Jordan Howard is one FA Eagles Should Bring Back

So far, the focus has been on which players the Eagles might pursue when free agency begins next week, but the team has several of their own free agents.

They have dealt with two of them, opting to let linebacker Nigel Bradham and left tackle Jason Peters hit free agency when it begins at 4 p.m. on March 18. The legal tampering period begins on Monday, but nothing can be made official until two days later.

The Eagles have a nearly $43 million to spend under the salary cap.

Here are four they should use some of that money on:

Jordan Howard. I’ve been banging the drum for the 25-year-old running back since the middle of last season, before his shoulder injury. I still am.

The running back market figures to be soft, even with the four-year contract the Chargers gave 24-yard-old Austin Ekeler recently, which guarantees him $15 million. Howard’s rushing numbers are better, but Ekeler is a better receiver out of the backfield.

I know many people think you can grab a cheaper runner in the draft. I say, do both, sign Howard and add a rookie on the third day of the draft. Then scour the undrafted market and add another one, so the Eagles would go into OTAs with five, maybe six.

Howard probably wouldn’t get as much Ekeler, but an offer of three or four years for $15-19 million, with some good guaranteed cash, might get it done. With him, Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and the drafted rookie, your backfield will be set for a couple years at least and give coach Doug Pederson the kind of backfield by-committee-approach he rode to a Super Bowl two years ago.

Of course, that means moving on from Corey Clement, who is a restricted free agent, but hasn’t been healthy the past two seasons after a terrific breakout year. Should the Eagles feel strongly about Clement they could put a draft tender on him and see if anyone bites. If not, add him to the mix, cross your fingers he stays healthy, and go from there.

Either way, Howard should be part of the equation.

Hassan Ridgeway. The defensive tackle was starting to hit his stride last year when an ankle injury on Oct. 20 shelved him for the season. His snap counts were on the rise in the three games before he got hurt. He had both of his sacks in those final three games and made six tackles combined in those three.

Like Howard, Ridgeway fits the Eagles’ age profile at just 25.

The Eagles need to bolster this position, too, so why not Ridegeway?

I’d offer him three years for $12 million with performance escalators.

Nate Sudfeld. The No. 3 quarterback began the season as the No. 2 quarterback then broke his wrist in the preseason. He made a little less than $3.1 million to be the backup but once Josh McCown came on board, he was bounced down a spot. Still, he has been in this offense for three years and is 26. Nobody knows how good he is other than the Eagles coaches who keep telling us how good he is.

I’ll take their word for it and offer Sudfeld a one-year deal at the same price as last year.

Cameron Johnston. The Eagles gave new deals to two-thirds of their specialty players, kicker Jake Elliott and long snapper Rick Lovato. What about the punter?

I was surprised they didn’t offer him a new deal. Granted, Johnston is an exclusive rights free agent, which are players with two or fewer years of service time and whose contracts have expired.

If the Eagles tender a qualifying offer (a one-year contract at league-minimum salary) the player has no negotiating rights with other teams and must sign the tender.

I suspect the Eagles will make that tender once they see if a new CBA is passed this weekend.

Cornerback Craig James is also an exclusive rights free agent and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Eagles sought to bring him back, too.

Two on the fence:

Halapoulivaati Vaitai. A very underrated part of the team, Big V is a valuable swing tackle who has made 23 starts, including playoffs, since being drafted in 2016.

Many believe he will get offered starter’s money in the draft, but the Eagles might view him as a starter, and try to lure him back with a contract in the neighborhood of three years, $21 million deal, with some roster bonuses mixed into the contract.

Vaitai has some limitations but locking him down means they don’t have to go in search of O-line depth. On the other hand, this is considered a good draft for offensive tackles so they could go that route.

Whatever happens will depend on how they feel about Year Three of the Jordan Mailata Experiment. The rugby star looked decent in preseason last year, but he has battled back issues that ended the previous two seasons prematurely.

Jalen Mills. It feels like the fan base either loves the cornerback as a player or hates him. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz loves Mills and that opinion could lead to a new deal for the former seventh-round draft pick who was the starting corner in the Eagles’ Super Bowl season.

I don’t love or hate Mills as a player. Personally, I think he is an adequate corner who competes hard on every play and there is value in that. How much that would be worth, I won’t venture a guess on this one.

Here are who the Eagles should say good-bye to:

CB Rodney McLeod

CB Ronald Darby

WR Nelson Agholor

DL Vinny Curry

QB Josh McCown

DT Timmy Jernigan

TE Richard Rodgers

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