Eagles To Sign L.J. Fort
Steelers inside linebacker L.J. Fort has agreed to sign a three-year deal with the Eagles, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Fort can earn up to $10MM in the deal through playing time incentives and will receive a guarantee of $1.9MM. 
The Steelers made efforts to re-sign Fort, Fowler hears, but they were unable to retain him. Instead, he joins a revised front seven that added Malik Jackson after losing Michael Bennett via trade.
We heard as of yesterday that Pittsburgh was looking to re-sign Fort, but their efforts were unsuccessful and it sounds like the Eagles were able to beat their offer. Fort played in 15 games and made two starts last season, racking up 48 tackles, three for loss, and adding one sack.
Before settling in Pittsburgh for the last four seasons, Fort had bounced between Cleveland, Seattle, and Cincinnati, but had never been able to establish himself anywhere. It’s a significant chunk of change for a player who played less than 30% of the defensive snaps last season, but Fort is also a major contributor on special teams.
Contract Details: Collins, Morse, Graham
Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed contracts from around the NFL:
- Landon Collins, S (Redskins): Six years, $84MM deal, $45MM guaranteed. $15MM signing bonus, $6MM option bonus for 2024 (exercised between first and fifth of 2020). Deal includes $32MM guaranteed over the first two seasons. $5MM of his 2021 salary is guaranteed at signing. Salaries: $1MM (2019), $10MM (2020), $12.5MM (2021), $11.5MM (2022), $12.5MM (2023), $13.5MM (2024). All Twitter links via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, and ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
- Mitch Morse, C (Bills): Four years, $44.5MM, $26.5MM guaranteed (original story). Receives $19.5MM in 2019, $28.375MM in 2020. Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero.
- Brandon Graham, DE (Eagles): Three years, $40MM. $23.5MM guaranteed. $12.5MM signing bonus. Salary: $1MM (2019), $10MM (2020). Team option for 2021: $13MM salary and $3.5MM option bonus. Twitter link via Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic.
- Danny Amendola, WR (Lions): One year, $4.5MM. $4.25MM fully guaranteed. $250K in per-game roster bonuses, $1.25MM in incentives. Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.
- Tyler Kroft, TE (Bills): Three years, $18.75MM. $8.3MM guaranteed, $2.4MM signing bonus. Will earn $1.8MM salary in 2019, $4.45MM in 2020. Roster bonuses include $2.1MM (2019), $750K (2020), $750K (2021). Twitter links via Wilson and ESPN’s Mike Rodak.
Eagles Expected To Retain Nelson Agholor
Yet another Eagles splash move at wide receiver places Nelson Agholor in a precarious position, but the fifth-year player may be set to be part of another Philadelphia receiving corps.
Despite his 2019 option price of $9.4MM, Agholor is likely to remain with the Eagles, Jeff McLane of Philly.com tweets. Agholor staying means he will join Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson on what would be quite the well-compensated wideout trio.
Jackson is expected to sign an three-year, $27MM extension, and Jeffery is tied to a four-year, $48MM deal. Agholor’s fifth-year option makes it somewhat uncertain he makes sense to return, given Philadelphia’s expenses elsewhere. But the former USC pass-catcher has been a key component of the past two Eagle passing attacks.
Last season, the Eagles brought in Golden Tate at the trade deadline, somewhat diminishing Agholor’s role. But the Eagles’ incumbent slot receiver still caught a career-high 64 passes for 736 yards and four touchdowns. With Jeffery and Jackson in the fold, a Tate return to Philly no longer makes sense.
Agholor could be a trade candidate, per McLane, so that bears monitoring. For now, however, the Eagles have a Jeffery-Jackson-Agholor trio to team with Zach Ertz.
Eagles Tender QB Nate Sudfeld
Nate Sudfeld is a restricted free agent. Adam Caplan tweets that the Eagles have slapped the quarterback with a second-round tender. The one-year tender will pay Sudfeld $3.095MM for the upcoming season.
As a restricted free agent, the quarterback can negotiate with any club through April 19. If he signs an offer sheet with a new club, the Eagles could match the offer to keep him. If the Eagles do not match such an offer, they will receive a second-round draft choice. While Sudfeld has shown some intrigue in four NFL appearance, it seems unlikely that a team will offer him substantial money and forfeit a valuable second-round pick in order to add him.
The 2016 sixth-round pick out of Indiana started his career with the Redskins. After being waived by Washington prior to the 2017 season, Sudfeld joined the Eagles practice squad. In two seasons with the team, the 25-year-old has appeared in four games (including playoffs). He got an extended look during the 2017 regular season finale, completing 19 of his 23 pass attempts for 134 passing yards. He also added another 22 rushing yards.
With Nick Foles out of the picture, Sudfeld will likely be the main backup to Carson Wentz in 2019.
DeSean Jackson To Sign New Deal With Eagles
After being traded back to Philly this afternoon, it sounds like DeSean Jackson has already inked a new deal with the Eagles. ESPN’s Tim McManus tweets that the veteran receiver will rework his contract to the tune of three years and $27MM. The deal includes $13MM guaranteed (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter).
Jackson had one season remaining on his contract at $10MM. The veteran initially signed a three-year, $33.5MM deal with the Buccaneers in 2017, but Tampa Bay started shopping him only a year into his contract.
After being selected in the second round of the 2008 draft, Jackson proceeded to play his first six NFL seasons with the Eagles. He earned three Pro Bowls during his tenure in Philly, including a 2013 campaign where he finished with nine touchdowns and a career-high 1,332 receiving yards.
Jackson was solid during his stint with the Redskins, but he hadn’t show the same big-game ability during his time with the Buccaneers. Perhaps teaming up with Carson Wentz will help the 32-year-old finish with his first 1,000-yard season since 2016. As our own Sam Robinson pointed out earlier today, Jackson is an upgrade over the team’s recent deep-threat acquisitions, Torrey Smith and Mike Wallace.
Eagles Decline OL Stefen Wisniewski’s Option
The Eagles are making another move along their offensive line, declining their 2019 option for guard Stefen Wisniewski, sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Garafolo adds that he’s “heard some rumblings” the Jets could be interested in Wisniewski on the open market. The option would’ve paid Wisniewski $3MM in 2019 and the Eagles have spent a ton of money on their offensive line recently, so it makes sense why they didn’t want to pay that.
Wisniewski has been with the Eagles since 2016, and has been an on and off starter at left guard the past three seasons. He started six games in 2016, 11 in 2017, and seven this past season. He entered the 2018 season as the starter at left guard, but was benched for Isaac Seumalo. Philadelphia extended Seumalo last week, signaling who they preferred.
They also extended center Jason Kelce a couple weeks ago, and signed left tackle Jason Peters to a new contract earlier today. Wisniewski entered the league as a second round pick of the Raiders in 2011, and has been a solid starter in Oakland, Jacksonville, and Philadelphia. Still only 29, he shouldn’t have much trouble finding a new team.
Bucs To Trade DeSean Jackson To Eagles
It looks like DeSean Jackson will return to the Eagles. They have reached an agreement with the Buccaneers to bring him back, Sirius XM’s Adam Caplan reports (on Twitter).
This comes shortly after Jackson indicated he would be headed elsewhere in 2019. The Eagles were the veteran deep threat’s return destination. The Bucs will receive a 2019 sixth-round pick for Jackson and will send the Eagles a 2020 seventh-rounder in the deal, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com.
Jackson played six seasons in Philadelphia, and it was the best stretch of his career. The 2008 second-round pick made three Pro Bowls as an Eagle, and although he performed well with the Redskins, he has not made a Pro Bowl since. This will be a major addition to the Eagles’ receiving corps, though, one that obviously looks quite different from the one he left. Zach Ertz remains, though, with a far bigger role than he had when Jackson was last in Philly.
One season remains on Jackson’s Bucs contract, at $10MM. The Eagles made several moves to create cap space in recent days, but that number is still high. It is possible an extension could bring that down, and Jeff McLane of Philly.com tweets an extension may well be in the cards.
Either way, this will be an upgrade for the Eagles, who have now acquired a new player for their deep-threat role in each of the past three offseasons, with Jackson following moves to land Torrey Smith (2017) and Mike Wallace. Even at 32, Jackson remains a more dangerous weapon than the Eagles’ recent two long-range targets.
Jackson did not click with Jameis Winston, his first Bucs season producing a career-low 13.4 yards per catch, but did do well with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Last season, D-Jax’s YPC figure ballooned back up to 18.9 — an NFL-best mark. Carson Wentz will now be throwing him passes, with the Eagles continuing to make splash moves to bolster their receiving corps.
This deprives Bruce Arians of a player he wanted back, though the Bucs are up against the cap. This trade does create $10MM in Bucs cap space. Tampa Bay still has Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. But the team may be set to lose Adam Humphries as well. With Jackson also gone, the formidable Bucs aerial corps may need an addition at wideout after two years of having arguably the league’s deepest receiving corps.
Bucs’ DeSean Jackson Wants Out
DeSean Jackson is hoping to be traded to the Eagles or released by the Buccaneers, a source close to the wide receiver tells ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine (Twitter link). Ultimately, DJax is angling for a fresh new start.
The wide receiver also took to Instagram on Monday to bid farewell to the Tampa area:
“Tampa it was a great experience, but things didn’t work out !! Looking forward to my next destination .. 👀 👀 Stay Tuned,” Jackson wrote.
Jackson, 32, made a lot of noise about wanting out of Tampa Bay during the season and, apparently, the hiring of Bruce Arians hasn’t swayed him. As it stands, Jackson is due $10MM in 2019, but the remainder of his contract is completely non-guaranteed.
There’s no real word on whether the Eagles would welcome a DJax reunion, but it stands to reason that they will want him back in order to fill their deep threat void. Last year, Jackson averaged a league-leading 18.9 yards per reception.
The Bucs, meanwhile, intend to keep Jackson, so this saga is far from over.
Eagles Re-Sign Jason Peters
The Eagles have signed tackle Jason Peters to a one-year contract for the 2019 season. The Eagles did hold a team option on Peters for the 2019 season, but this is a new deal that will create some cap savings for the Eagles. Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the deal is worth up to $10MM and includes $5.5MM guaranteed.
Peters, 37, has been with the Eagles for the last ten seasons, starting in every one of his games. He lost more than half of the 2017 season to injury, but he came back strong last year to start in all 16 contests. Peters has lost a step in his old age, but he still graded out as the No. 38 ranked tackle in the NFL last year, according to Pro Football Focus. in years past, the advanced metrics portrayed him as an elite protector.
The Eagles are already busy on this free agent week, having just signed defensive tackle Malik Jackson. They also moved defensive lineman Michael Bennett to the Patriots, giving them some additional flexibility.
Eagles To Sign Malik Jackson
And then there was one. Malik Jackson will sign with the Eagles, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Word of Jackson’s impending deal comes moments after we learned the Eagles and Packers were the leading contenders to sign the defensive tackle. 
When all is said and done, it will be a three-year, $30MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). There’s no word yet on the guarantees or pay structure, but it sounds like a solid deal for both sides.
Jackson joined the Jaguars on a six-year, $85.5MM in 2016. Then, last week, the Jaguars released him in a cost-cutting measure. His release did not come as a huge surprise – Taven Bryan supplanted him down the stretch of the 2018 season and his contract precluded the club from trading him.
Last year, Jackson notched just 32 tackles and 3.5 sacks, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 85th among 112 interior defenders. However, he was a Pro Bowler as recently as 2017 and enjoyed a solid first season in Jacksonville. Jackson also racked up 14.5 sacks across his final three years in Denver, despite only spending one of those campaigns as a full-time starter.
With Jackson, the Eagles have successfully upgraded their defensive front after trading Michael Bennett to the Patriots.