The Philadelphia Eagles should consider following a surprising NFL blueprint to escape their increasingly difficult situation
The Philadelphia Eagles are 2-5 and staring down a transition. Cleveland’s handling of a recently extended star…and a subsequent goodbye…offers a blueprint worth studying.
You can call it a hot take if you’d like. But amid a disastrous season and the looming salary cap reckoning, the Philadelphia Eagles should take some inspiration from the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets. And the reason is defensive tackle Jalen Carter.
In March of 2025, the Browns signed All-World defensive end Myles Garrett to a four-year, $160 million contract extension to keep him in Cleveland. Then, just 15 months later, the Browns traded Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams in a blockbuster deal. Cleveland leaned into a youth movement, helped take steps to clear up their books, and landed marquee draft capital to build the next version of its roster. It’s not all that different than what the New York Jets did with Sauce Gardner, either. Consider it an emerging blueprint. And Philadelphia should be looking to copy it with Jalen Carter in mind.
The Philadelphia Eagles should copy the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett strategy for Jalen Carter
The Eagles expected to contend. Instead, they’re 2-5, and the conversation in Philadelphia has shifted from chasing a title to figuring out what comes next amid injuries, trades, and retirement. It’s truly a jarring turn for a franchise that entered the year with championship expectations. But it’s the reality the team is faced with, and the front office has to address it head on.
As the Eagles look to transition, build for the future, and add more draft picks, Carter should be a player they shop. The goal should be to move before they defer too much of his money into future years and add to their salary cap debt. That’s a key detail. Carter is one of the players who hasn’t had a pile of cap debt roll against Philadelphia yet. He JUST signed his extension this summer. If the Eagles were to trade Carter before the NFL trade deadline? They’d incur a dead cap charge around $18.5 million in 2027. That’s twice what he’s currently on the books in 2027 for — but it also saves the Eagles nearly $16.5 million in cash, most of which would also be added to the heaping pile of cap debt that resides in Philly.
Carter is also one of the players who could fetch the highest price. Trading a 25-year old disruptor is different than, say, trading a 30-year old running back. The pick offers would likely create genuine value for Philadelphia while offering them an out of a blockbuster contract.
Trading a player months removed from an extension sounds backwards. And in some ways, it is. But the Cleveland and New York blueprint proves you can never say never. If I’m Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, I’m planning to use Carter as a trade conversation piece up until the trade deadline and early this offseason. That doesn’t mean Philadelphia has to move him. But they should know what teams think he’s worth. And I’d be willing to bet it’s a pretty penny. If Philadelphia feels they need to stretch this even further? They could do that as well. Carter’s lump sum of 2027 compensation isn’t due until Week 1 of the 2027 season. They could trade him after June 1st and split that $18.4 million cap charge between 2027 and 2028, as well.
Don’t let the contract fool you into thinking Carter can’t be moved. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And things are looking pretty desperate in Philly right now.
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