Carson Wentz’s Cap Impact

Over a month ago, Carson Wentz signed a four-year contract worth $128 million, with over $107 million guaranteed. This contract locks down Wentz through the 2024 season and makes him the highest-paid player ever in guarantees. This is all great news to the Eagles’ organization who have now shown that they trust their franchise quarterback, even amidst injury concerns. However, this contract has fans and league personalities alike wondering how it will affect the Eagles’ already fragile cap situation. Wentz may be an Eagle for a while longer, but how many others will become cap casualties because of it?

Howie Makes It Work

With Howie Roseman at the helm, that number will probably be a lot lower than expected. We’ve already seen Roseman sign multiple depth players for virtually nothing, like defensive end Vinny Curry and offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski. Although all of these signings came before the big Wentz deal, they show how good Howie is at making the most out of the cap given to him. He doesn’t overpay for anyone but is still able to retain and brings in loads of talent. This formula allows for the Eagles’ to pay their superstars when needed without crippling the cap.

But How About the Rest of the NFC East?

Speaking of crippling the cap, the NFC East counterpart Washington Redskins could take some notes. Their overpaying of Landon Collins left them in a cap crisis, with them owning the eighth-worst cap situation in the league (just over $8 million remaining). Meanwhile, in New York, the Giants aren’t looking much better. They have just over $10 million remaining in cap space despite having the weakest roster in the division. In Dallas, cap space is looking okay–they have just under $20 million remaining. Oh, but that’s without mentioning their current contract issues, as they still need to sign Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawerence, and Amari Cooper, among others, to long-term deals. Despite owning possibly the most complete roster in the league, the Eagles’ still sit at number 14 in cap space. The rest of the division doesn’t look anywhere near this comfortable.

What Does This Mean for Philly’s Future?

Aside from Malcolm Jenkins, the Eagles don’t look to have many more major contract issues. The birds have the cores of both lines and a vast major of its top skill players locked down through 2020. Jenkins has earned the improved contract he is requesting, but there’s no way Roseman overpays for him. As far as the next few seasons go, the Eagles are in good shape cap-wise, despite spending the necessary money to lock down the franchise signal-caller. The only thing left now is to see if Wentz can stay healthy enough to lead this team for the years to come.