Eagles Offseason Bookkeeping: Michael Carter's Gone, Jake Elliott's on Thin Ice

Time to Clean Up the Roster

Every NFL offseason starts with bookkeeping — the unsexy but necessary work of trimming the roster, creating cap space, and positioning the team for the moves that actually matter. The Eagles have several obvious decisions to make, and a few that are more complicated than fans realize.

Michael Carter: Gone

This one's easy. Michael Carter carries a $10.25 million cap hit with only $1.3 million in dead money. That's nearly $9 million in savings for a player who is, at best, a rotational running back on a team that just watched Saquon Barkley have one of the greatest rushing seasons in NFL history.

There's no scenario where the Eagles pay a backup running back $10.25 million. Carter will be released, the Eagles will save the money, and they'll find a replacement in free agency or the draft for a fraction of the cost. Next.

Jake Elliott: Thin Ice, But Safe for Now

Here's where it gets uncomfortable. Jake Elliott had a 74.1% field goal percentage in 2024 — the second-worst mark of his career. But the number that should really alarm you is this: over the last two seasons, Elliott is 5-for-15 on field goals of 50 or more yards. That's 33%.

Let that marinate. One-third. In an era where kickers are routinely drilling 55-yarders, the Eagles' kicker is missing two out of every three attempts from 50-plus. That's not a slump — that's a trend.

So why won't the Eagles cut him? The contract. Elliott carries roughly $6 million in dead cap if released this offseason, which makes cutting him financially painful. The Eagles would eat that dead money and still need to pay a replacement. The math doesn't justify the move in 2025.

But here's what SHOULD happen: competition. The Eagles need to bring in a kicker during training camp and let Elliott know his job isn't guaranteed. Sometimes the threat of competition is enough to elevate performance. And if it's not? Then you have your answer and your replacement ready.

Elliott has earned goodwill from that Super Bowl LII game-winner and years of reliable kicking. But goodwill doesn't win games, and 33% from 50-plus yards loses them.

Lane Johnson: Restructure Incoming

Lane Johnson's contract is a restructure candidate, and it's likely the Eagles will convert some of his base salary into signing bonus to free up cap space. This is standard operating procedure for the Eagles — they've restructured Johnson's deal multiple times — and it should create meaningful cap room without any real downside.

Johnson is 36, and every restructure pushes money into future years, but the Eagles are in win-now mode. You don't worry about 2028 cap implications when you're trying to win a Super Bowl in 2025. Restructure it, free up the space, and use it on a difference-maker.

The Easiest Money: Restructure Hurts

If the Eagles need cap space in a hurry — and they will if they're pursuing a premium edge rusher — the simplest mechanism is restructuring Jalen Hurts' contract. Converting base salary to signing bonus can create massive cap savings in a single transaction, and given the size of Hurts' deal, the Eagles could free up $15-20 million with one phone call.

This doesn't reduce what Hurts earns. It just changes the accounting. And it's the kind of move every contending team makes with their franchise quarterback's contract. Expect it to happen.

The Bigger Picture

These bookkeeping moves are about creating financial flexibility for the real offseason priorities: acquiring an elite edge rusher, potentially extending Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter, and ensuring the roster has the depth to survive a Super Bowl run.

Michael Carter's release is a formality. Elliott gets one more year with a shorter leash. Johnson and Hurts get restructured. And suddenly, the Eagles have the cap space to be aggressive in free agency and trades.

The boring work funds the exciting work. That's how championships are built — not with splashy headlines, but with smart financial management that positions you to make the splashy moves when the opportunity arrives.

Time to get to work, Howie.