Allen Barbre might not be a lock to return next year

Jimmy Kempski of The Philly Voice hopped on the latest edition of BGN Radio (the best podcast out there!) to discuss his report from earlier this week about the Eagles being interested in moving on from Jason Kelce this offseason.

“From what I heard, they’re leaning towards letting [Kelce] go,” Kempski said on BGNR, “one way or the other, whether they’re able to get anything for him, or whether they have to outright release him. I don’t know if they can get anything for him or not. He’s the tenth-highest-paid center in the NFL, and certainly hasn’t played like that over the last two years.”

And then, a little later on in the same segment, Kempski offered this:

“I would lean heavily towards him not being on the roster in 2017.”

Oh, okay.

This essentially hammers home what Kempski had reported on Tuesday. The Eagles are feeling inclined to move on from their center of the past half-decade. His production has dropped off in the past couple of seasons, he turns 30 years old in 10 months, and the franchise has a young player in place who they think is the future of the position.

If the team releases Kelce outright, they save $3.8 million against the cap next year, according to Spotrac. If they can trade his entire contract, they would save $6.2 million next year. Obviously, either situation is ideal.

After discussing Kelce’s situation, Kempski and BGRN host (and man of our dreams) John Barchard talked about Stefen Wisniewski’s future with the team, which Barchard assumed was a no-brainer. He’s gone, right?

Not necessarily, Kempski said.

“I’ve heard that Allen Barbre isn’t safe, either,” Kempski said. “If they get rid of both Kelce and Barbre, there’s a chance they might need a guy like Wisniewski to fill in.”

Well, that’s news. There had been no prior reports of the team’s interest in moving on from Barbre, 32, who is signed through 2017. He played well enough this season, and was expected to be retained for another year while the Eagles continued to plot their offensive line of the future. Releasing Barbre would save $1.8 million against the cap next season, according to Spotrac.

Now, Kempski did follow that up by saying he still expects Wisniewski not to return to the team next season.

“I still believe he’s likely going to walk,” Kempski said. “But I would say if they let go of Kelce and they let go of Allen Barbre, certainly his chances of sticking with the team would raise to some degree. I don’t know what degree that would be. I would still lean towards his not being with the team, but his chances of being with the team are a little bit higher now, based on the info I received, than they were like a week ago.”

It seems like Kempski has his pulse on the team’s offensive line situation right now, which, when you’re dealing with the men protecting your franchise quarterback, is significant. He’s the man to follow. We’ll keep you updated as more news trickles in during the coming days and weeks.