Philadelphia Eagles' Vinny Curry Playing Way to Free-Agent Payday

Vinny Curry finished second on the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014 with 9.0 sacks. In almost any other situation on almost any other team, this would fall squarely under the positives category. For the Birds, it's actually a bit of a dilemma.

While the Eagles are obviously thrilled to have a secret weapon in Curry, he may not be around much longer. The 27-year-old is headed into the final year of his rookie contract, and unless the club can come up with a way to expand his role, Curry will almost certainly depart as a free agent come March.

For as impressive as 9.0 sacks is, what's even more amazing is Curry managed to rack up that total while playing just 32 percent of the defensive snaps, according to Football Outsiders. The Marshall product was, without a doubt, one of the most effective pass-rushers in the NFL last season.

In fact, based on Pro Football Focus' pass-rush productivity metric, Curry finished fifth among all 3-4 defensive ends and only significantly behind Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt. That was no fluke, either—in 2013, Curry was second only to Watt at his position.

	Snaps	Sacks	Hits	Hurries	PRP	Rank
2014	294	9	4	21	9.4	5th
2013	217	5	5	22	11.6	2nd

Despite Curry's stellar performance, he's not likely to see dramatically more playing time in the near future in Philadelphia. Fletcher Cox is one of the most dominant linemen in the league, and head coach Chip Kelly referred to him as the team's Most Valuable Player this past year. Cedric Thornton starts at the other end and while only a two-down player, he's a superior run defender to Curry.

Defensive coordinator Bill Davis has addressed another issue with putting more on Curry's plate. At 6'3", 279 pounds, the Marshall product is actually undersized for a 3-4 end, and the staff has to be concerned with him wearing down if he's on the field too much, as Davis explained to Geoff Mosher for CSNPhilly.com last August.

"

The two-gap part of it, he's a little undersized, but getting better and better and better at two-gapping. So when you talk about Vinny and you put him in there in a 4-i (lined up opposite the guard’s inside shoulder) and ask him to take on 500 pounds of men and double team, that's not his world. When you ask Vinny to get in the gap and penetrate, that's his world.

"

There's certainly truth to that. The problem the Eagles are going to run into if they attempt to re-sign Curry is other teams won't necessarily run into that issue.

Elsa/Getty Images

In particular, teams that utilize 4-3 defenses can stick Curry at end and let him go to work. He's potentially an every-down player in a scheme that allows him to work almost exclusively off the edge and away from the double-teams that would beat him up.

It's not as if Curry would even be making a true position change. He played end in a 4-3 in college and was taken in the second round by the Eagles in 2012, when the alignment in Philly was still a 4-3.

And assuming Curry continues to perform anywhere near the level he has, there will be teams willing to pay a small fortune for his services. As we've seen time and time again in the NFL, pass-rushers command bundles of cash on the open market, and players coming from limited roles haven't been a deterrent.

Look no further than what the Eagles wound up paying Brandon Graham this offseason. The outside linebacker re-signed for four years, $32 million—$13 million guaranteed—according to Spotrac, reportedly outbidding opponents such as the division-rival New York Giants. Graham had never started more than six games in a season, and he started just once in the past two years.

Many assumed Graham would bolt in free agency, in particular to a team that would allow him to switch back to his natural spot at defensive end in a 4-3. Does his return provide some hope for Curry?

Maybe, but let's not go crazy. Graham also returned because Trent Cole was released during the offseason, finally opening up a starting job. Even if Cox or Thornton were suddenly out of the picture, the Eagles have expressed qualms with playing Curry at that position too much.

	GMS	TKL	SK	FF
2014	16	19	9.0	4
2013	14	22	4.0	0
2012	6	9	0.0	0

There is a concerted effort to get Curry on the field more. Mosher reported the Eagles were experimenting with Curry at outside linebacker at workouts this spring. Yet with a tandem of Graham and Connor Barwin on the edge, there's still precious little playing time to go around.

Ultimately, re-signing Curry is going to prove difficult for the Eagles. With 13.0 sacks and four forced fumbles as a part-time player the past two seasons, Curry is a proven commodity as a pass-rusher. Stats aside, he has tremendous size to play end in a 4-3, and, looking at the tape, one of the most explosive first steps at any position in pro football. He's downright unblockable at times.

Somebody is going to pay Curry a bundle next offseason. And while the Eagles might like to, it's going to be hard to justify matching some of the offers he's likely to receive.