Ranking The Importance Of Eagles Potential Extensions

The Eagles are Super Bowl Champions, again.

But for Howie Roseman and the front office, that just shortens the time they have to try and reach extensions with their own players and makes it more likely they will have to wait until free agency.

The Eagles have quite a few players they may want to get extensions done with. In the NFL, extensions can be done any time for veterans that choose to stay with their team, but for newer players they must complete three NFL seasons if they were drafted or two seasons if they were an undrafted free agent (UDFA).

How should the Eagles prioritize them?

 Note: This list will not include any pending free agents, who are likely to be handled differently.

1 – C Cam Jurgens

The Birds build from the lines and, with the exception of pending free agent Mekhi Becton, Jurgens is now the only OL that’d figure into the starting lineup (including Tyler Steen) who isn’t under contract for at least the next two years. The team probably would have signed him to an extension last year if they were allowed to do so. It doesn’t seem like the Eagles plan to move on from the center Jason Kelce helped scout to be his replacement and Jurgens seems happy to be in Philadelphia, so there is assuredly interest in reaching a new deal. It seems like a foregone conclusion that the two sides have a new deal by training camp. If they stick to Howie’s timeline, it’ll be before free agency officially kicks off and any free agent IOL can set new market prices.

2 – DT Jordan Davis

This is an interesting one. Davis has certainly developed and just had a monster postseason where he’s looked better than he has in the preceding three years of playing in the NFL. While the Eagles build their lines, they’d probably like to get him signed before Milton Williams likely resets the DT market. What makes Davis’ case interesting, however, is that he lacks stats. He clearly has an effect and could become more involved in pass rushing if he can keep up the play he had in the postseason, but most of his career right now has been filling gaps and forcing the play elsewhere – and that’s where the stats go. What sort of contract do Davis and his agent expect they might get on the free agent market? Much like odds shifting in sports betting, the team’s evaluation of his value could change based on his postseason performance, and the Eagles may try to get a ‘bargain’ deal to keep him around.  The team will have to decide whether or not to pick up his fifth-year option, too.

3 – S Reed Blankenship

Blankenship hasn’t been a game wrecker but he’s been a good safety since the team picked him up as a UDFA and he’s been among the if not the most healthy defensive back the team has been running with for years now. He’s got a fairly low cap hit and his lack of splash plays will probably keep him from resetting the market if he ever hit free agency. That said, he’s been good and while fans want the big playmakers at every position, that’s not feasible with a salary cap and you need some consistent but lower-cost players to round out a team. That could be Blankenship. He’s entering the last year of his contract (extension signed last year) and the Eagles may look to lock him up for several years at this point with the young players in Sydney Brown and Tristin McCollum having not taken the starting spot from him for several years. The dark horse could be if they think Lewis Cine will be able to break out, but Blankenship seems like the Eagles best option right now.

4 – LB Nakobe Dean

Dean is a tough one to evaluate and it comes down to Fangio and the front office. It took him two and a half years to finally show the potential the Eagles saw when they drafted him, but he finally began to show out this year. Unfortunately, his size concerns have proven to be well-founded as he’s had injuries force him to miss time three different times in just two years and he’s not going to be ready for training camp. What would Dean get on the open market, probably not too much for a partial season of great play sandwiched between two injuries. That said, it likely lowers the price on an extension and if Dean can overcome the injury bug from the last year and a half, it’s likely the Eagles spend 2026 and whatever other years they may add into the contract happy as can be with a bargain deal. If he doesn’t then they may wind up with a linebacker who spends most of the seasons on IR with a larger cap hit. It’s a calculated risk that the front office will have to look at potentially taking.

5 – TE Dallas Goedert

It’s a bit of a toss-up whether this would come before or after Nakobe in importance, but Goedert is technically under contract for the 2025 season. That makes his contract talks pivotal for the team. There is a potential out in his contract that could create some cap space for the team if they wanted. The trick for the front office is that, if they let Goedert go, they probably  wouldn’t receive a compensatory pick if he signs elsewhere since they had the option to keep him and that plays heavily into the front office’s calculations for free agent matters. Goedert is the only starter among the skill players with less than two years of control remaining and the Eagles not getting a comp pick for his leaving might make the front office look at working out an extension with the tight end to avoid the loss of one of their best players who would certainly sign a large contract in free agency for no compensation other than dead cap. The team could also choose to let him play out the final year of his deal if they are comfortable with his cap hit, which is projected to be $2.5 million larger than it was last season. 

6 – CB Darius Slay

Slay is also under contract in 2025 and that makes his situation complicated, too. That means he may not garner the Eagles a draft pick from the compensatory calculations. He’s indicated he wants to play one more year but his current contract would have him carrying a $14 million cap number into that final season. There’s so many questions at corner for the Eagles: Do they trust Kellee Ringo and/or Eli Ricks as starters? Do they expect James Bradberry to stick with the team? Do they want to try Cooper DeJean outside? Do they re-sign Isaiah Rodgers? It’s a combination of all of those things how important the Eagles make Slay’s contract this year.

7 – WR Jahan Dotson

Dotson also has a fifth-year option for 2026, so the Eagles will have to decide to accept or decline that. That said, Dotson hasn’t lived up to the WR1 hype he had around him at the draft. For the Eagles, that’s fine – they don’t need him to be WR1 and a young playmaker without an ego and who’s a positive locker room presence that will work hard each day is good to have around. It’s hard to imagine Dotson’s camp would expect him to get top receiver money once he gets to free agency given his production over the past three years and that may be what makes him a viable extension target for the Eagles. For Dotson, he’d be getting security and may not be losing too much from a potential free agent situation. For the Eagles, they could lock up a third receiver that Hurts would have for multiple years and could actually build some chemistry and comfortability with in a player with the skill to step up as the WR2 when needed.

8 – WR Britain Covey

Someone that I wrote about as coming up on a potential extension at the beginning of last season, Covey had a great start to the season and seemed like he was turning into a fairly effective receiver in addition to his return abilities. He landed on IR twice and had a nagging injury keep him out of the playoffs, so that really dropped his stock moving forward. If the team thinks he can come back, he may be worth an extension for his return abilities alone let alone his abilities as a capable receiver off the bench if needed – should that aspect of his game continue to develop. It’s hard to imagine he’d command a ton of money right now, so risking the potential of a bit of dead money to ensure you have him for a few extra years is a smart gamble to take if the front office isn’t too worried about the injury moving forward.

Other Extension-Eligible Non-Vets: TE Grant Calcaterra, LB/FB Ben VanSumeren, CB Eli Ricks, S Tristin McCollum, DB Lewis Cine