The Eagles free agent situation seems a long way away, however, crucial decisions are taken seriously into consideration. The Eagles have cemented themselves as Super Bowl contenders and are preparing themselves for what they hope will be a deep playoff run. It’s a stark contrast to what the team was going through last year, seemingly falling apart in front of everyone’s eyes.
With the plethora of moves they made this year the team has many new faces making differences this season. However, when you add players to the team it means that other players will leave the team. The Eagles have 17 players who are in the last year of their contract, and it will not be easy deciding who to keep.
Which One of the 2025 Eagles Free Agents Should be a Priority?
Projected Cap Space and Eagles Free Agents
Spotrac projects the Philadelphia Eagles to have just over $36 million in cap space for the 2025 offseason. Considering the obligations of putting together a full 53-man roster and signing the 2025 draft class, the Eagles projected effective cap space should be around 20 million, However, the Eagles can always restructure contracts, engineer trades, or release players to make more space for free agency.
With that in mind, the Eagles will more than likely be forced to lose one or more of their key free agents in the offseason. The potential key free agents include Reed Blankenship, Josh Sweat, Zack Baun, Mekhi Becton, and Brandon Graham. All these players have played crucial roles for the Eagles throughout the season.
Brandon Graham will be an interesting story to watch, depending on whether the Eagles legend intends to retire after this year. As for Blankenship, it’s hard to imagine the Eagles will not reward him with a long-term contract extension. That will likely leave the Eagles enough space to bring back one of the three potential Eagles free agents: Mekhi Becton, Zack Baun, and Josh Sweat.
The Cases for Each
The player who’s been the most outstanding of the three options has been Zack Baun. After coming over from the New Orleans Saints last year, he exploded onto the scene. He has the athleticism and the size to play several different roles for the Eagles at a high level. Unfortunately, he may have played so well that another team will pay him more than the Eagles. Also, like in the case of the current Chicago Bears linebacker, T.J. Edwards, Howie Roseman might want to allocate that much money to a linebacker.
Josh Sweat has been a key player on the defense as well, especially as the Eagles have been on their win streak, Sweat has been their number-one guy on the edge. Yet, the Eagles have invested heavily in this position over the past two years. While Huff has not made much of an impact, his contract makes it so he will be on the team next year, unless traded. The Eagles also believe in their young rushers, Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt, and could look to add another rusher in the 2025 draft to fill in for Sweat.
Mekhi Becton is the Answer
The former New York Jets offensive lineman Mekhi Becton would make the most sense to prioritize out of the Eagles free agents. Becton has been awesome for the Eagles as a guard, on the most crucial unit on this Eagles team. Whether it’s having the way for an MVP season for Saquon Barkley, or helping Jalen Hurts alleviate the passing game concerns, Becton has played a big part in both.
Plus, despite a lengthy injury history, Becton has been able to stay relatively healthy besides getting a concussion against the New York Giants. Yet at the end of the day, the Eagles got to this point by prioritizing the offensive line first. There’s no reason they should stop that now by letting go of an awesome guard and potentially creating a massive hole on the right side of their offensive line.
Main Image: Eric Hartline – USA Today Sports
The post Which One of the 2025 Eagles Free Agents Should be a Priority? appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.