How can the Philadelphia Eagles afford Michael Bennett?

There’s no question that Michael Bennett makes the Philadelphia Eagles a better team, but how can they afford the All-Pro’s $6.6 million cap hit?

Well Philadelphia Eagles fans, I can safely say that no one saw this one coming.

After an offseason of speculation as to where his next landing spot would be, defensive sparkplug Michael Bennett will now be fighting the good fight in South Philly as he was traded to the Eagles along with a seventh-round pick for Marcus Johnson and a 2018 fifth-round pick.

While this move obviously makes the team a whole lot better overall, as acquiring an inside-out rushing three-time Pro Bowler for the price of a fifth-round pick and a fifth string receiver is an incredible deal, how can the Eagles afford the defensive lineman?

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With 3-years and $22.1 million left on his contract, Howie Roseman and company are going to have to get creative to position themselves under the salary cap in 2018.

As of right now, the Eagles are almost $11 million dollars over the cap going into 2018, and while this trade can’t be made official until the start of the league year on March 14, the team will have to purge themselves of some quality players to get under the cap BEFORE even taking on Bennett’s $6.6 million hit for the upcoming season.

Sure, Bennett and the team could work out a new deal, possibly one that converts some of his remaining money to a roster bonus that can be spread out over the remaining three years of his deal, but assuming that doesn’t happen, the first player to go is likely Vinny Curry.

Much like Curry, Bennett is a natural defensive end who’s absolutely lethal rushing inside on obvious passing downs and could give Jim Schwartz a versatile swiss army knife who can attack quarterbacks from all four defensive line positions. While 2017 first round pick Derek Barnett will likely start at defensive end in his second season with the team, Bennett can serve the role of second-string defensive end alongside Chris Long and fill departing Beau Allen‘s role as the team’s first defensive tackle coming off the bench, giving the team 2-for-1 value and allowing them to only keep seven linemen active on game days.

And from a cap standpoint, Bennett is also a superior fit for the Eagles moving forward.

With Curry scheduled to make over $9 million in 2018, the team can move on from the underproducing end with a $5 million cap savings and replace him with a much more productive player. At 32, Bennett recorded 8.5 sacks in 2017, more than any Eagle not named Brandon Graham, and almost triple Curry’s three.

But even with Bennett essentially replacing Curry both on the field, and on the team’s ledger, that still leaves an $11 million albatross around the team’s neck, with mere days to get into the black.

Other than Curry, the next most logical player to see his time in Philly cut short is underperforming deep threat, Torrey Smith.

After signing a three-year, $15 million deal to join Alshon Jeffery in South Philly in 2017, Smith struggled mightily as the team’s deep threat in 2017. Though he did have his moments, Smith finished the season fourth on the team in yards and catches, and only hauled in 52 percent of the passes were thrown his way. Sure, Smith did take the top off of defenses with his 4.3 speed, but he only caught three touchdowns in 19 games with the team and was largely outplayed by first contract players like Nelson Agholor and even rookie fourth-round pick Mack Hollins.

With the team recently bringing in former North Carolina Tar Heels coach Gunter Brewer to coach their wide receivers, it appears as though Hollins will have every opportunity to earn a starting spot outside in 2018 and replace Smith full-time.

While these two obvious moves will help the team purge over $10 million off the books, this is where the team will have to get creative to accommodate Bennett’s deal.

Does this trade all but signify that Nick Foles and his $5.5 million deal is a goner, with the team opting to go with Nate Sudfeld as their primary backup? How about recently extended Jason Peters? Could the nine-time Pro Bowler be playing elsewhere in 2018 following the emergence of Halapoulivaati Vaitai? And what about Brent Celek? After indicating that he would like to play in 2018, and retire as an Eagle, could the 12th year vet and his $4 million dollar deal be on the chopping block?

Next: Trading for Michael Bennett well worth the risk

Though I don’t want to get too deep into speculation, it’s abundantly clear that Roseman is going to have his hands full over the next few days as he repositions the Eagles for another playoff run. While the addition of Michael Bennett obviously makes the Eagles a better team in 2018 and could give Schwartz an all-time great defensive line, is his addition worth what it’ll cost the team at other positions? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain, the Philadelphia Eagles offseason just got a whole lot more interesting.

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