2014 NFL Free Agency- Philadelphia Eagles Potential Cuts and Free Agents
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com

Photo By Alex Dunlap, RosterWatch

Eagles GM Howie Roseman must be feeling pretty good about himself. So must owner Jeffery Lurie. And so must the rest of the Eagles organization.

After making the playoffs with compelling rookie head coach Chip Kelly at the helm, and unearthing their quarterback of the future in Nick Foles- Eagles fans can finally rejoice. The team has over $20M in cap space, and a very benign crop of free-agents.

Mike Vick (QB), Jeremy Maclin (WR), and Riley Cooper (WR) headline the group of free agents with any fantasy relevance. There are so many other teams that need quarterback help that it’s a forgone conclusion Vick will not be back.

Maclin is intriguing- he’ll be had at a discount coming off of an ACL injury. He came to the league out of a spread offense at Missouri, where he also had electric kick return ability. As we’ve seen, guys like DeSean Jackson that hit seams in the Chip Kelly offense like they hit returns can be lethal with that first step upfield. However, receiver is very deep in this year’s draft and Philly will be tempted to go young- while some receiver-needy team (cough.. Jets… cough) may be willing to “overpay” for Maclin in the open market. Riley Cooper is the safer bet to be re-signed. He’s a Nick Foles favorite, and won’t attract as much attention on the free agent market even though he’s a good player.

As for players that are potential candidates to be cut or be restructured- there are a couple more cheesesteak-eating receivers that come to mind. Jason Avant (WR) is scheduled to hit the 2014 cap for $4M. Unacceptable, and way too much for an old Andy Reid favorite who is only a limited role player in Chip Kelly’s offense. He will likely be cut. Then there’s the joker- Brad Smith (WR) who is due $1.5M and only had 2 receptions in 2013. He’s as good as gone, likely in favor of a rookie.