Multiple reports on Monday morning confirmed that the Eagles had tendered contracts to their three exclusive rights free agents: linebacker Alex Singleton, wide receiver Greg Ward, and running back Boston Scott. Those three players can now only negotiate with the Eagles and will only become free agents if the Eagles release them. Mike Kaye of NJ.com confirmed the news on Twitter.
As for what an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA) actually is, here is a breakdown from Jason Fitzgerald over at OverTheCap.com:
“This is usually the tender that is most active in late February or early March. The ERFA tender applies to any player whose contract is expiring and he has no more than two accrued seasons in the NFL (an accrued season is a season with at least six games on the 90 man roster or one game this year if they were on the teams opening week roster). The tender carries no guarantees and is for the minimum salary that the CBA allows a player to play for. Because the salaries are so cheap, for most teams it makes no impact on a team’s salary cap position if they already had 51 players under contract. Basically this is no different than a futures deal impact.
The ERFA tender does block free agency so once a player is tendered there is really no reason for them not to sign the tender. In many cases players will sign a new contract rather than be tendered though too often those contracts contain splits and waivers which would not exist if tendered.”
What does this mean for 2021?
While the Eagles are retaining the rights to all three players, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything for 2021. Sure, all three are, to varying degrees, fan favorites. But the Eagles have an entirely new coaching staff, and nothing will be handed to these players. And while they have had their moments, none of these players has proven they deserve an unchallenged starting—or even roster—spot in 2021. Let’s take a quick look at each player and their potential role next season.
Alex Singleton
Of the players on this list, Alex Singleton is probably the most likely to 1. Remain on the roster and 2. Challenge for a starting spot. As of right now, he appears to be penciled in as the starting weakside linebacker. But while he was a good story in 2020, the Eagles are going to have an entirely new scheme, and new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is going to ask his linebackers to do different things. Does Singleton fit as an ideal linebacker in Gannon’s scheme? We don’t know.
NFL insider Adam Caplan had this to say on a recent episode of the Inside the Birds podcast:
“He is not definitely a starting player here, despite how well he played last season; it was a great story. You have a new coaching staff, you have a new D coordinator, you have a new linebackers coach. Nothing’s given to any of these players.”
Now, working in Singleton’s favor is that the Eagles have absolutely no depth at the linebacker position after essentially ignoring it for a few years now. And they have a very tricky salary cap situation, which means they aren’t going to be big spenders in free agency. Singleton will have competition in training camp, but he should have the inside track to earning a starting job.
Greg Ward
Greg Ward is another good story and has proven to be a very reliable slot wide receiver over the last two seasons. He is selfless and a tireless worker and may very well have some of the best hands on the team. Former Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant was an assistant coach with the Eagles last season, and he said Ward constantly stayed after practice to work on his technique.
But Ward is also pretty unexciting. He’s a great story and a good depth wide receiver, but he probably shouldn’t be a starting wide receiver for an NFL team right now. Maybe that changes and he continues to develop (he is still only 25 years old and has only been playing the position for two years), but the Eagles probably need an upgrade.
Unless he is traded, Ward is going to be with the Eagles in training camp. But this position is going to be a point of emphasis for the new coaching staff. Even after parting ways with DeSean Jackson and their eventual release of Alshon Jeffery, the Eagles still have Jalen Reagor, Travis Fulgham, John Hightower, Quez Watkins, Marquise Goodwin, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Deontay Burnett, and fellow former-quarterback Khalil Tate on the roster. And that’s before free agency and the NFL draft, where the Eagles are once again projected to spend an early-round pick on the position.
Could Ward be back with the Eagles in 2021? Sure, but he isn’t the lock that many Eagles fans think he is.
Boston Scott
Like both players above, Boston Scott has been a nice story for the Eagles. Over the last two seasons, he has served as a backup running back and even started six games due to injuries to Miles Sanders. In two seasons, Scott has rushed 141 times for 619 yards and six touchdowns while catching 49 of his 62 targets for 416 yards and another touchdown. He is quick but not necessarily fast, and he hasn’t been very productive in the return game. He is also 5’6″ tall and about 200 pounds, so he isn’t exactly a mauler.
There are rumblings that new Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni could want a bigger running back to complement Miles Sanders, and Scott doesn’t fit that mold. Scott will likely be back with the team, but he could see a reduced role in 2021 if the Eagles add another running back in free agency or the draft.
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Mike Maher is the editor and publisher of The Birds Blitz. Follow him on Twitter @mikeMaher and @TheBirdsBlitz and check out his archive for all of his latest stories about the Eagles and the NFL.
