The plan for the Eagles this offseason is to play from a position of strength, and given the assets General Manager Howie Roseman has accumulated, Philadelphia absolutely has that opportunity. A year after making the monumental trade sending quarterback Carson Wentz to Indianapolis for two draft picks, including a first-rounder this spring, the Eagles cleared out space within the 2022 NFL salary cap, projected to be at $208.2 million. They have a total of 10 draft picks, including three in Round 1. They have a young roster that transitioned in 2021 and is prepared to take a step forward in the season ahead.
"Those opportunities, those assets you talk about, allow us to continue to build and really helps us add good players to this team," Roseman said. "Our job is to look at everything, to evaluate every position, every player. We do that not only for right now in this moment, but we also do it so we have information when players become available at any position."
Exactly what do the Eagles have in terms of assets when free agency begins on March 16 and in the seven-round NFL Draft that starts on April 28? File this away for reference ...
Draft Picks
At this point the Eagles have 10 draft picks in the 2022 draft (plus quarterback Gardner Minshew and defensive back Kary Vincent, Jr., both of whom were acquired with 2022 draft picks). Those picks are ...
• 1st (from Miami for 2021 trade-down 6th to 12th) – 15th overall
• 1st (from Indianapolis for Carson Wentz) – 16th overall
• 1st (original) – 19th overall
• 2nd (original)
• 3rd (original)
• 4th (original)
• 5th (from Washington for 2021 6th and 7th)
• 5th (original)
• 5th (from Cardinals for Zach Ertz)
• 6th (from Indianapolis for Matt Pryor and 2022 original 7th)
Free Agency
Philadelphia will have some decisions to make and some business to conduct with free agency in mind, as a handful of key veterans from the 2021 season are due to be unrestricted free agents on March 16. Those players are:
• Linebacker Genard Avery, a starter at the SAM position in 2021.
• Defensive end Derek Barnett, the team's first-round draft pick in 2017 who has been a starter since then. He has 21.5 quarterback sacks in his 64 career games with the Eagles.
• Tight end Jason Croom, who spent the 2021 season on Injured Reserve
• Safety Anthony Harris, who signed with the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent prior to the 2021 season. He was a starter throughout the season.
• Running back Jordan Howard, who rushed for 406 yards, averaging 4.7 yards per carry, with three touchdowns this past season.
• Defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, who had 1.5 quarterback sacks in the playoff loss at Tampa Bay.
• Safety Rodney McLeod, a key member of the defense since he joined the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent in 2016.
• Cornerback Steven Nelson, who joined the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent as Training Camp opened. He started throughout the 2021 season.
• Defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway, an Eagle since 2019 who recorded two quarterback sacks, one forced fumble, and one tackle for loss in '21.
There are four players who are restricted free agents in March – offensive lineman Nate Herbig, running back Boston Scott, linebacker Alex Singleton, and wide receiver Greg Ward. Defensive back Andre Chachere is the team's lone exclusive-rights free agent when the NFL's new business year begins at 4 PM on March 16.
2022 Opponents
If you want to take a peek into the future – namely, the 2022 regular season – here are the opponents on the schedule (dates and times will be announced in the spring):
Home: Dallas/New York/Washington/Green Bay/Jacksonville/Minnesota/New Orleans/Pittsburgh/Tennessee
Away: Dallas/New York/Washington/Arizona/Chicago/Detroit/Houston/Indianapolis
