Source: Eagles agree to terms with RB AJ Dillon as Kenneth Gainwell departs

PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles opened the new league year by retooling their running back room.

After Kenneth Gainwell agreed to terms with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the league year turned over Wednesday afternoon, the Eagles agreed to terms with former Green Bay Packers running back AJ Dillon, according to a league source.

Dillon, a second-round pick in 2020, spent last season sidelined with a neck injury but figures to provide the Eagles a physical presence behind Saquon Barkley capable of handling short-yardage situations in particular. In his first four seasons, he gained 2,428 yards on 597 carries.

The move came shortly Gainwell joined former Eagles cornerback Darius Slay as members of last season’s Super Bowl team to reach agreements with the Steelers. According to a league source, Slay will sign a one-year deal with the Steelers after getting released Wednesday by the Eagles.

Gainwell, who will reportedly also sign a one-year deal with Pittsburgh, spent last season as the primary backup behind Barkley, compiling 290 rushing yards on 75 carries to go along with 16 catches for 116 yards. A fifth-round pick out of Memphis in 2021, the 25-year-old had 280 carries and 12 total touchdowns in four years with the Eagles spent entirely as a change-of-pace back. Along with Dillon, the team will likely turn to Will Shipley, a fourth-round pick in last year’s draft, to fill Gainwell’s role next season. The former Clemson standout had 30 carries for 82 yards as a rookie, and also reeled off a 57-yard run in the fourth quarter of the team’s conference championship win over the Washington Commanders.

The Eagles, who lost Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Isaiah Rodgers and Oren Burks to free agency earlier this week, enter the new league year with roughly $24 million in effective salary cap space according to the online database Over the Cap. This number accounts for the future cost of rookie contracts in next month’s NFL draft and the minimum amount needed to fill out a roster. The team’s effective salary cap, which accounts for unused cap space from the previous year and incentives paid out to players from last season as well, is $293 million.

The Eagles will clear more space later this summer, with both Slay and veteran cornerback James Bradberry’s releases designated as post June-1 moves that will clear roughly $4.3 million and $2.1 million in cap space, respectively. The cuts will lower the Eagles’ cash spending for next season even more.

While the Eagles are operating on a tight budget because of market-setting contracts to several players like Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown and Landon Dickerson, they will benefit greatly from the cap going up a significant amount across the NFL. The league announced last month the cap would jump $23.8 million, sitting at $279 million before adjustments for each team. For organizations like the Eagles that often backload expensive contracts with the hope that the cap rises enough to make those figures more palatable down the road, such a spike provides even more short- and long-term flexibility.

The upshot of the rising cap is the market for certain positions spiking, though. There has been an added premium both on edge rushers and defensive tackles so far this offseason, which will be of interest to the Eagles with Jalen Carter and Nolan Smitbh both becoming eligible for contract extensions next offseason.

It’s also worth keeping an eye on the quarterback market over the next few years. Hurts’ five-year, $51 million annual salary broke the league’s record back in 2022, but now ranks 10th in the league as quarterback prices continue to skyrocket, with the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen signing a six-year, $330 million deal earlier this week. Perhaps it will take a couple of years to materialize, but the Eagles will need to account for the potential for Hurts to command even more on an upcoming extension when navigating the cap the next few offseasons.

VanSumeren re-signed, Covey enters unrestricted free agency

The Eagles agreed to re-sign fullback/linebacker Ben VanSumeren to a one-year deal on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old earned a part-time role as a fullback in the Eagles offense last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury that required surgery during a practice in late November. Tellingly, the team listed him as fullback when announcing the contract news and changed his position on the official team website as well.

An undrafted free agent out of Michigan State, VanSumeren has been around the NovaCare Complex rehabbing and figures to offer plenty of utility on special teams ace and as a fullback once again next season. He played in 11 games last season before suffering the injury, logging 22 offensive snaps while also playing 75% of the team’s special teams snaps.

The Eagles also elected not to extend a tender offer to wide receiver and return specialist Britain Covey before the start of the new league year. Considering the minimum tender offer would have been $3.2 million, the decision to let Covey enter unrestricted free agency isn’t all that surprising and still leaves open the possibility the former Utah standout could eventually re-sign with the team at a lower number.

Covey played just five games last season, missing time at first with a shoulder injury and later with a neck injury that landed him on injured reserve. The year before, Covey led the league in total punt return yards and finished third among qualifying returners in yards per punt return. He also saw a slightly expanded role as a slot receiver last season, playing a career-high 14% of the team’s offensive snaps and finishing the year with seven catches for 34 yards.

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— Jeff McLane contributed reporting