Eagles officially receive salary cap space with Mychal Kendricks release

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Howie Roseman woke up Saturday morning with a little extra cash to spend. 

It’s finally June 2, which means they’ll have the extra cap savings from releasing Mychal Kendricks back on May 22. 

The Eagles designated Kendricks as a post-June 1 cut, which saved $6 million this season instead of $4.4 million, but they needed to carry his full cap hit through June 1. It basically spread out the damages over two years instead of one. Now they made it past June 1 and will have just $1.6 million in dead money. 

So how much cap space do they have? 

Well, before June 1, the NFLPA listed them with just $94,224 — not a lot. But then add in the $6 million for Kendricks and subtract around $500,000 for the next guy who will slide up into the top 51 of salaries that count toward the salary cap and the Eagles should have around … 

… drumroll …

Around $5.6 million in cap space for now. 

So now that Roseman has some cash to blow, how will he use it? 

The most obvious answer is to re-sign veteran safety Corey Graham. Graham is 32 now but played well for the Eagles on a one-year deal worth $1.6 million in 2017. He would likely command a similar salary this year. 

You’ll remember how important Graham was last year. With a third safety the Eagles could count on, Jim Schwartz was able to utilize Malcolm Jenkins’ versatility. The Eagles have a few players who could maybe fill that void, but they’re unproven. 

“Yet to be told with that,” Schwartz said when asked if a younger player could be that type of third safety. “But Corey Graham did play a significant part in being able to move Malcolm around. Corey was another guy that had played corner, played nickel, played a lot of special teams, and had played safety a little bit like Malcolm.”

If the Eagles do re-sign Graham, they don’t have to rush to do it. He’s an 11-year veteran and two-time Super Bowl champ. They don’t have to worry about him not being ready. And last year, they waited until Aug. 3 to sign him to that one-year deal after he had been on the street since March. 

Another possibility fans are talking about is to give Brandon Graham an extension. Graham is the Eagles’ best defensive end and is entering the final year of his contract. But with a cap hit of $8 million in 2018, an extension would likely push cap money toward the end of a new contract, so it’s not likely the lack of cap space has been the holdup. 

A couple other possibilities for that cap space: 

1. A trade

The Eagles made five player trades in July and August last offseason. While none of those moves added big contracts, some extra cap room can give flexibility to pull the trigger on a deal.  

2. Keep it

Cap space in the NFL rolls over. If a team doesn’t use it, it rolls over to the following season. The Eagles can use it next offseason.

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