16 Philadelphia Eagles players with the biggest cap numbers in 2017

The Philadelphia Eagles currently have the fourth fewest amount of cap room in the NFL, according to Over The Cap. This isn’t exactly news; it’s been known the Eagles are tight on cap space ever since handing out a lot of big contracts last offseason.

So where is all that money going, exactly? Here’s a look at the 16 Eagles players with the highest cap hits on the team.

1 - Lane Johnson - $9,843,750

2 - Alshon Jeffery - $9,500,000

3 - Fletcher Cox - $9,400,000

4 - Vinny Curry - $9,000,000

5 - Malcolm Jenkins - $7,500,000

6 - Brandon Graham - $7,500,000

7 - Brandon Brooks - $7,200,000

8 - Jason Peters - $6,916,666

9 - Mychal Kendricks - $6,600,000

10 - Jason Kelce - $6,200,000

11 - Carson Wentz - $6,062,804

12 - Ryan Mathews - $5,000,000

13 - Torrey Smith - $4,875,000

14 - Nigel Bradham - $4,750,000

15 - Darren Sproles - $4,000,000

15 - Brent Celek - $4,000,000

And now for some observations about this list.

• Lane Johnson has the highest cap number of any Eagles player. Johnson is arguably the team’s best offensive player, so this makes sense. We all saw how much Philadelphia succeeded with him in the lineup (5-1) compared to how they struggled without him (2-8) last season. Let’s hope Johnson can get avoid getting suspended for a third time which would mean a two-year absence.

• Jeffery is the only player in the top 11 who is set to be a free agent after this season. Ideally he’ll have a great season and the Eagles will sign him to a lucrative long-term deal. He just needs to avoid getting injured and/or suspended.

• Cox has the highest cap hit of any defensive player on the roster.

• It’s crazy that Curry ranks fourth on this list. The 29-year-old only played 42.6% of the snaps last season. He couldn’t get on the field over Connor Barwin, who graded out as PFF’s worst pass rusher in 2016. The Eagles can’t realistically cut or trade Curry until after this season. And even then it would be $5 million in cap savings compared to $6 million in dead money.

• Kendricks also ranks pretty high on this list after only playing 26.8% of the snaps in 2016. The Eagles can cut or trade Kendricks after this season to save $4.4 million compared to $3.2 million in dead money. Or the Eagles could trade Kendricks before this season to save $1.8 million compared to $4.8 in dead money.

• Curry and Kendricks combined count for nearly 10% of the Eagles’ cap space in 2017. Not exactly the most efficient use of resources.

• Graham deserves a raise.

• Peters would have ranked No. 1 on this list if not for the contract extension he received that lowered his cap hit this year.

• Mathews is on this list for now but he’ll likely be gone soon. The Eagles can save $4 million in cap space by cutting him when he’s healthy enough to pass a physical.

• Bradham is a free agent after this season.

• Sproles is expected to retire after this season. He turns 35 next June.

• This could very well be Celek’s last season with the team. The 32-year-old can be cut/traded for a savings of $4 million next year.

• I only included current Eagles players on this list. If I counted former Eagles players, Chase Daniel would be eighth. He carries a $7 million cap hit for Philadelphia despite playing backup to Drew Brees this season.

• Speaking of former Eagles quarterbacks, Sam Bradford would rank 13th on this list due to his $5.5 million in dead money.