Eagles have an obvious decision staring them in the face to guarantee they can lock down some of their top talent this offseason

The Eagles can make this decision and free up plenty of cap space immediately.

Adam Holt — NFL News Writer
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Feb 5, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio speaks with the media during a press conference at Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Making salary cap choices in a part of life in the NFL. For Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, he’s learned ways to compile experienced talent and make important offseason moves to place the Birds on a winning trajectory.

One obvious decision that looms for Philadelphia is moving on from cornerback Michael Carter II during this offseason.

Eagles should cut Michael Carter II to help create cap space

He was acquired via trade, but his role has been limited since he joined Philly’s roster. It was a move that made sense on paper, but it never truly blossomed as the front office had hoped most likely.

Now, the Eagles can create cap space for more influential players if they say goodbye to Carter this offseason, even though he is still currently on the roster.

“Howie Roseman is arguably the best GM in the business, especially when it comes to value-maximized trades. So when he acquired Carter from the Jets in October, I didn’t ask questions. Here’s the issue: Carter played just 20% of the snaps after joining Philly and finished the year with a rather terrible 48.6 coverage grade from PFF (108th among 118 CBs with 250+ snaps), as well as 11.2 yards per target and a 102.7 passer rating allowed, according to Next Gen Stats. He’s a good run-defending corner, but Philly plays in a division with talented passers Dak Prescott, Jayden Daniels and Jaxson Dart (with John Harbaugh at the helm).” — NFL.com

The Eagles Birds can cut Carter for $8.7 million in cap space.

This seems like a no-brainer decision, when you consider that Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean lead the CB room. DeJean may reprise his role in the slot once again next season, though, so outside cornerback will be a need regardless of Carter’s status with the team.

Simply put, it makes the most sense to move on from the depth option in order to make room for a potential starter in the secondary – as well as boost the room for other impactful talent at positions of need.

Howie Roseman’s job won’t be a simple one when you consider the salary cap finagling that every team does during the offseason. For the Eagles, they’ll want to continue carving out space in the short-term to keep building a Super Bowl caliber depth chart on both sides of the ball.

Key Eagles free agents

  • S Reed Blankenship
  • LB Nakobe Dean
  • WR Jahan Dotson
  • TE Dallas Goedert
  • CB Adoree’ Jackson
  • OT Fred Johnson
  • EDGE Jaelan Phillips
  • OL Brett Toth

Philly has plenty of work to do this offseason via the free agent market. We have learned over the years that Roseman may also have a trade or two up his sleeve as well.

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