Five Teams Use Post-June 1 Designation
Lingering guarantees can be a rough pill to swallow for NFL teams as they move on from players, but the league’s post-June 1 designation allows clubs to spread out the dead money hit over two seasons while reaping greater benefits in the current year. This offseason, five teams took advantage of the rule to carve out some cap space. As Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes, the following clubs now have some extra breathing room to sign draft picks and add veterans in the late stages of free agency: 
- Dolphins: $17MM (Ndamukong Suh release)
- Eagles: $6MM (Mychal Kendricks release)
- Falcons: $3.5MM (Levine Toilolo release)
- Cowboys: $3MM (Orlando Scandrick release)
- Saints: $3MM (Coby Fleener release)
The additional cap space will be particularly useful for the Dolphins and Eagles, who have about $400K in cap room combined. The Falcons ($3.7MM),Saints ($4.2MM), and Cowboys ($8.5MM) are also looking forward to the extra fiscal flexibility. The extra cap room may help to jumpstart the free agent market for players such as Dez Bryant, Tre Boston, Kenny Vaccaro, Eric Reid, and others without a home at this stage of the offseason.
The Dolphins have yet to sign any of their 2018 draft picks, including top choice Minkah Fitzpatrick, but you can expect to see some movement on that front once they receive their $17MM reprieve. The Cowboys, Saints, and Eagles have already wrapped their respective draft classes and the Falcons have signed every pick except for first rounder Calvin Ridley, so those four clubs can concentrate on using their extra room for veteran additions, or new deals/contract sweeteners for current players.
Several Eagles Players Could Be On Trading Block
- Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is always active in the trade market during the summer months, and The Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski expects that to continue this year. Kempski speculates that several players could be on the move, including cornerback Ronald Darby. Kempski notes that Darby is heading into the final year of his contract, whereas all the Eagles’ other corners are locked up for multiple years. Kempski speculates that the Eagles may let Darby walk in free agency anyway, so they might try to trade him now and get something for him, perhaps a third-round pick.
Kendricks Not Surprised By Release
“Oh, man, it’d be a dream come true. I’d be awesome. That’s my best friend,” the former Eagles defender told Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). “To strive for a championship (with Eric) would be awesome…Playing with my bro would be cool, and it’s a rare opportunity.’’
- Kendricks, who was released by the Eagles last week, said he wasn’t surprised by the transaction. “I didn’t ask to be released but I asked for a trade a year prior to this,” he told Tomasson (via Twitter). “[S]o, yeah, I’m trying to be in a situation where I can play big role and really contribute.’’
Eagles Notes: Foles, Bryant, Shittu
A recent reported indicated that the Browns had offered the Eagles the 35th pick in the 2018 draft for Nick Foles at some point this offseason before they ultimately ended up trading for Tyrod Taylor. The report stated that the Eagles approached Foles with the deal, that Foles shot it down, and so the Eagles turned it down out of respect for his wishes.
Foles is now pushing back on that claim, saying there’s no truth to it. Foles said he “didn’t turn down any trade” and added that the first time he heard of the proposed deal was when people started texting him about the article (Twitter link via The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Zach Berman).
If the trade was indeed offered by the Browns and considered by the Eagles and it was not shot down by Foles, it’s an indicator that the Eagles are confident in the health of Carson Wentz as he continues to work his way back from a torn ACL.
Here’s some more news on the Eagles as they continue OTAs:
- Despite Dez Bryant‘s stated desire to continue playing in the NFC East, it doesn’t seem like the Eagles will be bringing him in. Although the Eagles traded Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffery will miss the entire offseason with a shoulder injury, Bryant isn’t a realistic option according to NJ.com’s Eliot Shorr-Parks. Parks writes that the odds of Bryant being brought in are “slim”, in part due to the team’s signing of Mike Wallace to help replace Smith.
- Parks also notes that backup defensive tackle Aziz Shittu has been a standout at OTAs so far, and that he’s rapidly helping his stock. Shittu made several great plays during today’s OTA session, and Parks believes his chances of making the roster improved on Tuesday.
- The Eagles opted to classify Mychael Kendricks’ release as a post-June 1 cut, meaning that they will spread out his dead money hit over two years instead of just one.
Jordan Hicks Participates In OTAs
- The Eagles saw Jordan Hicks participate in individual drills during OTAs, per Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com. Hicks ruptured an Achilles’ tendon in Week 7 of last year but is believed to be ahead of schedule. After releasing Mychal Kendricks, the Eagles are counting on their middle linebacker to return.
- Derek Barnett practiced fully for the Eagles, Kempski notes.. The second-year defensive end underwent sports hernia surgery shortly after the season ended, and it appears he’s recovered sufficiently.
Eagles Notes: Wentz, Peters, Sweat
- Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com takes an early look at the Eagles projected depth chart. The writer’s opinion of the offensive tackle position is of particular note, as Jason Peters and Lane Johnson are currently slotted in as starters. However, Shorr-Parks wonders if Halapoulivaati Vaitai could take over as the starter for Peters if the veteran doesn’t recover from his major knee surgery. The writer also notes that there will be a battle between Josh Sweat and Steven Means for third-string defensive end reps. If Means earns a spot on the active roster, the Eagles could choose to stash the first-year Sweat on the injured reserve.
- Carson Wentz participated in the Eagles OTAs this week, and reports indicated that he looked good as recovered from an ACL and LCL tear. Still, while there should be optimism around Wentz’s progress, Dr. David J. Chao of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that it’s too early to “anoint his full return for the season opener.” While the quarterback is on track, he still has plenty of steps to complete until he’s back to full mobility. Wentz will have to focus on running and cutting before he’s ready for regular season action.
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Minor NFL Transactions: 5/24/18
Eagles Notes: Foles, Graham, Front Office
The Eagles reworked backup quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles‘ contract earlier this year, adding incentives to the deal while also tacking on a mutual option for the 2019 season. Initial reports indicated Foles will collect $250K per start and an additional $250K per win if he serves as Philadelphia’s starting quarterback, but he can earn even more than that during the postseason, according to Tim McManus of ESPN.com. For every playoff game in which Foles plays 33% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps, he’ll take home $500K. If the Eagles win a postseason contest with Foles under center, another $500K goes in his pocket.
- Head coach Doug Pederson would like the Eagles to re-sign safety Corey Graham “if it works out,” per Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Graham will be 33 years old when the 2018 campaign gets underway, but PFR ranked him as one of the 10 best available safeties before the free agent market opened in March. Although Graham has yet to garner any known interest over the past several months, the safety market has been infamously slow to develop, so the lack of Graham suitors is perhaps unsurprising. Graham played 367 snaps in 2017 as Philadelphia’s third safety behind starters Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins.
- The Eagles have announced a series of hirings and promotions within their front office. Of note, Jake Rosenberg was named vice president of football administration, Jon Ferrari was named director of football operations, Andy Weidl was named director of player personnel. Meanwhile, Trey Brown — whom you may remember from recent Microsoft Surface commercials and last year interviewed for the Bills’ general manager position — is no longer listed among Philadelphia’s front office roster, as Geoff Mosher of 97.5 The Fanatic tweets.
Eagles Tab Kendricks As Post-June 1 Cut
The long-rumored Mychal Kendricks/Eagles divorce will officially be classified as a post-June 1 cut, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The defending Super Bowl champions will see a $6MM cap spike on June 2 instead of seeing $4.4MM in savings by eschewing the post-June 1 cut category. That will help a franchise that, as of Tuesday night, holds barely $300K in cap space. As for why Kendricks was finally axed after years of being the subject of trade rumors, the defender’s standing as the No. 3 linebacker on a team that spends most of its time in sub-packages was not a status he preferred, per Zach Berman of Philly.com (on Twitter). Former Eagles teammate Emmanuel Acho, indicating he spoke with Kendricks on Tuesday, confirmed as much (via Twitter).
During Chip Kelly‘s year running football operations, the Eagles signed Kendricks to a four-year, $29MM extension that ran through the 2019 season. But Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham, the latter being recently re-signed for $40MM over five years, reside as Philly’s top-two linebackers under optimal circumstances. Kendricks played a key role in the Eagles’ first Super Bowl title, stepping in alongside Bradham after Hicks went down, but the previous status quo is now back in place. And Kendricks should be a coveted commodity on the market.
- Recent Hall of Fame inductee Brian Dawkins will step down from his role in the Eagles front office, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets. The former Eagles safety will stay on as a part-time consultant.
Eagles’ LB Paul Worrilow Suffers ACL Tear
The Eagles’ worst fears have been confirmed. Linebacker Paul Worrilow has been diagnosed with a torn ACL hours after being carted off of the practice field (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Needless to say, the ACL tear will rule Worrilow out for the 2018 season.
[RELATED: Eagles Cut Mychal Kendricks]
The Eagles signed Worrilow in early April with the hope that he would be a regular member in the team’s middle linebacker rotation.
Worrilow, 27, played on the majority of the Falcons’ snaps from 2013-15, but has since been relegated to backup duty. A former undrafted free agent, Worrilow spent the 2017 campaign with the Lions, where he started eight games but saw only 25% playtime, third-most among Detroit linebackers. Instead, most of his action came on special teams, where Worrilow played more than 60% of the Lions’ snaps. All told, Worrilow managed 20 tackles, one fumble recovery, and one pass defensed during his lone season in the Motor City.
Over the course of one day, the makeup Eagles’ linebacker group has shifted dramatically. In addition to losing Worrilow for the year, the Eagles have also released longtime linebacker Mychal Kendricks. The Eagles are likely to scour the linebacker market as they look for help alongside and behind starters Nigel Bradham and Jordan Hicks.