Philly Front Office

We are now in the post-Draft lull where free agents have been signed and most of the big business moves have happened. That doesn’t mean there isn’t still Eagles stuff to worry about! Here is everything you need to know about the Eagles over the next few months.

2026 NFL Draft

Calendar

• May 13 (or 14th or 20th or 21st) – Schedule Drop. While the 2nd week in May is the usual date for the release, there are apparently still some issue with the NFL media partners that could delay things a week.
• May 26, 27, and 29 then June 1, 2, and 4 – OTAs
• June 1 – The day that NFL contracts can be bifurcated for salary cap purposes. This is not just AJ Brown Day as many other players across the league could be cut after this date and thus a soft swell in free agency and trade chatter could lead to some nice depth options.
• June 9 and 10 – Mandatory Minicamp
• July 15 – Franchise Extension Deadline. Though the Eagles do not have anyone playing on the tag, this is a big day for the Cowboys and George Pickens.
• July 22-ish – Beginning of Training Camp
• September 9 – NFL Season begins (Wednesday), no word yet on when the Eagles open

Salary Cap

Once the draft class is finalized, the Eagles should have around $21 million to spend. However, this is before we get to a likely AJ Brown trade. If he indeed goes, his salary cap number goes down from $23m to $16m. Since the $23m has already been accounted for, that means we’ll see an extra $7m in savings thus bringing the total cap space to around $28m.

The Eagles are definitely already looking to the future by stockpiling their cap space. After all, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper Dejean, and Jalyx Hunt all become extension eligible after the season. While the Eagles could choose to roll that space into next year, they could get to work on getting some future salary cap work done now. I don’t believe they will get to Jalen Hurts this summer, but Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith are due on rookie deals while DeVonta Smith is criminally underpaid for what he brings to the team.

Do You Realize What DeVonta Smith Did for the Eagles?

Possible Extensions

• Jalen Carter – This is the big one. Carter is entering his 4th year, but as a 1st rounder, he still has a 5th year of control to wait for a deal. While making him one of the highest paid non-QBs in football seemed like a formality a year ago, a down 2025 may cause both Carter and the team to want to wait until next offseason. He won’t be getting Will Anderson money this time around.
• Nolan Smith – Smith is in the same boat as Carter in terms of an extension. Everything seemed right on track after the Super Bowl, but after what was essentially a lost season, Smith’s future looks increasingly more likely to be somewhere else rather than with a long-term deal to stay.
• Moro Ojomo – Despite being drafted with Carter and Smith, Ojomo does not have a 5th year option to fall back on. Since he keeps getting better and Jordan Davis is turning into a star, it is very likely that the Eagles skip an Ojomo extension in favor of the Milton Williams comp pick route. We’ll see if Ojomo can level up again. A big (but likely not as big as Williams) payday awaits him next offseason which the Eagles will likely not match.
• Tanner McKee – Same deal as Ojomo. No 5th year option plus bigger payday coming from somewhere else. He is more likely to be traded than he is to sign an extension.
• DeVonta Smith – DeVonta signed for a discount when he received his first extension back in 2024. Now that he has been elevated to WR1 with the expected trade of AJ Brown, it’s not crazy to think that a raise is in order. Not only do the Eagles have a history of early extensions (like with Jordan Mailata and Saquon Barkley) but they even gave Brown an early 2nd contract when the WR marker blew up. Of all the people on this list, Smith is most likely to get a new deal, probably in the $35m range. I’ll go into that another day.
• Jalen Hurts – The media made a big deal about Hurts not getting an extension this offseason. This ignored that it was always more likely for Hurts to get an extension NEXT season than this one. It could still happen though.

The Next Jalen Hurts Contract Extension

Possible Trades

• AJ Brown – I was reluctant to accept it for a long time, but it is happening. The rumor right now is that the price starts with a 2028 1st and then more like a player or a 2027 Day 2 pick. That’s fine. For those thinking that the Eagles do not have any leverage with the Patriots, please understand that a possible tampering charge is very real here due to Vrabel and Russini. A team is not allowed to contact or influence a player or market without permission. An investigation could uncover that the Patriots used Russini to influence the AJ Brown market beyond just acting as a source. I’ll get into this another day, but Howie Roseman has pressed tampering investigations in the past and could use this to the team’s advantage. Remember that the Dolphins had to forfeit a 1st round pick in 2022 due to contacting Tom Brady.
• Tanner McKee – A McKee trade is my hill to die on. The Eagles now have 4 QBs on the roster and McKee will be a free agent next season. While having a good backup is a great resource, Howie will jump at the chance to get a Day 2 pick for the future free agent. If Malik Willis can get 3/$67.5m, then McKee will be looking for something similar as of now. With rookies coming into Arizona and Pittsburgh, the most likely trade partner now is the Jets or any team with a QB injury this offseason. If nothing happens, the Eagles will be happy to get a comp pick for having a quality backup this season.
• Safety – A starting safety seems to be the last piece of the Eagles puzzle remaining. While my eyes are on Jessie Bates and the last year of his contract with the Falcons, there is also Budda Baker of the Falcons (who is in a similar situation to Bates) and Grant Delpit of the Browns.