Fly, Eagles Fly: A Philadelphia Eagles M21 CFM

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Pederson Meets with Lurie after Playoff Loss

Doug Pederson had a meeting with Owner and CEO Jeffrey Lurie, President Don Smolenski, and GM Howie Roseman Tuesday after the Eagles Divisional round playoff loss this past weekend. The intent of the meeting was to discuss the Eagles offseason strategy and state of the team moving forward into 2021. Per team sources, some of the topics discussed were:

- How would the team approach a $41 million 2021 Salary Cap deficit? As it currently stands, the Eagles are unable to resign any of their pending free agents, and have no cap space to purse other free agents this offseason. The consensus in the room was that the team needed to shed several big contracts. The team would need to move on from several players that were key pieces of the team’s 2017 Super Bowl run. Every name on the roster outside of Carson Wentz would be considered.

- What to do with Wentz? The Eagles QB is due a $34.7 million dollar cap hit in 2021, and he still has three years left on his contact beyond that. He has played a full season only twice in five years, and 2020 may have been his worst one yet. Wentz missed four full games and part of a fifth to injury, and was benched for an additional game due to performance. He finished the season with nine touchdown passes against 16 interceptions. Pederson remained loyal to Wentz, and convinced the group that he could fix the issues plaguing the fifth-year signal caller. How much patience everyone will have with Wentz remains to be seen.

- What was the teams draft strategy? The Eagles hold eight total picks, with the 21^st pick in the first round. The roster desperately needs an infusion of youth and talent, and there are holes in several position groups. Also, with the team’s current salary cap predicament, it will be hard to retain the teams own free agents let alone acquire new ones. Chances are the Eagles will be looking at every draft pick to contribute in some fashion in 2021. Should the strategy be to fill needs, select the best players available, or trade back to acquire more picks? Pederson expressed interest in hording as many picks as possible.

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