Philadelphia is loaded on defense, and after years of paying players on offense, there will be some tough decisions on the personnel of one of the best units in the NFL. Zach Berman of The Athletic believes the Eagles have at least 10 defenders valued at $10 million+ per year.
The biggest question is which young stars Howie Roseman will value, and which young stars the Eagles will allow to depart as they work to maintain some salary cap control. The first domino dropped on Saturday afternoon, when Philadelphia finalized a blockbuster 3-year, $78 million extension with defensive tackle Jordan Davis, including $65 million guaranteed, securing a key cornerstone for their defense.
The salary cap has increased by over $48 million over the last two years. In 2024, it was $255.4 million for each team, and in 2025, it was $279 million.
The Eagles have at least 10 players on their defense viewed around the league as $10M+/year players. You could see two of them depart this week.
The big question for the Eagles are which of those they can keep. To take it a step further, they need to determine which ones are…
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) March 8, 2026
The Eagles are expected to let some of their key free agents walk this offseason, but they will try to bring back a few. The Eagles have gone two or three seasons with high-powered, elite, and expensive offensive players. That’ll change, and several players could depart to help pay Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis, and others. Zack Baun is dominant, while Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean loom as players who’ll reset the market at their position. Jaelan Phillips and Reed Blankenship are one of the biggest names on the list, and the defense could look drastically different if Nakobe Dean departs as well.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Eagles defense is loaded with $10M a year talent ahead of free agency