3 Eagles cut candidates entering 2026 offseason

The The Philadelphia Eagles have some choices before the start of the 2026 NFL calendar year.

They lost some coaches, they have players who can either demand a trade or decide to retireand they have over a dozen players who could hit the market in free agency if Howie Roseman doesn’t sign them first.

Still, while there are plenty of moves the Eagles will make in the next few months before the NFL Draft opens across the state in Pittsburgh, there are several players on the roster now who may not be around when the regular season opens this fall.

Could the Eagles move on from longtime fan favorite turned nemesis to the City of Brotherly Love? Or let the player go on a contract far richer than their contributions warrant? Needless to say, the offseason could bring a lot of changes to South Philly before the snow melts at the NovaCare Center.

Michael Carter II

If there’s one member of the Eagles’ roster who won’t be returning to the team in 2026 under his current contract, it’s Michael Carter II.

Plucked from the New York Jets before the 2025 trade deadline, Carter II agreed to waive a $5 million injury guarantee to join the Birds and is now just $1.384 million in guaranteed money on the books versus $10.12 million, according to Over The Cap.

While $10 million isn’t an unreasonable figure for a top cornerback, which Carter II was when he signed with the Jets, he only played 106 defensive snaps in eight games for the “eagles” last season, which does not really represent such a big financial obligation.

Carter II, who is coming off a down season with a heavy injury history, is unlikely to return in high demand on the open market. He could interest his former coach, Robert Saleh, with the Tennessee Titans, of course, but if he decides Philadelphia is where he wants to be, the two sides could eventually agree to a modified deal that keeps him as a hybrid linebacker/safety option, even if any continuity on his current contract is incredibly difficult to envision.

Jake Elliott

If Carter II is the player fans should least expect to see him return to his current contract, Jake Elliott is the one they might least like to see after some serious struggles last fall.

One of the longest-tenured players on the Eagles’ roster, having originally joined the team in 2017 after being waived by the Cincinnati Bengals as a rookie, Elliott has had incredible success for Philadelphia over the years, from Super Bowl PATs to game-winners like his New York signee, 63. In 2025, however, things have gone up for Elliott more than in any of his pro seasons before, to the point in which Nick Sirianni abandoned the shooting game in multiple contests, and fans openly clamored for a midseason shooting contest to save the season.

Unfortunately, the season couldn’t be saved, as the Eagles fell short in the Wild Card round to the San Francisco 49ers without much thanks to Elliott, but when the summer opens and players report, the expectation is that more than just the Memphis product will be in town to see who will lead Michael Clay’s unit in 2026.

Carrying the 15th-highest cap hit of any player on the roster at $5.521 million, Elliott won’t be the easiest player to get rid of if the Eagles want to, as he still has $13 million in guaranteed money left on his contract, according to Over The Cap. Still, even if the Eagles have to eat some dead money, they can’t afford to risk losses due to some missed field goals, so Elliott could be gone if a true challenger emerges.

Sydney Brown

And last but not least, if the Eagles are looking to move on from a player simply because they haven’t lived up to expectations, Sidney Brown could be on that list.

Originally drafted on day two to be a do-it-all deep safety who could cover sideline to sideline and deliver a shot to the box, Brown became notorious for hurting his teammates as often as he picked off pucks, leaving Andrew Mukuba on IR until today as he recovers from a broken ankle.

On special teams, Brown has the athletic profile to form an elite scoring tandem with Kelee Ringo, but even there, he’s developed a reputation for drawing unnecessary penalties when the Eagles can least afford them.

With one year left on his rookie deal, the Eagles have no real incentive to release Brown if they don’t want to. Roseman can keep him as a special teamer capable of leading Michael Clay’s unit at times if he so chooses, but if the Eagles are wise, they’ll add enough talent to the secondary that Brown simply isn’t needed anymore, allowing a draftee, Udfa, or even a young veteran on multiple defensive ends to hold the spot instead of investing more time on another player who could better serve the system.