How Eagles can pay Jalen Hurts, keep both DBs and still have money to sign a top free agent

The Eagles' upcoming offseason decisions remind me of the “Seinfeld” episode where George Costanza, as the Yankees assistant to the traveling secretary, tells team owner George Steinbrenner that he has an idea to trade for baseball stars Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr.

Then he adds: "And we wouldn’t have to give up that much."

It certainly seemed like a fantasy. But for the Eagles, that type of offseason is very possible.

For the Eagles, such an offseason would consist of signing quarterback Jalen Hurts to a mega-contract extension with an average annual contract of around $50 million per season, while also re-signing their top two free agent defensive backs in cornerback James Bradberry and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and adding a star free agent defensive tackle such as Washington's Daron Payne.

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Of course, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is the one making those decisions. And as he begins his offseason wheeling and dealing, keep in mind that the Eagles have upward of 20 free agents and only about $8 million worth of room on a salary cap estimated at about $225 million for next season, according to overthecap.com.

The Eagles are about the middle of the pack among NFL teams and nowhere near the $94 million in estimated cap space that the Chicago Bears have.

So Roseman will have to get creative. Of course, the Eagles reached the Super Bowl this season because Roseman was creative. He traded for star wide receiver A.J. Brown last spring on draft night. Brown set the franchise record for receiving yards in a season with 1,496.

He also traded for Gardner-Johnson, the safety who tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions despite missing five games. And he waited out the free agent cornerback market and signed Bradberry to a one-year deal worth as much as $10 million.

Both Brown and Bradberry were selected for the Pro Bowl.

How can Roseman do it again this offseason?

Let's start with Hurts. He's entering the final year of his rookie contract, with a salary cap hit of $4.8 million. An extension wouldn't begin until 2024. But if Hurts signs one during this offseason, the Eagles can pro-rate the signing bonus to this year's cap, perhaps adding around $10 million to Hurts' cap hit for a total hit of $15 million.

Keep in mind, the player gets the entire signing bonus, but the team can spread out the salary cap charge for the life of the contract.

That extra $10 million, of course, would put the Eagles over the cap. So they would have to clear a significant amount of space to keep Bradberry and Gardner-Johnson.

They can start by restructuring both cornerback Darius Slay ($26.1 million on the cap) and right tackle Lane Johnson ($24.2 million). Slay, who's 32, will be entering the last year of his contract. By restructuring him, they can add guaranteed money to future seasons while lowering the cap hit this year by at least $10 million.

It's a risk because Slay's play could deteriorate in a few years when his cap hit could be at his highest.

Johnson, who'll turn 33 in May, is signed through 2025, with cap hits in the $22 million-$24 million range each season. But a restructure would lower the cap hit this year, perhaps by $10 million-$12 million, and then add years of guaranteed money in 2026-27.

It's less of a risk for Johnson considering that he's still the best right tackle in the NFL and hasn't allowed a sack in more than two years.

Either way, by restructuring those two players, the Eagles could save about $25 million on the cap this year. That's enough for both Bradberry and Gardner-Johnson.

But the Eagles will have to get much further below the cap to add someone like Payne at defensive tackle. The Eagles have four veteran defensive tackles, all of whom are eligible for free agency in Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph.

Hargrave, who just turned 30, had a career-high 11 sacks and will want considerably more than the $13 million average salary the Eagles signed him to in 2020. That would be too much for the Eagles. Cox could return, but it would have to be significantly less than the $14 million he made last season.

Payne would be worth signing even though he will cost more than Hargrave, perhaps in the $20 million per year range. Payne is four years younger, and he had 11½ sacks in 2022.

But at defensive tackle, the Eagles could still have a dominant rotation with Payne and Cox, along with Jordan Davis and Milton Williams still on their rookie contracts. Davis, the Eagles' first-round pick last season, and Williams, the third-round pick in 2021, will play considerably more next season.

The Eagles can also save a significant amount of money if defensive end Brandon Graham returns for another year at a reduced contract. They will also save money either with center Jason Kelce retiring or right guard Isaac Seumalo leaving in free agency. Cam Jurgens, the Eagles' second-round pick last season, would replace whichever player doesn't return.

The Eagles will also save a significant amount of money by not re-signing running back Miles Sanders and one of their free agent linebackers in T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White. At running back, the Eagles can add in the draft. At linebacker, they can fill one of the holes with Nakobe Dean, the third-round pick last season.

All of this will require a leap of faith in young players like Davis, Jurgens and Dean playing a significant role. And the Eagles will also have to rely on their draft picks this season. They have two first-round picks at No. 10 and No. 30, plus a second-rounder, third-rounder and seventh-rounder (they traded away their picks in Rounds 4, 5 and 6).

If Roseman can't get Payne or another top free agent, he could use one of those first-round picks and possibly the extra second-round pick in 2024 from the Saints to trade for a star player.

Either way, the Eagles can still add a star player while keeping two of their most critical free agents in Bradberry and Gardner-Johnson, and giving Hurts that massive contract extension.

Even George Costanza could appreciate that.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: How Eagles can sign top free agent, keep 2 top DBs and pay Jalen Hurts