Three Eagles Whose Contracts Become More Favorable to Trade on June 1
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The Eagles explored a trade for WR Jalen Reagor leading into the draft and during the draft.
Nothing happened, and if Reagor is unhappy, he sure didn’t look like it during a photo released by the Eagles during a recent offseason workout.
It showed Reagor smiling broadly between Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith.
Reagor would appear to be making the best of a situation that may leave him with a reduced number of reps this season. Last year he had the third-highest reps among receivers with 750, behind Quez Watkins’ 771 and Smith’s 916, which, ironically, was the same number of yards Smith had receiving.
GM Howie Roseman is trying hard to find a way to get something of value for Reagor, a first-round pick who would likely benefit from a change of scenery.
If nothing else, moving Reagor once June 1 arrives is easier.
June 1 is been a demarcation line of sorts in the contract world of the NFL.
It’s when player contracts can be subject to change, when it may be a better financial move to cut or trade a player after that date.
To trade Reagor prior to June, the Eagles would have had to eat $3.6 million in dead money with a salary cap savings of a paltry $13,516. Not terrible, but not as good as waiting until June 1 when the dead money decreases to $1.8M and the cap savings increases to $1.8M.
Jalen Hurts (1) with several of his WRs, including A.J. Brown (11) and Jalen Reagor between the QB and DeVonta Smith (2)
Philadelphia Eagles
Trading Reagor is the best option should Roseman need to make a move at some point to strengthen is team, though two other players who could be dangled in a deal have favorable contracts post-June 1 contracts as well – OL Isaac Seumalo and DL Fletcher Cox.
It would surely be a surprise if either player gets dealt, but trading Jordan Matthews was stunning in 2017 following a 73-catch, 804-yard season.
The Eagles’ interior depth took a hit when the team released Nate Herbig, who was picked up quickly by the Jets. While they added Cam Jurgens in the draft, nobody knows yet if he can play guard after starting at center for three years at Nebraska.
So, getting rid of Seumalo may not be in the Eagles’ best interests, though his pre-June 1 trade numbers were $5.8M in dead money and just a $1.8M savings under the cap compared to his post-June 1 numbers of $2.01M in dead money and $5.65M in salary cap savings.
As for Cox, well, the Eagles did give one of the greatest defensive players in the organization’s history permission to seek a trade at last year’s deadline, but one couldn’t be negotiated in time. Then, there was his release in a salary-cap move before re-signing him to a $14M, one-year contract.
It’s a tradable deal, though, with a salary-cap hit of $4M this year and again in 2023 before topping out at $7.5M in 2024, though that year, when he will turn 34, the numbers aren’t as daunting to just release him
This year, however, a pre-June 1 trade would’ve been prohibitive, with a dead-money hit of $12.5M and a salary cap that would have gone from $4M to $8.5 After June 1, those numbers are much more favorable, with a dead-money hit of just $21.5M and a salary-cap savings of $1.5M.
That doesn’t mean he will be traded, but should the Eagles go that route, it won’t hurt the wallet too terribly. It might sting on the field, though, if Cox can play to the consistent level he played at until only recently.
As for some other players that could be traded – again, just speculation – such as Miles Sanders, Andre Dillard, and/or Gardner Minshew, there is no savings or penalties whether a deal is done before or after June 1.
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.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
