Eagles Urged to Decline Fifth Year Option on $17 Million First Round Pick

The Philadelphia Eagles have an embarrassment of riches in terms of talent, thanks to years upon year of deft draft moves and free agent signings.

On both sides of the ball, the Eagles are stacked. In a perfect world, everybody who deserves to get paid would stay with the team. The reality of the NFL salary cap is no matter how much it continues to grow there are few teams that can afford to pay multiple players Top 10 money at any position.

When it comes to beloved defensive tackle and 2022 first round pick (No. 13 overall) Jordan Davis, the best path for the Eagles would be to decline his fifth year option for 2026 and let him become an unrestricted free agent after the 2025 season. That move not only clears the way for Davis to sign a deal similar to the 4-year, $104 million contract former Eagles defensive lineman Milton Williams signed with the New England Patriots on March 10, but also for NFL All-Pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter to sign a record-setting contract extension in March 2026.

NFL teams have until May 1 to make a decision on the fifth-year option for players from the 2022 draft. In all likelihood, the number for Davis’s fifth year could be around $13 million in guaranteed salary.

“If the Eagles decline Davis’ fifth-year option, they will be accepting the possibility of losing another defensive tackle in free agency if Davis, like Williams, plays himself out of their price range,” The Athletic’s Brooks Kubena wrote on April 16. “At the very least, if the Eagles don’t pick up Davis’ fifth-year option, they’ll be signaling they’re prepared to move on.”

Davis Has More Value in Locker Room Than in Trade

While Davis might be looked at from the outside as having more trade value than anything else right now, his value to the team in 2025 is worth more than they could get back in a trade.

Aside from starting every game the last 2 years, he’s one of the most beloved players on the roster and trading him away before he gets a chance to help defend the Eagles’ Super Bowl title could divide the locker room.

From a more calculated perspective, getting another season from Davis where he starts every game at the $3 million he’s due in the final season of his 4-year, $17.1 million rookie contract is the kind of value that fills up group texts between NFL executives with heart eyes emojis.

Carter Could Reset Market With Contract Extension

While Davis and Carter were teammates at Georgia who were taken in the first round in back to back years in 2022 and 2023, it’s Carter who was the best player on a Super Bowl-winning defense in 2024 and will almost certainly reset the market for his position and has an outside chance to become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history next year.

At the very least, Carter should exceed the contract for the current highest paid interior defensive lineman in the NFL in 3-time Super Bowl champion Chris Jones, who signed a 5-year, $158.7 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs in March 2024 that included $95 million in guaranteed money.