Cap Talk: Here’s where the Eagles stand heading into NFL Free Agency

The negotiating window opens at noon this Monday and the new league year kicks off next Wednesday at 4 p.m. Before you get too excited, pump the brakes. The Eagles are not expected to be major players in free agency this year.

This is not a roster that is one big signing away from anything. The plan is to keep their own guys, stay disciplined, and let Howie Roseman work his usual magic within the constraints of a cap situation that needs a little massaging before anything else happens.

The league-wide cap is set at $301.2 million in 2026. The Eagles are currently sitting on roughly $12.6 million in projected cap space, which ranks 18th in the NFL. Respectable but not exactly buy-whatever-you-want money. The good news is there are several moves available that could change that number pretty quickly.

Not a lot of room but not a desperate situation either, especially since there are several straightforward moves available to free up significant cap space if needed.

Goodbye Michael Carter II

The easiest one is cutting Michael Carter II and doing it immediately. The Eagles acquired Carter from the Jets last season and he was essentially invisible after arriving. He is carrying a $10.12 million cap hit with a $9.7 million base salary.

Cutting him saves $8.7 million and leaves only $1.4 million in dead money. That is not a hard decision. That is a phone call that happens at noon on Monday.

Eagles Dead Money and Cap Savings via Over the Cap >>

Extend Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter

The two bigger moves that could actually open things up involve extensions for Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter. Davis had a breakout 2025 season and is heading into his fifth-year option at just under $13 million, which is actually a bargain for what he brings but is a large inflexible block of base salary.

An extension converts most of that into bonus money that prorates over multiple years and could save close to $10 million in cap space this season alone.

Jalen Carter is in a similar boat at $6.9 million and the same logic applies. Getting both of those deals done would give the Eagles real breathing room and lock up two of their best defensive players at the same time.

This should be the priority above everything else this offseason.

I would do horrible things to stop writing about AJ Brown, but…

Dave Zangaro included AJ Brown in his cap space article, so I’ll keep it going since it is apparently constitutionally impossible to go more than 72 hours without an AJ Brown trade rumor rearing its head.

We have written about this many times but here is the actual cap math on the AJ Brown situation. A trade before June 1st would increase his dead cap charge by over $20 million, leaving Philadelphia holding $43.4 million in dead money for 2026.

That number is not a typo. $43 million dollars. For a player no longer on your roster.

A post-June 1st trade is a completely different picture, saving $7 million in cap space with $16.4 million in dead money this year and the remainder carrying into 2027.

If a trade ever happens (it wont), the timing is everything. Pre-June 1st would require an offer so overwhelming that it would essentially have to be the best trade return for a wide receiver in NFL history for it to make any sense.

Howie basically called the trade rumors ridiculous. There is no reason to believe anything is happening. The real story heading into free agency is cutting Carter II, locking up Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter, and being smart with whatever room is left.

Howie Roseman officially shuts down the AJ Brown trade talks >>

Not flashy. Not exciting. Just Howie doing Howie things and the Eagles coming out of March in better shape than most people expected.

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