Eagles Release Kevin Byard, Saving $13 Million In Cap Space
The first, albiet unsurprising, move of the Eagles Off-Season has happened. Per Adam Schefter, the Eagles have released Safety Kevin Byard. They acquired the former All-Pro ahead of the trade deadline. The hope was that he would bring stability to a struggling group of Safetys. It never quite worked out. Now his time in Philly is over after one half-season.
https://x.com/AdamSchefter/status/1763605872326869228?s=20
Kevin Byard was due to carry a cap hit of $14,417,088. By releasing him, that cap hit drops to just $711,000. Meaning they save over $13 million with the move, making it a no-brainer for them. Byard didn’t play anywhere near well enough to justify a $14 million cap hit. Even if he did play well, it is a move they still likely would have made given the cap savings.
At one point in his career, Kevin Byard was amongst the best Safeties in the league. But at 30, it seems he has lost some of what made him so special earlier in his career. Whereas he was once a playmaker, he had just 1 interception last season. But beyond being less of a playmaker, he seemed to just struggle in his role on the Eagles’ defense. Granted you could say that about nearly everyone on the team last season.
The question now becomes what do they do with that cap space, and how do they replace him at Safety? It gives the Eagles a decent chunk of change to spend this off-season. Especially when you add on that the NFL Cap jumped $30 million this season to begin with. But they do also have a lot of players who will need new deals soon. Notably Devonta Smith and Landon Dickerson.
With that said, most reporters expect the Eagles to be busy in free agency. There should be at least one big splash. And that splash could come in the form of a Safety.
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The Eagles History At Pick 22 In the NFL Draft
1997- Traded Pick 22 To The Cowboys
Allen Rossum #25 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs with the ball during the game against the Indianapolis Colts at the Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Colts defeated the Eagles 44-17.
The Eagles started out with pick 22 in 1997. But they never actually used it. They sent it to Dallas for picks 25, a 1997 5th round pick 155th overall, and a 1998 3rd round pick (85).
The Cowboys took TE David Lafleur, who flamed out of the NFL within 4 seasons. But the Eagles pick at 25, DE Jon Harris, was out of the NFL after only 2 seasons with 2 sacks. Their pick at 155, TE Luther Broughton didn’t make the team and wound up on the Panthers. He did return a couple of seasons later when they traded for him. But he never developed into an impact player.
With the 85th pick the next season they took Allen Rossum. He went on to set a club record at the time for kick return yards. So it was not a complete wash. He is still 2nd all-time in Kick Return yard behind Brian Mitchell for the Eagles.
