PHILADELPHIA -- It gets serious starting now. NFL teams have until 4 p.m. Tuesday to use their franchise or transition tags on impending free agents.
By the weekend, the "legal tampering" window will be open. Agents and teams are allowed to discuss their interest in each other before the official beginning of free agency on March 9.
The Philadelphia Eagles will go into the free agency period with about $27 million in salary-cap space. They are very likely to work out a contract with quarterback Sam Bradford that will eat up a significant chunk of that space.
The Eagles could consider releasing a few more veteran players in order to free up cap space. They already did so with linebacker DeMeco Ryans and wide receiver Riley Cooper. Those two moves saved the Eagles $6.4 million under the 2016 salary cap -- $3.5 million for Ryans, $2.9 million for Cooper.
If the Eagles feel the need to create more space, there are several players who could follow Cooper and Ryans out the door.
The most obvious is left tackle Jason Peters, who will count $9.7 million against the cap this season. Peters just turned 34 and was plagued by injuries during the 2015 season. The injuries might have been the primary reason he didn’t look as dominating as he did in the past.
New Eagles coach Doug Pederson has been very complimentary of Peters, indicating that he thinks the eight-time Pro Bowler has several good seasons left. And it might be that Peters will benefit from a more orthodox practice schedule. Chip Kelly’s demanding approach likely was harder on older players like Peters and Ryans.
But that’s part of the point. Ryans will turn 32 this summer, so he is more than two years younger than Peters. He has been limited by injuries the past two seasons. But the main reason he was expendable was the crowded linebacker situation. With Jordan Hicks, Kiko Alonso and Mychal Kendricks on the roster, the Eagles felt they could move on from Ryans.
They likely do not feel that way about Peters. Not today. But if the Eagles take an offensive tackle in the first round of the draft, they could conceivably part ways with Peters. That would save them $6.7 million in cap space, enough to cover their entire rookie salary pool.
Mark Sanchez is in a similar position. He is the only Eagles quarterback under contract, with the exception of recently added McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Even if the Eagles sign Bradford, they are likely to add a developmental quarterback in the draft.
They could still choose to keep Sanchez as a backup. Or they could release him, saving $3.5 million of cap space. That would allow them to add another free agent backup, such as Kansas City’s Chase Daniel.
Finally, there is running back/return man Darren Sproles. An exciting, versatile player, Sproles might be appealing to Pederson.
But Sproles will turn 33 in June and will count $4.5 million against the cap. If the Eagles draft a running back, Sproles could be the odd man out.
If the Eagles released Peters, Sanchez and Sproles, they would save a total of $13.7 million in cap space.
If they are unable to sign or draft replacements, the Eagles can retain any or all three. But they will have the flexibility to move on if they are able to land younger, cheaper alternatives.
That’s what happened to Ryans.