Eagles' Top Players to Consider for Franchise Tag
The Philadelphia Eagles had a lot of great moments in 2022, including an NFC Championship and an appearance in Super Bowl 57. Getting to Super Bowl 58 is going to require some work.
The Eagles' young core is mostly intact. A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Jalen Hurts are set to once again anchor the passing attack. Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat are still going to give opposing offensive linemen nightmares.
But there's a lot of talent with expiring contracts, and the Eagles will inevitably lose some talented players.
Fortunately, they have some tools at their disposal to ensure they don't lose everyone. The most powerful of those weapons is the franchise tag. Each team can have one player receive the franchise tag, and it locks the player into a one-year deal based on their position.
Some organizations have been more prone to use the tag than others. For instance, the Eagles haven't used it since DeSean Jackson in 2012. They tagged the receiver before eventually coming to terms on an extension.
But with 20 pending free agents on a team that just won the NFC, there are a few candidates who are at least worth considering for the designation.
RB Miles Sanders
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Giving out second contracts to running backs is risky business. It is well known that there tends to be a dramatic decrease in production as running backs approach their late 20s.
Yet, a player like Miles Sanders is going to be 26 years old when the season starts and coming off the best season of his career. The Penn State alum racked up 1,347 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns in a reborn Eagles offense.
The problem is the Eagles have a lot of mouths to feed in the offense, and that also means a lot of checks to hand out.
It also means the Eagles should be a little anxious about giving up too much cap flexibility by signing Sanders to a top-of-the-market long-term deal.
Instead, they may want to consider utilizing the tag. Running back has one of the cheapest franchise tag numbers. It's only $10.1 million for the traditional franchise tag and $8.4 million for the transition tag.
The transition tag allows other teams to negotiate with the player, but the original club has the right to first refusal. The Eagles would have the opportunity to match any offer he gets from another team.
Then again, the Eagles have Kenneth Gainwell for two more years on a rookie contract and enough draft capital to invest in the position through the draft. So they have plenty of options that don't include bringing back Sanders.
DT Javon Hargrave
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The Eagles had the best pass rush in the NFL last season. It's going to be hard to repeat that feat if they don't have Javon Hargrave in the middle.
When you look at pass-rush win rate and double-team rate, only Chris Jones and Maliek Collins had a higher pass-rush win rate than Hargrave, per ESPN. The veteran defensive tackle's ability to beat his man quickly was evident in his sack total.
He had a career-high 11 sacks while feasting on one-on-one matchups. The Eagles pass rush was aided by its pure depth. With players like Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat coming off the edge, offensive lines had to make hard choices on who to double team and where to slide the pass protection.
Hargrave was a beneficiary of that, but he also freed up the guys on the outside himself at times.
The Eagles have depth to replace what they will lose on the outside. They even have some good run-stuffing defensive tackle options.
They don't have another interior pass-rusher like Hargrave. It would be tough to squeeze the $18.9 million defensive tackle tag under the cap with the Eagles starting the offseason in the red, but all options should be on the table to keep the 30-year-old around one more season.
S C.J. Gardner-Johnson
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Of all the options to use the tag on, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is the most likely.
NFL analyst Adam Caplan said on his Inside the Birds podcast that the safety is, "not going anywhere. They'll tag him if they don't think they can get a deal done."
Caplan's reporting makes sense. The team gave up a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a sixth-round pick in 2024 to acquire him before the 2022 season. He fit right in with Philly and proved to be a valuable addition to the defense.
He had a career-high six interceptions and held opposing passers to a 78.4 passer rating when targeted. His ability to play as a safety or work in the slot proved invaluable as the Eagles deployed him in both roles to account for an injury to Avonte Maddox.
Gardner-Johnson had all those interceptions despite missing five games this season. It's clear that his teammates appreciate the energy and leadership he brings to the secondary.
The franchise tag for a safety comes in at $14.6 million. It's a big number, but it could wind up just being a placeholder if the Eagles can come to an agreement on a long-term deal.
That seems to be the more likely scenario because he's coming off a career year and is only 25 years old at a position that usually has good longevity.
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