The beginning of an NFL season is a perfect time to hand out contract extensions, as teams, including the Eagles, worked to get ahead of the 2023 free-agent shopping sprees.
Drafted players can’t be given extensions until after three seasons, meaning guys from 2018 and 2019 are in line for new deals.
Four of our nine projections from the last offseason landed new deals, with Jordan Mailata, Avonte Maddox, Josh Sweat, and Dallas Goedert all getting contract extensions.
Philadelphia appears to have more moves cooking after acquiring defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson from the Saints via trade.
The team recently restructured the contracts of Lane Johnson, Jake Elliott, and Isaac Seumalo, creating almost $10 million in cap space.
We’ve highlighted 10 Eagles who could land contract extensions heading into training camp and during the 2022 regular season.
Miles Sanders, RB
The summertime hamstring injury didn’t help things at all.
A 2019 second-round pick, Sanders won’t have to worry about a fifth-year option and 2022 will be the final year of his rookie contract.
The 2021 season was the third straight year that Sanders could not amass 1,000 yards rushing, but his overall value to the Eagles can’t be denied.
Sanders is one of only seven running backs to begin his career with three straight seasons of 750 rushing yards and a 4.5 average or better. The others are Brown, Earl Campbell, Nick Chubb, Abner Haynes, Barry Sanders, and Gale Sayers.
Even amid a historical lack of usage rate, Sanders still averages over 5-yards per carry and he’s the 9th player in league history to amass 750-yards and a 5.0 per carry average in consecutive seasons.
In 2022, Sanders will earn a base salary of $1,224,569 while carrying a cap hit of $1,704,156 and a dead cap value of $479,587, so there’s no rush for a new deal, but moving early can always add value for Howie Roseman.
From a production and value standpoint alone, Sanders’ first three years of work should get him a fair deal that averages somewhere in between the $7.0 million per year Austin Ekeler earns from the Chargers, up towards the $8 million per year that Kenyan Drake is getting from the Raiders.
DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson
The Eagles acquired Gardner-Johnson and the Saints’ 2025 seventh-round draft pick for a 2023 fifth-round draft pick and the latter of their two sixth-round draft pick in 2024.
Gardner-Johnson, who has experience as a slot corner and safety, is expected to play safety in Philadelphia.
The versatile safety is making 2,540,000 in the final year of his rookie deal and wants to get paid.
S Marcus Epps
A talented and physical safety, Epps is one of the young players in the NFL to watch, and Howie Roseman should lock him up for cultural purposes alone.
The move wouldn’t save Philadelphia any salary-cap space, and Epps’ potential could be a huge reason why they wouldn’t break the bank for Tyrann Mathieu.
CB Darius Slay
Yes, Slay is over 30 years old, but he’s coming off a Pro Bowl and All-Pro type season. Slay has already saved the Eagles $12 million in cap space by restructuring his current deal.
DT Javon Hargrave
Hargrave is over 30, but he’s coming off the best season of his career, and signing the talented defensive tackle to an extension could save Philadelphia $9,572,000.
He’d also be a talented insurance policy if Fletcher Cox moves on in 2023.
Kyzir White, LB
White signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Eagles, and if he can take his game to the next level early in the 2022 season, Howie Roseman could be in the mood to extend the talented linebacker.
C Jason Kelce
The 36-year-old Kelce is an All-Pro and still among the best centers in football. He just signed a one-year, $14 million deal, and should be allowed to play until his play drops off.
Philadelphia could move Cam Jurgens to guard for one season if Isaac Seumalo moves on.
RT Lane Johnson
His recent restructure could prevent such a move.
This is more about Johnson being an All-Pro and Philadelphia saving cap space in the meantime.
Why fix something that’s not broken, and the Eagles would save $4 million by adding a year, plus his replacement isn’t currently on the roster.
LB T.J. Edwards
The Eagles’ season turned around in 2021 after Edwards was inserted into the starting lineup at middle linebacker.
Edwards added a year to his deal in January, and if he can duplicate or improve his production in the middle, he could be locked up long-term.
CB James Bradberry
Bradberry signed a one-year deal during the offseason and depending on how Zech McPhearson and Josh Jobe develop, he could land a two-year extension.
