The Eagles have offered to restructure defensive end Chris Long‘s contract, but it’s not a certainty that he’ll play this season. Long is mulling retirement, according to Michael Silver of NFL.com. 
The new deal would guarantee Long $3MM in 2018, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). That includes a jump in base salary from a non-guaranteed $1MM to $2.5MM guaranteed with the team eliminating his $750K in per-game roster bonuses and $750K in incentives.
The Eagles’ defensive line has been revamped this offseason thanks to the additions of Michael Bennett and Haloti Ngata. last year’s first round pick Derek Barnett will return as a backup defensive end, but Long still has an important role carved out for him as a situational pass rusher. Without Long, the Eagles’ D-Line would be weakened, even though it would still project to be among the best in the NFL.
Long was on the field for 588 regular season snaps last year and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 30 ranked edge defender, higher than both Bennett and Barnett.
DON’T GO!!!!!! This guy was a major team leader. Emotionally led the team and produced on the field. Please convince him to stay!!
Nooooooo!
Im in no way a Eagles fan but i do like him. I hope he doesnt retire.
He should star in the long awaited sequels of Broken Arrow and Firestorm.
Two rings in two years. Maybe he is fulfilled.
No, he already signed his new contract, but after that they signed Bennett and before his already signed contract becomes official he now realizes he’ll get much less reps.
Yeah, he did sign his “new” contract…last offseason when he signed for two years. The Eagles are trying to sweeten his deal—giving him more guaranteed money—to convince him to return. Doubt it will have anything to do with money/playing time…might just be desire, or lack thereof. He’s already made a fortune, and has won two rings.
No, like I said he just signed his new contract and might not be happy with Bennett stealing his reps. See the other articles about this…
“The Eagles have given veteran defensive end Chris Long a raise, but according to one report, Long is concerned enough about his playing time with the Eagles that he’s mulling his options regarding his future.
What is certain is that at some point before March 15, Long signed a new contract with the Eagles that increases his 2018 base salary from $1 million non-guaranteed to $2½ million fully guaranteed.
However, NFL Network’s Michael Silver reported Monday that Long may decide he doesn’t want to accept the new contract – which he already signed.
According to Silver, Long is concerned about how many snaps he would get as a third-down rusher following the addition of Pro Bowl pass rusher Michael Bennett.
The Eagles officially acquired Bennett on March 14, although the deal was reported a week earlier. Long’s new contract was filed with the NFLPA on March 15, but there is a good chance he agreed to it and signed it before the Bennett acquisition.
Whether or not Long knew Bennett was coming to the Eagles when he signed the restructured deal is unknown. But at some point Long knew about their interest in Bennett and even gave Bennett a “glowing recommendation” when the Eagles asked, according to an interview Long gave to SBNation.
Long wouldn’t appear to have many options. He could retire, in which case he would have to return the $500,000 bonus he received from the Eagles last week.
He could request a trade, which would be bizarre for someone who signed a contract extension just a few days earlier.
Or he could simply play under the terms of the contract restructure and pay increase, which was first reported by Field Yates of ESPN and confirmed by NBC Sports Philadelphia with a source familiar with the renegotiation.
As for the contract itself, including that $500,000 roster bonus – which was also in the previous version of the contract – Long would receive $3 million guaranteed this year instead of $1.5 million non-guaranteed plus $750,000 in easily achieved roster bonuses.
Long had five sacks and forced four fumbles last year as a rotational defensive end. He wound up playing 496 snaps, 10th-most on the defense and only about 10 per game fewer than starter and Pro Bowler Brandon Graham and five per game fewer than starter Vinny Curry, who the Eagles released.
Long, who turns 33 next week, has 63½ career sacks. His 5.0 sacks last year were his most since 2013. He’s won back-to-back Super Bowls the last two years with the Eagles and Patriots.
What happens next?
Long has demonstrated that the money is secondary to him. He donated his entire 2017 base salary to charity.
At some point very soon, the Eagles will need him to decide whether he’s even going to have a 2018 base salary.”