Checking in on Eagles' Salary Cap and Who Might be on Their Radar

The Eagles have a little more money to spend based on salary cap numbers recently updated by overthecap.com.

The website that monitors such things released the cost of the Haason Reddick deal, and the cap hit in 2022 isn’t terrible, just $4.028 million. Zach Pascal’s one-year deal, agreed to on Monday, hasn’t been posted, but the Eagles are $24.32M under the cap.

Factor in about $13M for the rookie class, which, as of right now, sits at approximately $13M, and that leaves roughly $10M.

Not a lot, but enough to make another move or two in free agency.

Restructuring cornerback Darius Slay’s contract saved $11M to get to this point and Javon Hargrave’s contract could also be redone as well.

Contract reconstruction, though, is one of the reasons the Eagles have not been bigger shoppers in the free-agent market.

Even after shedding Carson Wentz’s then-record dead-money hit of 33 million-plus, which has since been passed by Matt Ryan’s $40M in dead money the Atlanta Falcons are absorbing after trading him to the Colts, the Eagles are eating $36.5M in dead money. It is the fourth-highest total in the league behind the Falcons, Texans, and Bears.

As it is, the Eagles have a little something-something to spend in the third wave of free agency, which is due to hit any day now.

After signing a pass rusher and a WR, a safety and/or cornerback probably makes the most sense at this stage.

Think one-year deals, and here’s who might fit that requirement:

P.J. Williams. Set to turn 29 on June 1, he has eight interceptions in his six-year career. He is very good at covering tight ends, which is something the Eagles need.

Steve Nelson. Yep, a reunion could be in the cards. Of course, Nelson will want to hold out as long as he can for a loner deal for more money, like he did last year without any success, so if this is going to happen it may not happen until after the draft if even then. It would depend on what the Eagles did in the draft at the position.

Speaking of reunions, Derek Barnett is still on the market and doesn’t seem to be overwhelming anyone. Perhaps the Eagles bring him back on a low-cost deal for a year.

Patrick Peterson. The 11-year veteran will turn 32 this summer, but he has played over 90 percent of the defensive snaps in each of those seasons, including his only year in Minnesota. With two vets on the corner, the Eagles could take their time developing whoever they draft.

Joe Haden. The 12-year veteran turns 33 next month but has been mostly durable during his career. He played just seven games for the Steelers last year, however.

DeShon Elliott. The surprise is that the safety hasn’t signed with the Eagles already. Perhaps he’s not 100 percent healthy after sitting out most of last season with a biceps and pectoral injury. He’s still just 24 and has 22 starts, all for the Ravens in three seasons.

The Eagles are bringing back Anthony Harris on another one-year deal but could use another experienced safety. They can still draft one – and need to draft one - to groom and lend cost certainty for the next few years.

Elliott makes the most sense, assuming Tyrann Mathieu is looking for more than one year and probably about $8-10M if he were to accept a one-year contract.

Terrell Edmunds. The safety’s market hasn’t shaped up as he had hoped. He just turned 25 in January and had two picks last year with the Steelers while playing 98 percent of the defensive snaps.

The pickings are most definitely slim, and it feels like further answers in the secondary will come in the draft, but with a few extra million hanging around there’s at least a chance one of those free-agent players comes to Philadelphia.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.