The good news is the Philadelphia Eagles have retained key members of their 2022 NFC Champion roster like James Bradberry, Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox. The bad news is there are gonna be a whole bunch of empty lockers between them this offseason.
The Eagles have been hit harder than anyone in free agency, losing vital starters left and right. This weekend saw cogs like Isaac Seumalo and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson leave for modest deals with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions, respectively. That leaves Philadelphia with some significant holes to be filled on both sides of the ball.
Fortunately, help is on the way — in 2024 especially.
I don't know if I've ever seen a comp pick cancellation chart have this extreme of a ratio between compensatory free agents lost versus signed: pic.twitter.com/EAaQSiLzPy
— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) March 20, 2023
The volume of high-value free agents departing Philly puts the team in place for a historic haul of compensatory draft picks. Those bonus selections are determined my a proprietary — and secret — formula that rewards teams for losing veterans based on how rich the contract they sign elsewhere is. The Eagles have nine different players who’ve signed for at least $3.5 million in annual salary.
That formula offsets these picks against the high-profile free agents a team has signed from other teams. The Eagles don’t have any new arrivals as highly paid as even Gardner Minshew yet.
Nine compensatory picks would set an NFL record, topping the seven the San Francisco 49ers received this offseason. It would give the Eagles 16 projected draft picks in 2024 (five in the first three rounds) — and give general manager Howie Roseman some additional ammunition for the wheeling and dealing that’s transformed his team from an NFC also-ran to a Super Bowl contender.
