Analyst: Eagles could lose a projected $18 million to 49ers in free agency .
The Philadelphia Eagles could lose Andre Swift to free agency. The Philadelphia Eagles could lose a key to the San Francisco 49ers in free agency.
Michael Ginnitt of Spotrac projects that the Eagles will sign D’Andre Swift to a three-year, $18 million contract.
However, he writes that if Philadelphia allows Swift to enter free agency, the San Francisco 49ers is a team that would probably be interested in Swift’s services.
“Philly has been turning this spot over every year for some time now, so a multi-year extension wouldn’t seem like a given β but we’re going to do it anyway,” Ginnitti writes. “Here’s why.
If the Eagles let this player go in free agency (the franchise tag probably isn’t ideal given their pitching situation), one of the teams that seems ready to jump could be NFC rival San Francisco.
Kyle Shanahan long searched.decent handcuffs to Christian McCaffrey, whose magic will run out here soon anyway.3 years,
$18 million to stay in Philly. D’Andre Swift has emerged as one of the best running backs in the NFL According to Spotrac, Swift’s average annual value over four seasons is $5.4 million per year, for a total of $22 million.
That’s a little below the $6 million average that Ginnitti projects. After being acquired in a trade from the Detroit Lions, Swift emerged as the Eagles’ starting quarterback.
After starting the season as Kenneth Gainwell’s backup, Swift quickly emerged as the team’s primary option in Week 2, rushing for a season-high 175 yards and 6.3 yards per carry in a 34β28 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Swift proved to be one of the best running backs in the NFL, ranking third in rushing yards and 10th in yards per attempt. According to Pro Football Focus, Swift has a solid 64.1 offensive rating and 69.2 rush grade this season.
Why can’t the Eagles re-sign D’Andre Swift? While it’s clear that Swift is integral to Philadelphia’s success as a 9-1 team, the Eagles don’t think too highly of their defensive players.
The Eagles let former starting quarterback Miles Sanders go in free agency last season. The decision came after Sanders rushed for a career-high 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns while earning his first Pro Bowl bid.
Despite the best season of his career, the Eagles let Sanders sign a four-year, $25.4 million free agent deal with the Carolina Panthers – an average annual cap hit of $6.350 million per year – trading for the shade-worthy Swift.
less than $1.8 million this season. The
decision proved to be the right one,
however, as Sanders lost his starting job
to Chuba Hubbard and has a career-low
274 yards on 82 carries for just 3.3 yards
per carry.
As Martin Frank of Delaware Online
notes, the Eagles will pay Swift, Gainwell,
Rashaad Penny and Boston Scott
combined less than the Panthers will pay
Sanders this year.
He also notes that if the Eagles don’t
change their mindset during the run, they
will likely let Swift walk. “Unless the
Eagles clarify their philosophy of not
paying running backs,
it looks like Swift will likely have to find
his next paycheck elsewhere,” Frank
writes. “And yet Sanders’ season is also a
cautionary tale about why teams don’t
want to waste money on running backs,
even in a depressed market that one
Eagles player described as ‘ridiculous’.
The NFL is doing the quarterback wrong.”
It remains to be seen if the Eagles will
change their player value this offseason,
but it will at least cost a small change if
they want to bring Swift back. If they
don’t, we could see Swift sign the Eagles’
toughest competition in the Niners.
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