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Veteran safety/special teams captain Chris Maragos and the Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to a reworked contract, according to a report from NFL insider Field Yates. The details:
Source: the Eagles and DB/core special teamer Chris Maragos have agreed to a reworked deal, eliminating the 2019 season of his contract. Maragos, currently on PUP, is now set to make up to $1.75M in 2018 and be a free agent in March.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 28, 2018
Maragos was previously set to carry a $2.25 million cap hit in 2019. Now that final season of his original three-year, $6 million deal has been lopped off. Maragos will become a free agent after the 2018 season.
Essentially, the Eagles’ ensured Maragos’ roster spot this year in exchange for taking away his security for next year. Put another way:
LOL @ Maragos "restructure"
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) August 28, 2018
We won't cut you this year if you let us cut you next year
The 31-year-old Maragos is coming off a knee injury that caused him to go on injured reserve in mid-October last year. He’s currently on the active/Physically Unable to Perform list and very well remain there heading into the season, which means he could miss a minimum of six weeks.
The Eagles have three safeties who are locks to make the roster this season: Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, and Corey Graham. Jenkins and McLeod are the starters while Graham is a key reserve/role player. Tre Sullivan could very well be kept as a fourth safety but he’s not necessarily a lock right now.
It’s never ideal when Maragos has to see actual defensive snaps but he gives the Eagles an option there in a pinch. He also serves an important role as one of the team’s best special teams players (hence his captain status) when healthy.
It remains to be seen if/when Maragos will return in what could likely be his final year with Philadelphia.