Andrew Sendejo or LJ Fort? the Eagles Have a Decision to Make to Not Lose a Compensatory Pick
The Eagles have had a very impressive offseason, making a number of key additions while losing just a few notable free agents. Normally, that is a good formula for success, but not in terms of obtaining as many compensatory picks as possible.
Due to that, the Eagles may have to move on from one of their signees in order to retain one of their compensatory picks. This offseason, the Eagles have added the following players via trade or free agency:
Malik Jackson (free agency), DeSean Jackson (trade), LJ Fort (free agency), Andrew Sendejo (free agency), Vinny Curry (free agency), Jordan Howard (trade), Hassan Ridgeway (trade), Zach Brown (free agency), Godwin Igwebuike (waivers), Blake Countess (waivers), and Cody Kessler (free agency).
Meanwhile, the Eagles lost the following notable players this offseason:
Jordan Hicks (free agency), Jordan Matthews (free agency), Golden Tate (free agency), Nick Foles (free agency), and Michael Bennett (trade).
Since Bennett was traded, he won’t factor into the compensatory picks talk. Meanwhile, Foles is expected to warrant a third-round compensatory pick, Hicks and Tate should both bring in a fourth-round compensatory pick, and Matthews’ departure will likely reward the Eagles with a seventh-round compensatory pick.
However, a couple of moves the Eagles made could get in the way of them receiving more than half of those potential compensatory picks. Players such as Jackson, Curry, Brown and Kessler won’t affect the compensatory pick formula because they were cut. However, Sendejo and Fort will factor into the compensatory formula, which would then cancel out the picks rewarded for the loss of Hicks and Matthews.
In total, Sendejo and Fort staying on the roster would mean the Eagles would only receive a third and fourth-round pick, instead of the original four compensatory picks they could get.
Considering the Eagles, who are one of the most compensatory pick-hungry teams in the NFL, Fort or Sendejo could get cut to ensure the team is rewarded with the second fourth-round pick. Here are some thoughts on whether they should move on from either player if they decide to do so:
The Case For Andrew Sendejo
Sendejo is most recognized by Eagles fans after he got trucked by LeGarrette Blount in the 2018 NFC Championship game, but he is certainly a capable safety.
Over the 2016 and 2017 season, Sendejo averaged 74.5 tackles/season, and also intercepted two passes in each season. However, in 2018, Sendejo had a far less impactful season, totaling just 27 tackles and zero interceptions, playing in just five games before suffering a season-ending groin injury.
In terms of whether Sendejo should stay on the Eagles roster, there are two key things to consider.
The first is the safety situation for the Eagles going into 2019. The Eagles still have their ironman in Malcolm Jenkins, and will have Rodney McLeod back after he suffered a torn ACL and MCL last season. Behind those two, it’s just Sendejo, Countess, who was cut by the Eagles in 2016 and the Rams a few weeks back, and Tre Sullivan, who hasn’t seen significant playing time yet in his career.
It is well known now how important the third safety position is for the Eagles, and having a player of Sendejo’s caliber is a nice luxury to have in that slot. Sendejo is quite the upgrade from Corey Graham, who was the third safety for the Eagles last season (and was bad doing so), but so is Countess. If the Eagles feel they can roll with Countess and Sullivan as the backups instead of Sendejo and Countess without much of a drop-off, there is certainly incentive to move on from Sendejo.
The second aspect of this is if Sendejo, who is turning 32 next season, is really worth losing a fourth-round pick over. A guy who suffered a season-ending injury so early on in last years season isn’t exactly the most reliable depth piece. To Sendejo’s defense, though, he hasn’t necessarily been injury prone over the course of his career. Sendejo also only has $500,000 in dead cap for 2019, which would be easy for the team to move on from in terms of a financial standpoint.
All in all, Sendejo could definitely be of use for the Eagles in 2019, but there is a legitimate argument to be made to cut him in order to retain the fourth-round compensatory pick.
The Case For LJ Fort
It was thought that Fort could be competing for a starting linebacker position with the Eagles, but that was until they signed Zach Brown. Instead, Fort will be competing alongside Paul Worrilow, who missed all of 2018 after tearing his ACL, and TJ Edwards, who was recently signed as an undrafted free agent, for the backup middle linebacker role.
Fort’s pro career got off to a slow start after entering the league in 2012, totaling just 35 tackles through 2017, but he had a bit of a breakout in 2018. Fort played in 15 games for the Steelers, while starting two, totaling a career-high 48 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 3 QB hits, 1.0 sacks and a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown.
Fort proved in 2018 that he could be a serviceable backup and he certainly could beat out Worrilow and Edwards to back up Brown. Similar to Sendejo, though, there are two factors that need to be taken into consideration with Fort.
First, while being a serviceable backup isn’t a bad thing, it doesn’t exactly warrant losing a fourth-round pick for, especially considering how little the Eagles value the linebacker position. The Eagles frequently use two linebacker sets as it is, which means a trio of Nigel Bradham, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Nate Gerry and Brown is already deep as it is. Along with that, Malcolm Jenkins played 40% of his defensive snaps at linebacker in 2018, which adds another body to the mix. Fort is a talented player, but there isn’t as much of a need at the position anymore.
However, Fort’s contract will create a bit of a roadblock in terms of cutting him. Fort has a dead cap of $1.9 million in 2019, which is a fairly steep number for the Eagles to have to eat. Teams have been forced to eat far larger amounts of money, but it is never ideal.
It’s worth noting that the Eagles signed and later cut LB Corey Nelson after he didn’t pan out during training camp, though the Eagles had to eat just $600,000 in that situation. Fort, similarly to Sendejo, certainly wouldn’t warrant a fourth-round pick as well.
The Verdict
There are pros and cons to keeping or cutting Sendejo and Fort. Sendejo is 32 years old and coming off of a season-ending injury, but the third safety role is an important one for the Eagles. Meanwhile, Fort isn’t exactly a player of need for the Eagles, but his $1.9 million in dead cap is an issue.
However, the goal for the Eagles is clear in 2019: get back to and hopefully win the Super Bowl. It’s most important to have capable players at positions of need, so the Eagles should keep Sendejo and cut Fort.
Worrilow and Edwards should be more than able to fill the backup role in place for Fort, which allows the Eagles to keep an experiences safety, while still being able to retain the fourth-round compensatory pick.
As said before, eating $1.9 million isn’t ideal, but the Eagles have more than $20 million in cap space to work with, so Fort’s dead cap would ultimately be a minuscule amount lost in the grand scheme of things.
There is always the possibility that Sendejo and Fort both get cut, but that option seems far less likely considering it would only be preserving a seventh-round pick.
The Eagles also don’t have to make this decision too, considering both players are eligible to play a maximum of nine games in 2019 before affecting the compensatory pick formula, but it is still something to keep an eye out for with team workouts underway.
Photos: Phillip G. Pavely/USA Today Sports, Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports
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