The Philadelphia Eagles wasted no time in signing DeVonta Smith. a three-year contract extension, the first day of Phase 1 of OTAs for good measure. Not only is Smith exercising his first-year option for 2025 ($15.591 million), but his three-year extension for $75 million ($25 million per season) begins in 2026.
By the time Smith’s extension begins, he’ll be outside the top 10 among highest-paid wide receivers (he’s currently tied for fourth with AJ Brown). The Eagles did not set the market for the group of 2020 and 2021 wideouts who will be paid, but nevertheless created their own market for a player they valued.
Smith will be part of a group of Eagles offensive players signed through at least 2026, keeping the core together for at least three more seasons.
Eagles offensive position players
Now that the Eagles have signed Smith, what’s next on their team’s agenda? This offseason has been busy for general manager Howie Roseman, who signed Landon Dickerson, Jordan Mailata and Smith to multi-year extensions.
What could be next for Philadelphia? We are exploring some potential options.
AJ Brown extension coming?
The Eagles signed Smith for the same amount as Brown ($25 million average annual salary), which puts them tied for fourth among the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers. Reworking the Brown contract after the 2024 season would become a priority, right?
Brown is third in receiving yards (2,952) and sixth in receiving touchdowns (18) in the NFL over the past two seasons. He is also first in yards per catch (15.2) among players with more than 175 catches. Brown is one of the five best receivers in football and is rightly paid as such.
Although Brown still has three years remaining on his current four-year, $100 million contract, he has no guaranteed salary after this year ($21 million guaranteed salary for 2024). Whether Smith gets his extension this year or next, the Eagles will likely have to make a decision on Brown’s contract and whether to create more guaranteed money for him for 2025 and 2026.
Fortunately, there is a way to restructure Brown’s contract and turn part of his base salary into a guaranteed amount. Brown is only 27 and in the prime of his career, so the Eagles will likely want to keep him.
Are there any other players interested in expansions?
The Eagles have signed most of their key players through the 2026 season, particularly on offense. Outside of qualified players, Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson are both signed through the 2028 season, while Lane Johnson is signed through the 2026 season. Cam Jurgens is under contract through the 2025 season and finally takes over. stands as heir apparent to Jason Kelce. A good season will set Jergens up for an extension down the road.
The defense has Jalen Carter entering his second season and Jordan Davis entering his third, so there is no need for extensions for any of the former first-round picks. Nakobe Dean still has to prove himself as a starter in the league, putting himself in the same position as Carter and Davis when it comes to an extension.
Josh Sweat will be a free agent after the 2024 season. The Eagles will have to make the decision whether to keep him as a pass rusher or let the 2018 fourth-round pick move forward with another organization. These decisions regarding these key defensive players will come after the 2024 season.
Are the Eagles now avoiding adding a wide receiver in the draft?
Simple answer to this one. No.
Outside of Brown and Smith, the Eagles would like to add a No. 3 wide receiver to play the slot. Philadelphia has worked to improve its depth at wide receiver by signing DeVonte Parker and Parris Campbell to one-year deals this season, but Parker is only getting $1.2 million on the 4’s fully guaranteed deal, 69 million dollars he signed with the Eagles.
There’s no guarantee that Parker even makes the roster, and he’s more of a backup on the outside for Brown and Smith. Campbell will be looked at on kickoff returns and in the slot, competing with Britain Covey for playing time in the slot. Jalen Hurts likes Covey in the slot, and the Eagles’ other receivers have backed Covey there as well.
Drafting a third receiver is a luxury, but this draft is full of good prospects at this position. The Eagles have the No. 22, No. 50 and No. 53 picks available in this draft and will take the best player on their board.
Don’t rule out wide receiver in any of these picks, adding another weapon to an already loaded offense.
