Getty Dallas Cowboys corner Byron Jones.
Byron Jones. Chris Harris Jr. Logan Ryan. Darius Slay. The names are starting to sound like broken records, severely overplayed.
Yet the rumor mill is ripe this time of year and each passing day brings another take on how the Philadelphia Eagles will acquire one of the top-level cornerbacks on the market. Whether through free agency or in a trade, the team needs to make a move at a well-known position of need.
According to ESPN’s Tim McManus, the Eagles may focus their energy on the Cowboys’ Byron Jones as “all signs point to the Philadelphia Eagles going hard after a top-end cornerback.”
Jones is set to hit free agency on March 18 and Dallas doesn’t seem intent on keeping him. Or putting the franchise tag on him. If the new collective bargaining agreement gets passed, the Cowboys would need those designations for Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper. The 27-year-old Jones will likely command $16 million per year on the open market.
Meanwhile, the Eagles have approximately $41.8 million in salary-cap space, per OverTheCap. With current starting cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills set to hit free agency, GM Howie Roseman may have no choice but to look elsewhere for secondary help.
“We’re hopeful that if we go into the free-agent market, that maybe we’re signing guys that are more core guys [rather] than one- or two-year guys, and we look at it from building our team over a two-, three-year perspective as opposed to just this one-year window,” Roseman said.
FA CB Byron Jones held receivers to 5 yards per target last season.
Can put him across any team’s WR1.
But, as always, Roseman cautioned about handicapping the future.
“I think the one thing we have to be careful of is the amount of cap room we have this year,” Roseman said, “and then how it’s affecting next year and the years going forward because we don’t want to lose flexibility totally by doing that”
Is Cowboys Cornerback Worth the Money?
The question to be asked is if Byron Jones is worth the money. He wants to be paid in line with the highest-paid cornerbacks in football, guys like Xavien Howard and (gulp) Trumaine Johnson and Xavier Rhodes. Keep in mind, Jalen Ramsey’s new deal will likely raise the bar even higher when the Los Angeles Rams back up the Brinks truck.
Remember, Jones came into the league as a safety and roamed between cornerback and free safety for his first three seasons. He was used primarily in nickel packages and mainly covered tight ends.
Then, he locked down the outside corner spot in 2018 after a breakout campaign where he earned his first Pro Bowl nod and second-team All-Pro honors. Is that enough to warrant Howard money?
His numbers are rather pedestrian. Jones has two interceptions in five seasons, although he does have 43 pass breakups. But, according to Pro Football Focus, Jones has been a top-five outside cornerback over the past two years and yielded 0.39 yards per coverage snap in press-man coverage.
Will McClay on Cowboys No. 1 CB Byron Jones, who is an unrestricted free agent: “He’s a starting caliber NFL corner. He’s a really good player. We have to figure out his financial value and if it fits for us.”
Eagles Considering Other Options in Free Agency
GM Howie Roseman has gone on record saying that he intends to use his capital — an estimated 10 picks in April’s draft — to move up and select a playmaker. He’s alluded to being aggressive in free agency by shooting down the notion the Eagles have a “one-year window” to win.
Sounds like Howie Roseman isn’t trying to play the comp pick game this offseason. Said the Eagles could be looking to be more active in free agency, like they were in 2016 and 2017.
“We’re trying to build this over a period of time, we’re not kind of in this one-year window,” Roseman told reporters earlier this week. “We talked in January about looking at this, 2020, 2021 and 2022 in this three-year period who are part of it, I guess kind of similar to how we looked at free agency in maybe 2016 and ’17.”
Bradley Roby returned tonight from a hamstring injury. He’s reminding teams he’s on a one-year $10 mil contract with an INT and that 10-yard sack. Also committed a holding penalty that wiped out what would have been his second INT.
That being said, the Eagles could look for cheaper options at cornerback. The Texans’ Bradley Roby will test free agency waters and might be had for $12 million per year. The same goes for the Broncos’ Chris Harris Jr. or the Vikings’ Trae Waynes or the Titans’ Logan Ryan.
One other name to keep an eye on is James Bradberry, although the Panthers corner is reportedly seeking at least $15 million. The Lions’ Darius Slay is rumored to be on the trading block, too. He has made no bones about it: Slay wants to be the highest-paid cornerback in football.
Obviously, Roseman and the Eagles have lots of decisions to make. The rumors are sure to be flying around over the next few weeks.
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