The Moves We Should Make Next Year (merged)

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by SouperMeister

Just the latest example of intelligent cap management by Philly to retain the team's core: ESPN.com - NFL - Eagles DT Patterson inks seven-year, $32M extension

Patterson joins guard Shawn Andrews, cornerbacks Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown and other top draft choices in recent years to receive extensions before their rookie contracts expire. But the Patterson deal was one of the earliest, coming in the middle of his second year.

Andy Reid is making a calculated gamble that Patterson and others will develop into solid players that would have commanded far more money if allowed to bid their services as free agents.

And here's another example (Trent Cole): Philadelphia Daily News | 11/07/2006 | Cole, Eagles agree on 5-year pact

With their solid cap management, Philly rarely let's a young core player get to free agency. Derrick Burgess is the only example I can recall of a good young player not getting an in-season extension. I'd much prefer for the Skins to leave room under the cap going into every season earmarked for retaining our core guys (like Pierce and Smoot) before they enter free agency. One more point - Philly usually gives large roster bonuses as opposed to signing bonuses. The advantage is that they ingest the roster bonus just that season instead of pro-rating a signing bonus over the life of the contract, minimizing cap impact in later years of their contracts.