Philadelphia Eagles Face Daunting Challenge Of Replacing Key Players

The 2023 Philadelphia Eagles won’t resemble your 2022 Philadelphia Eagles.

Just a month after the Eagles came up short in their pursuit of a championship in a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, Philadelphia faces a major overhaul of their defensive unit heading into next season.

As of this writing, at least four defensive starters from last season’s team will be replaced, capped off by the Eagles’ surprising decision to release five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay. The decision to move on from Slay so quickly is surprising, considering just days prior Philadelphia granted the 32-year-old cornerback permission to seek a trade.

It’s also surprising given that Slay is coming off an effective season in which he clinched a fifth Pro Bowl campaign while helping lead Philadelphia to the league’s top-ranked pass defensive unit. Outside of his production, the abrupt release of one of their players is a shock considering the dead cap hit associated with his release. The Eagles will pay Slay $22 million (across two seasons) due to his release, while receiving nothing in return.

Via Zach Segars of Mile High Sports:

“This is WILD,” said Segars. “The Eagles are eating $22M in dead cap to free up $26M in dead cap. From a cap perspective, they’re practically paying slay $22M (potentially spread over two years) to NOT play for them. For very little gain. Is there something we don’t know? I thought he was great!”

Along with Slay, the Eagles will also replace the stalwart of their front seven in defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, linebacker T.J. Edwards and safety Marcus Epps. In addition to the aforementioned departures, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson remain free agents. That’s not even mentioning the likely departure of running back Miles Sanders after the Eagles signed Rashaad Penny to a contract that merely pays him $600,000 guaranteed.

The chain of events since the start of free agency isn’t exactly surprising. We knew the Eagles would lose multiple key players from last season’s Super Bowl team given their cost and considering Philadelphia wasn’t in the best salary cap shape to begin with. After factoring in their top 51 paid players, the Eagles have roughly $8.5 million in available cap space. That ranks 23rd among all teams.

But this is where the real challenge starts for a Philadelphia team that was so dominant during last season. Not only did the Eagles run over their NFC competition in the playoffs — they outscored their two playoff opponents 69-14 — they lost just one game with Hurts at quarterback. Had Hurts not missed two games at the end of the season, one could argue Philadelphia would have lost just one game during the entire season.

Not only will the Eagles be forced to replace multiple key starters — along with rebounding from a Super Bowl loss — they’ll likely sign quarterback Jalen Hurts to a contract extension that pays him $50 million annually.

Can the Eagles remain a Super Bowl contender once Hurts is no longer on a rookie contract that pays him second-round money? Hurts earned $1.6 million last season and is due to earn $4.2 million in 2023.

We’ve seen multiple teams over the years decline after signing their young quarterbacks to mega deals. It happened to the Baltimore Ravens following their Super Bowl XLVII win when they signed Joe Flacco to a — at the time — $120.6 million deal. Following the signing, the Ravens never advanced past the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

A similar thing occurred following the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl XLVIII win with Russell Wilson. A winning culture that was built around the dominance of the defense quickly declined after Wilson signing an $87.6 million deal — making him the second-highest paid player in the NFL —- during the 2015 offseason. After advancing to two consecutive Super Bowls before the contract, the Seahawks still have yet to advance to another Super Bowl since.

Despite the massive roster turnover, it’s unlikely the Eagles fall off of a cliff. The NFC remains a weak conference and Philadelphia remains the team to beat. Furthermore, the NFC could very well be weaker than it was last season.

With Tom Brady retiring, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are no longer a threat. Furthermore, the Green Bay Packers remain in trade discussions with the New York Jets to likely trade quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The San Francisco 49ers remain a threat, but they face uncertainty at the quarterback position with their two top players — Trey Lance and Brock Purdy — coming off of serious season-ending injuries.

The Eagles’ biggest test heading into 2023 will come from within their own division, with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants both beefing up on key acquisitions early in free agency with big trades. The Cowboys acquired former Defensive Player of the Year in cornerback Stephon Gilmore, while the Giants traded for star tight end Darren Waller, who will serve as a valuable safety valve for quarterback Daniel Jones.

Despite their roster overhaul, Philadelphia should have no problems remaining a contender heading into next season. But their dominance from the previous season is going to be hard to replicate.