Biggest Of Eagles' Big Four Is Most Likely To Re-Sign

It's trending toward Mekhi Becton being back for the Eagles.

Philadelphia Eagles offensive guard Mekhi Becton (77) celebrates on the field after Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs at Caesars Superdome. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Legal tampering is an oxymoron and there’s nothing remotely illegal about the 52-hour negotiating period before the NFL’s new league year begins on March 12.

However, there is real “wink-wink tampering” in the NFL that begins this week in Indianapolis where much of the groundwork begins on potential contract terms between agents and teams for pending free agents.

Of the Eagles’ so-called “big four” set to become unrestricted free agents on March 12 -- Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Zack Baun, and Mekhi Becton -- the most likely to return is trending to be Becton for several reasons.

The most obvious is market value. A successful move inside to offensive guard and Becton’s cleanout day confession that he’d like to stay there if possible, along with some concern over longevity due to a troublesome knee, takes the real big-ticket (pun intended) money off the table.

More so, Becton’s size and power fit better in Philadelphia than anywhere else because there aren’t a lot of teams capable of winning the Super Bowl the way the Eagles did last season, at least without a multi-year plan to pour assets into the offensive line as a whole to kick start the ceiling on a generational back.

If you believe Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty is that type of back and many personnel people do, his upside isn’t likely going to align with a veterans in the prime of their career right now.

Right now, Pro Football Focus’ projection on a Becton deal is three years and $27 million with $17M of that guaranteed, a more than doable $9M average annual value for the Eagles.

In a real-world sense that would be a two-year deal by GM Howie Roseman with void years added past Year 3 that would get the cap number down to an exceedingly low standpoint and keep Becton in the fold for the short-term while the Super Bowl window for Philadelphia remains open.

The third and most obvious part of the equation is that Becton wants to be in Philadelphia and might be the rare player who takes a little less to stay put.

The Louisville product has already lived through a bad fit while making somewhat major money as a first-round pick the New York Jets. His experience up the Jersey Turnpike made him covet working with well-regarded Eagles’ offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. 

Becton also quickly grew very close with his linemates and was visibly moved through the stages of things working out so well in Philadelphia.  

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