4 Eagles players who could sign contract extensions in 2020

[UK_EaglesFan89]

4 Eagles players who could sign contract extensions in 2020

 

While the Eagles’ salary cap future is a bit murky, the front office could look to lock up a few of its emerging players with cheap contract extensions in the coming months.

The Eagles have a few young players poised for notable promotions on both sides of the ball. With an impending $50 million cap debt looming in 2021, the Eagles need to reinforce their future with cheap deals to keep their depth intact.

Here are four Eagles players who could sign contract extensions in the coming months:

1. DE Derek Barnett

The Eagles picked up Barnett’s fifth-year contract option in May, so as of now, they clearly see him as part of the team’s future. The front office and coaching staff still believe in Barnett, so locking him up now actually makes a lot of sense. Instead of dealing with the drama of a $10 million cap number next season, the Eagles could get ahead of it by extending Barnett’s contract for an additional two or three seasons. The move would allow the team to lower Barnett’s cap number while taking advantage of his lack of high-end sack stats.

Signing Barnett early may frustrate the fanbase, but it’s actually a logical move if the Eagles really think Barnett is a key member of their defense for the foreseeable future. With Brandon Graham potentially entering his final season in Philadelphia, the Eagles will need at least one veteran to set the edge for the next few years.

2. P Cam Johnston

Johnston has been fairly consistent over the past two seasons. While he was just re-signed to a restricted tender, Johnston could still be locked up to a cheap extension this offseason. Punters aren’t typically paid premium cash, and signing Johnston now would allow the Eagles to avoid a potential exit next offseason. The Eagles have been steadfast in their belief in keeping Johnston, Jake Elliott and Rick Lovato together, so extending the punter to match the other specialists’ deals is smart business.

Over the past two seasons, Johnston ranks fourth in the league with 47.19 yards per punt. Last season, he ranked eighth in the league with 42.3 net yards per punt. It’s fair to say Johnston is among the Top 10 punters in the league, so signing him now, as opposed to after another strong year is ideal.

3. LB Nathan Gerry

The Eagles are likely to make Gerry their primary three-down linebacker this season. The converted college safety is a coaching staff favorite, and he seemed to progress with extended playing time last season. With the range to play in coverage, Gerry has been groomed into an extensive role. Much like with Barnett, signing Gerry before he breaks out is important. The Eagles clearly feel he offers something more than the rest of the players at his position, so extending him now could curb any questions about the team’s commitment to the former fifth-round pick.

As previously mentioned, 2021 is likely to be the land of the unknown for the Eagles. The team will be shopping on a budget, and if they believe Gerry is worth being a centerpiece linebacker, now is the time to get ahead of the curve on his long-term future.

P4. LB Duke Riley

Riley is an interesting player. Viewed as a bust in Atlanta, he won over the coaching staff and locker room when he arrived in Philadelphia last September. Once viewed as the throw-in piece of the Johnathan Cyprien deal, Riley became the Eagles’ special teams captain during their playoff push last year. With Kamu Grugier-Hill now in Miami, the Eagles need a long-term special teams ace, and Riley fits that bill.

While extending a special teams ace might seem like a superficial move, signing Riley to a short-term extension could reinforce the team’s linebacker and special teams depth ahead of a potentially dramatic 2021 offseason. Given Riley’s career path, he would probably jump at the chance to land some long-term security entering a contract year.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.nj.com/eagles/2020/06/4-eagles-players-who-could-sign-contract-extensions-in-2020.html%3foutputType=amp

[jsb235]

I don't know if Gerry or Riley will even make the team this year. Both are terrible at tackling, which is why Riley was benched in Atlanta, and neither guy is all that athletic. Alex Singleton is just as good as an athlete, and he is a much better tackler and much more instinctive. TJ Edwards is a clear starter, and Davion Taylor and Jatavis Brown both fit what they want in a more athletic profile.

There is also Dante Olson, who put up a slow 40 time but had some decent measurements in other categories, including an outstanding vertical leap, as well as Shaun Bradley, who doesn't impress me but who was a fifth round pick.

The team somewhat needed Gerry last year because everyone else was either hurt or new to the system, but he certainly wasn't good. Now Singleton is a legit threat and Taylor will probably be given a shot to win a job. If Edwards is a shoe in to take over for Bradham and Taylor is a lock to make the roster, then Singleton, Bradley, Olson, Gerry, Brown and Riley are likely competing for three spots.

I would note that in the final preseason game last year, Singleton and Edwards played the whole game next to each other and looked really good as a tandem. Obviously it was the preseason, but if Edwards is good enough to start for this team, then Singleton has a legit argument that he should be starting as well, especially since Gerry was probably the weakest link on the defense outside of the corners.  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

3 hours ago, jsb235 said:

I don't know if Gerry or Riley will even make the team this year

Riley probably will make the team due to his special teams ability. Gerry is definitely making this team, not due to ability but due to lack of options. 

[jsb235]

6 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Riley probably will make the team due to his special teams ability. Gerry is definitely making this team, not due to ability but due to lack of options. 

Gerry missed 29 percent of his tackles last year, which was third worst in football. With stats like that, they only thing he should be making is burgers. They had to play him last year due to his familiarity with the defense, but I don't think that's true anymore.

As far as Riley, if you watch his Falcons games it is easy to see why no one there was sad to see him go.

It stands to reason that you get poor linebacker play if you keep poor linebackers. In theory, our two starting linebackers should be Edwards and Fort, and we shouldn't even be having this discussion. But we screwed up the position last year. I don't see why the team should double down on that mistake this year.

 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

2 hours ago, jsb235 said:

Gerry missed 29 percent of his tackles last year, which was third worst in football. With stats like that, they only thing he should be making is burgers. They had to play him last year due to his familiarity with the defense, but I don't think that's true anymore.

As far as Riley, if you watch his Falcons games it is easy to see why no one there was sad to see him go.

So if they let Gerry and Riley go then who plays LB? Edwards and? 

[jsb235]

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

So if they let Gerry and Riley go then who plays LB? Edwards and? 

If they let those guys go it's because they were outplayed by other guys. So the other guys who outplayed them are the ones who play LB.

I mean, how hard is it to find a guy who misses one out of every three tackles he attempts?

Dante Olson averaged 165 tackles per season the last two years of his college career. Maybe having a linebacker who tackles people would be a nice change of pace?

If Gerry and Riley earn their places on the team, so be it. But the idea that we should be making long-term commitments to players who aren't any good doesn't make sense to me.

[Saltpeter]

Gerry is great to have on the team. Knows every LB position, opportunistic (turnover, sack numbers are decent), reliable guy. Much better as a "first guy off the bench" type, but nowhere near cuttable, especially this season. 

Edwards is fantastic on obvious run downs, but he can't play man coverage. So you're either limiting your LBs to pure zone, or you're exposing yourself to Edwards getting picked apart by RBs and TEs. Riley was too bad in ATL to believe in right now. The younger guys don't seem ready, but I wouldn't completely count out Davion Taylor making an impact at some point in subpackages. Sometimes that kind of freak athlete just gets it quicker than you expect (less extreme version of Mailata). Regardless, I expect a lot of dime this year.

[time2rock]

4 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

So if they let Gerry and Riley go then who plays LB? Edwards and? 

I highly doubt Gerry is going anywhere - Schwartz seems to genuinely like the kid.  And he probably knows the defense better than any other LB on the roster.  Riley may or may not make the team and even if he does, it could very well be for STs only.  

[jsb235]

26 minutes ago, Saltpeter said:

Gerry is great to have on the team. Knows every LB position, opportunistic (turnover, sack numbers are decent), reliable guy. Much better as a "first guy off the bench" type, but nowhere near cuttable, especially this season. 

Edwards is fantastic on obvious run downs, but he can't play man coverage. So you're either limiting your LBs to pure zone, or you're exposing yourself to Edwards getting picked apart by RBs and TEs. Riley was too bad in ATL to believe in right now. The younger guys don't seem ready, but I wouldn't completely count out Davion Taylor making an impact at some point in subpackages. Sometimes that kind of freak athlete just gets it quicker than you expect (less extreme version of Mailata). Regardless, I expect a lot of dime this year.

I don't think Edwards is going to be exposed in man coverage. Bradham didn't play very much man coverage last year, and Edwards is his replacement.

As far as Gerry, the question isn't whether or not he makes the team. It's whether or not the team should give him a contract extension, thus ensuring that he is here for the next few years. I don't think they should do that, since he is pretty clearly the weakest link on the defense now that Darby isn't here anymore.

If he improves his tackling, he absolutely should be a starter. But if he doesn't, I don't see the point in keeping him this year, much less for the next few years. Brown and Riley can both give us pretty much the same level of play that Gerry does, and I imagine there will be at least a dozen guys cut from other teams this year who are at that level. I would note that Riley was dumped by Atlanta because his level of play was as bad as Gerry's. The same thing is true for Brown. They missed tackles and didn't make plays. Gerry is probably better than both of those guys, but he's really not that much better.

[Saltpeter]

14 minutes ago, jsb235 said:

I don't think Edwards is going to be exposed in man coverage. Bradham didn't play very much man coverage last year, and Edwards is his replacement.

As far as Gerry, the question isn't whether or not he makes the team. It's whether or not the team should give him a contract extension, thus ensuring that he is here for the next few years. I don't think they should do that, since he is pretty clearly the weakest link on the defense now that Darby isn't here anymore.

If he improves his tackling, he absolutely should be a starter. But if he doesn't, I don't see the point in keeping him this year, much less for the next few years. Brown and Riley can both give us pretty much the same level of play that Gerry does, and I imagine there will be at least a dozen guys cut from other teams this year who are at that level. I would note that Riley was dumped by Atlanta because his level of play was as bad as Gerry's. The same thing is true for Brown. They missed tackles and didn't make plays. Gerry is probably better than both of those guys, but he's really not that much better.

Yeah, my comments about him making the team were addressing others in the thread. He's 100% making the team barring personal misconduct.

I generally agree with you regarding a Gerry extension. He seems to be in that Sudfeld/Clement category in that he's good in the locker room, has potential, but isn't someone you need to invest money long-term in. I think he gets a modest 1 year deal to stick around next year. If a team like the Dolphins wants to give him a multi-year deal for some reason, then oh well.

[eagle45]

While the Eagles may not have much cap space, this list is a paradoxical comfort that they don’t need it.  No one cares if any of these guys get extended.

They have little cap space because they use FA to compensate for non-impact draft picks.  They do at least save money on the other end because Wentz is the only draft pick to get a truly large 2nd contract in the last several, several drafts.  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

11 hours ago, jsb235 said:

If Gerry and Riley earn their places on the team, so be it. But the idea that we should be making long-term commitments to players who aren't any good doesn't make sense to me.

Look I'm no Gerry fan. I've said on a number of occasions that I think he's a bad LB. And it would be great if others could beat him out and win a spot on the roster over him. But given the other options we have i just don't see that happening. Plus the fact that either Schwartz or someone within the organisation really seems to like him. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

8 hours ago, time2rock said:

I highly doubt Gerry is going anywhere - Schwartz seems to genuinely like the kid.  And he probably knows the defense better than any other LB on the roster.  Riley may or may not make the team and even if he does, it could very well be for STs only.  

Exactly the point I'm making bud. I don't rate Gerry at all but I've accepted he's going to be here and very likely he's going to be a starter. That's a problem for us but that's the reality. 

[time2rock]

5 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Exactly the point I'm making bud. I don't rate Gerry at all but I've accepted he's going to be here and very likely he's going to be a starter. That's a problem for us but that's the reality. 

Yup I was agreeing with you and just elaborating.