With free agency rapidly approaching, the Philadelphia Eagles are running out of time to make decisions on their cut candidates.
According to FOX Sports’ Greg Auman, the Eagles’ top cut candidate is cornerback Michael Carter, who was acquired via trade with the New York Jets before the deadline last season.
Auman believes it doesn’t make sense for the Eagles to hold on to Carter, and we would agree with that sentiment.
“Carter, 26, was acquired by the Eagles from the Jets in a pick swap during last season, but he had only 10 tackles in eight games, largely there as injury insurance. He’s due to make $10 million, so there’s no sense in keeping him unless they see him in a much larger role in 2026,” Auman explained. “He won’t draw nearly that as a free agent, but you could see him land with Robert Saleh and the Titans, who have ample cap space to upgrade their secondary.”
Carter was once considered one of the better slot cornerbacks in the NFL, which landed him a three-year, $30 million deal from the New York Jets.
But the Eagles don’t have a need for a slot cornerback with Cooper DeJean locking down that job, and Carter is simply too expensive to keep around as depth, so we would expect Philly to cut ties with the veteran.
If so, the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers are two teams that are likely to have interest in Carter.
The Cowboys never replaced Jourdan Lewis after he departed for the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency, and owner Jerry Jones has expressed regret in not bringing Lewis back. Nothing has changed in Dallas and a need at slot cornerback remains.
The Steelers deployed Jalen Ramsey in the slot to start 2025, but he was moved to safety because of injuries at the position. Ramsey wasn’t very good there, anyway, and neither were the guys who replaced him.
If both teams compete for Carter, the edge goes to Pittsburgh given their superior cap space situation. The Steelers have $44.9 million before any cuts, while the Cowboys are currently over the cap by a whopping $24.5 million.
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