadline.
Byard has already made a big impact on the Eagles’ secondary, producing 42 total tackles with one interception through his first five games in Philadelphia.
Over the past two seasons, Roseman has acquired veteran defenders Robert Quinn, Ndamukong Suh, Byard, and Leonard, among others.
While Byard has helped backstop an inconsistent secondary, the flexibility provided by how the cap hits on his contract is structured could ultimately wind up being an even more valuable asset to a general manager as aggressive as Roseman.
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz lists Byard’s contract as one of the NFL’s best, relative to the value he provides his team:
“Philadelphia’s complex use of long-term contracts with void years made this a tough choice,” Schatz writes. “For example, Haason Reddick has a cap number of just under $7 million this season. But next year, his cap number is currently scheduled to balloon to $20.9 million, with $14.8 million of dead money on the cap during a 2025 void year. James Bradberry is another example, as his cap number is a very reasonable $3 million this year and $4.7 million next year, then $8.25 million in 2025 and a ridiculous $22.25 million in 2026. Those last couple years are pretty much fake, as Bradberry will probably be cut off this contract after 2024, but there’s going to be a lot of extra dead money from him on the Eagles’ cap in the future.”
The Biggest Benefit of Kevin Byard’s Contract
The Eagles have been one of the teams most aggressive about signing players to long-term contracts and structuring them to maximize cap space. But, as Schatz points out, unlike the structure of Jalen Hurts Hurts’ deal which continues to pay significant dividends for the Eagles, Roseman only deserves partial credit for Byard’s.
“So I cheated a little bit,” Schatz admits. “And chose a player who was just recently traded to the Eagles. That trade meant that most of the bonuses on Byard’s contract accelerated onto Tennessee’s cap, not Philadelphia’s cap. The Eagles are on the hook for a cap number of just $1.7 million for Byard this year. Next year’s cap number is colossal, but the Eagles can get out of most of it by cutting Byard before a March 19 roster bonus. That would leave just $1.4 million in dead money on the cap for next season. That $3.1 million, even for just half a season of a Pro Bowl-level safety, is a pretty good deal.”
How Roseman and the Eagles have structured deals has allowed Philadelphia to continually be in the mix for players the organization believes can boost their chances of winning the Super Bowl, including being linked to recently released tight end Zach Ertz, and others.
Former Eagles Make College Football Hall of Fame
The Eagles will be well represented at this year’s College Football Hall of Fame enshrinement.
Former Eagles stars Brian Westbrook, Troy Vincent, and Jeremy Maclin will be members of the this year’s class of inductees, after their stellar careers at Villanova, Wisconsin, and Missouri, respectively.
Vincent and Westbrook have previously been inducted into the Eagles’ Hall of Fame, for their impact they left on the franchise.
