The Philadelphia Eagles are making some changes to their secondary, starting with the release of safety Kevin Byard, which the team announced Friday.
Philadelphia traded fifth- and sixth-round picks, plus safety Terrell Edmunds, to the Tennessee Titans to acquire Byard midway through the 2023 season. He played 10 games for the Eagles, racking up 75 tackles, one interception, and three passes defended. The team's pass defense did not show all that much improvement over the latter half of the year, though, and Byard's inability to recapture the same coverage ability he showed during his Pro Bowl seasons was part of that.
He was set to count against Philadelphia's books for $14.4 million in 2024, according to Over the Cap, and by releasing him the Eagles reduce that charge to a mere $1.4 million, creating an additional $13 million in space. That should give them around $42 million of room under the cap to make roster moves this offseason.
The Eagles will surely undertake an effort to reshape the defensive backfield after it struggled so badly last season. Cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry are getting up there in age, and and after releasing Byard Philly will have only Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown under contract for next season at safety.
They drafted Brown and Kelee Ringo last year, and also signed Eli Ricks as an undrafted free agent, but none have yet looked like surefire starting-caliber players. General manager Howie Roseman has almost always prioritized the defensive front over the back end, but given how last year went, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Eagles pour more resources into shoring up the secondary this offseason.
