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Running back D’Andre Swift has made an immediate impact on the Eagles‘ offense in his first season in Philadelphia, but his time on his hometown team may be short.
With three games remaining in the regular season, Swift has rushed for a career-high 896 yards with 4 rushing touchdowns while adding 38 receptions for 209 yards and another score, as a versatile weapon in quarterback Jalen Hurts‘ supporting cast.
Swift’s strong season has led former NFL Executive of The Year Jeff Diamond to list the 24-year-old as one of the top 13 impending free agents “poised to cash in” this offseason.
“It’s a great time for him to hit free agency after a career-best season,” Diamond wrote for The 33rd Team. “Swift is making $1.77 million in the last year of his rookie contract. He’ll be faced with the running back devaluation problem as he hits free agency, but he should command a sizable raise to the $6-8 million-per-year range with incentives if he stays healthy and produces the rest of this season.”
The Eagles acquired Swift, and a seventh-round draft pick, in exchange for a pair of picks, including a 2025 fourth-round selection in a draft weekend trade back in April 2023.
Few general managers adhere to the principles of positional value more stringently than Howie Roseman, which could lead to Swift landing elsewhere in 2024. Especially if recent history is any indication of how Roseman might handle Swift’s impending free agency.
“The Eagles didn’t want to pay Miles Sanders at that level, though,” Diamond points out. “So, we’ll see if they step up with the speedy and shifty Swift or if he has to move on as Sanders did to make the jump in pay.”
Kenneth Gainwell Carving Out Role in Eagles’ Backfield
If the Eagles do move on from Swift this offseason, Kenneth Gainwell‘s emergence and affordability could soften the blow.
This season, Gainwell has rushed for 256 yards with a pair of touchdowns, in a timeshare situation with Swift in the Eagles’ backfield. However, the 24-year-old saw one of his most significant workloads of the season in Week 15 against the Seahawks.
Gainwell logged 6 carries for 21 yards in Seattle, his most rushing attempts since Week 7, perhaps as a harbinger of his role to come.
Signed through the 2024 campaign, Gainwell is set to count just $1.1 million against the cap next season, according to OverTheCap.
Should Roseman and the Eagles opt not to pay a premium for Swift, Gainwell could take onan even bigger role at a significantly lower cap number, as part of Philadelphia’s solution at running back in 2024 and beyond.
Jason Kelce Defends Jalen Hurts’ Comments
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts came under fire for post-game comments following a Week 15 loss to the Seattle Seahawks questioning the “commitment” of his teammates.
After falling to the Seahawks, thanks to Drew Lock‘s late-game heroics and a 92-yard game-winning drive to drop Philadelphia to 10-4, Hurts questioned whether his teammates are “committed enough.”
But, Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce defended Hurts and said he understood where the quarterback was coming from.
“That’s the attitude you have to have,” Kelce said on the “New Heights” podcast he hosts with his brother, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. “I think when you’re not performing as a team, when you’re not winning games, the only thing you can do is go back and work that much more, go back and commit yourself that much harder.
“We have great people in the building, we have people that want to win, I know that. There is no question in my mind about that.”
Losers of three consecutive games to the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Seahawks, Hurts and the Eagles aim to get back on track on Christmas Day against the New York Giants.
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