Eagles' Top Free Agents to Consider for Franchise Tag, RFA Contract Tenders

The franchise tag window is open, which means the offseason has officially kicked off for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Teams have a few tools at their disposal to keep free agents in house. The most widely known of those is the franchise tag.

As Kevin Patra of Around the NFL explained, there are three versions of the tag teams can use to keep around one free agent for the next season. The non-exclusive, exclusive and transition franchise tags all function a little differently but serve the same basic function: lock in a player on a one-year deal that pays them in line with the best at their position.

In all, 10 teams utilized the tag last season. But it isn't a good answer for everyone. It also isn't the only tool a team has in its arsenal to ensure they get to keep a free agent. There's also restricted free agency, which allows teams to employ tenders to ensure they can match a player's contract.

Here's a look at the Eagles' candidates for both designations.

Looking at the Eagles' 2022 free agents, there aren't many strong candidates to receive the tag.

Twenty-two teams opted not to use the tag last season, and the Eagles were on that list. The organization has used it sparingly, only utilizing it five times. DeSean Jackson in 2012 was the most recent example.

Derek Barnett (63.9 percent), Anthony Harris (74.2 percent), Rodney McLeod and Steven Nelson (87.2 percent) were the only unrestricted free agents who played more than 60 percent of the snaps last season for the Eagles, per Over the Cap.

None of them will have inspired front offices to pay them a top-of-the-market price for 2022. Barnett only mustered two sacks in his fifth season, and the Eagles could upgrade their pass rush by replacing him. Harris and McLeod, both over 30, were bargain starting safeties at $4 million and $1.5 million, respectively.

Nelson was a good pickup on a one-year deal but nowhere near worth the projected $17.3 million price of the cornerback franchise tag.

Short of a shocking decision, Philadelphia's decade-long streak of not using the franchise tag will continue.

The past two Super Bowls have been great reminders of how much depth on the offensive line can be a huge asset. Both the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs lost Super Bowls because of their inability to protect their quarterbacks.

This is a great lesson to keep in mind when making decisions about players like Nate Herbig.

The young lineman has proved to be a great utility guy on the interior. Over the past three seasons, Herbig has appeared in 31 games with 17 starts. In that time, he has taken more than 1,300 snaps and only given up three sacks.

Good offensive line help is hard to find. Fortunately, the Eagles have Herbig as a restricted free agent, which means they have some control over his ability to sign with another team.

Restricted free agency is for any player who has three accrued seasons and has an expiring contract. Teams are allowed to sign any qualifying player to a first-, second-round or right of first refusal tender.

According to Over the Cap, the right of first refusal tender would be worth $2.4 million and would guarantee the Eagles a chance to match any offer he gets in free agency.

If the Eagles think he could be the insurance plan for either Jason Kelce or Brandon Brooks on the interior, it would be worth making that investment.

Alex Singleton might not be the most popular guy in Philly right now. He finished the season with a 54.1 grade from PFF, which was 44th among the 87 linebackers it graded.

But when you look at what they have spent on the linebacker, that's an incredible return on investment. Singleton was an undrafted free agent from Montana State who came from the CFL before the Eagles signed him in 2019.

Over the past three seasons, he has started 19 games, racking up 262 tackles and serving as a special teams captain.

Considering his salary has never cracked $1 million in those three seasons, he's been a bargain. His Over the Cap valuation for 2021 was a little more than $3 million based on his production.

That means he could be well worth even the second-round tender, which would be $3.9 million. That would require a team to give up a second-rounder to prise Singleton from the Eagles, although the right of first refusal tender would likely get the job done.