Devil’s Advocate: Four Reasons Philadelphia Eagles benefited from LeSean McCoy Trade

Dec 14, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (25) rushes past Dallas Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence (90) during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. The Cowboys defeated the Eagles 38-27. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

1. Cap Space

The Eagles have been incredibly cap-conscious so far this offseason, because the McCoy trade was preceded by two big cap casualties on the defensive side of the ball in outside linebacker Trent Cole and cornerback Cary Williams. Neither move was surprising, but both moves alone cleared up nearly $15 million in cap space, which could be Jeremy Maclin and Byron Maxwell (presumably the Eagles top free agent target with Bradley Fletcher and Williams- mercifully- gone).

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Trading McCoy for Alonso clears out even more cap for the Eagles, since McCoy is the second highest-paid running back in the NFL (behind only Adrian Peterson, who will have to re-work his deal anyway). McCoy will make $9.75 million, $6.9 million, and $7.6 million over the next three seasons, and CBS Sports’s Jason La Canfora reports that Shady and renowned agent Drew Rosenhaus will “make noise” about trying to snag an extension.

That won’t happen, but it underscores the way cap dynamics played into this trade. While McCoy will set his team back about $8 million per season, Alonso will only cost the Ducks (er, wrong bird, sorry) $745,946 and $941,418 over the next two seasons.

When comparing these two contracts, it’s crazy how much money the Eagles saved on this deal, and it’s money that they can use to sign top free agents like Brian Orakpo, Maxwell, or another cornerback or defensive player of their liking. Heck, elite safety Devin McCourty is definitely in the cards now, and the Eagles can stock up on major talent in a robust free agent market thanks to all this extra space.

This Alonso acquisition could also clear out some more cap for the Eagles, since they could release DeMeco Ryans, who is in the final year of his deal and will count $6.9 million against the cap. It’s possible the Eagles could lower his cap hit by giving him an extension, but that might not be in the cards now that Alonso is clearly locked in as Mychal Kendricks’s new ILB partner.

Next: Alonso is pretty darn good