The 2016 season is now over, and once again, the Eagles are not Super Bowl champions.
Which means, once again, they will be spending this offseason trying to figure out how to finally capture the Lombardi trophy.
Here is everything you need to know for the Eagles 2017 offseason.
Holes on Current Roster: The Eagles seem to have gotten one thing right — they found their quarterback, Carson Wentz. Filling the biggest position in all of sports is a big first step, but top personnel executive has not been shy about admitting they need to surround him with better talent.
The Eagles’ have the biggest needs at cornerback, wide receiver and depth along the offensive line. The team’s cornerbacks and receivers were among some of the worst in the NFL last year, and in a league where you win by passing the ball, the team isn’t going to compete until they find playmakers at both positions.
In addition to those three positions, the Eagles need to find an outside linebacker, a defensive end and if they lose Bennie Logan to free agency, a defensive tackle.
Eagles 7-Round Mock Draft
Free Agents: The biggest impending free agent on the Eagles’ roster is defensive tackle Bennie Logan. In addition to Logan, the following notable players are free agents: cornerback Nolan Carroll, linebacker Stephen Tulloch, defensive end Bryan Braman and linebacker Najee Goode.
Cap Space: The Eagles currently have $158 million in committed contracts for the 2017 season. They can release players to lower that number, but as of now, they enter the offseason with $158 million committed to next season.
Using $168 million as the NFL cap, the Eagles have around $12 million in cap space ($168 million cap – $158 million in contracts – $6.8 million in dead money + $7.9 million in carry over). Of that $12 million, however, the Eagles will need to use around $5 million to sign their rookies — meaning they really only have around $7 million to spend.
Carson Wentz at Super Bowl
Possible cuts: To open up cap space, here is a look at some possible cap casualties.
Jason Peters: Cutting Peters would save $9.2 million, leave $2 million in dead cap
Connor Barwin: Cutting Barwin would save $7.75 million, leave $600,000 in dead cap
Ryan Mathews: Cutting Mathews would save $4 million, leave $1 million in dead cap
Leodis McKelvin: Cutting McKelvin would save $3 million, leave $200,000 in dead cap
Darren Sproles: Cutting Sproles would save $4 million, leave $0 in dead cap
NFL Draft: The Eagles, unlike last season when they traded away picks to draft Wentz, go in to the 2017 NFL Draft with a pick in every round. Roseman must still be in disbelief over the Minnesota Vikings’ terrible decision to trade for Sam Bradford for a first-round pick. They also have two fifth-round picks.
The Eagles will either be picking 14th or 15th in the first round, as they ended the season in a tie with the Indianapolis Colts. The order will be determined by a coin flip at the NFL Combine later this month.
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Eliot Shorr-Parks may be reached at eshorrpa@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotShorrParks. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.
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