March 16, 2020
According to a source, the Philadelphia Eagles do not intend on tendering running back Corey Clement as a restricted free agent. He will now be free to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
Clement was a Super Bowl hero whose last two seasons have been derailed by injuries.
• In 2018, Clement went on IR after Week 14 with a knee injury. He played in 11 games, rushing 68 times for 259 yards (3.8 YPC), and 2 TDs. He also chipped in 22 catches for 192 yards (8.7 YPC).
• In 2019, Clement initially injured his shoulder on a kick return against the Atlanta Falcons Week 2. He also fumbled on the play. Clement then missed the Eagles' game against Detroit the following week, but returned to action Week 4 against the Packers. In Week 5, he had his second fumble of the season, when he tried to field a ball on a punt that he thought touched a teammate. He did not have any touches in the regular offense. The Eagles determined that his shoulder was not healing, so the two sides came to the decision to shut him down for the season.
Players with only three accrued seasons in the NFL whose contracts have expired are restricted free agents. The Eagles had four choices of what they could do with Clement.
They could tender him at (1) the first-round level, (2) the second-round level, (3) the level of his original draft position (or low tender), or (4) they could just let him go.
Once tendered, if another team were to sign Clement to an offer sheet, the Eagles would have a chance to match that offer, or allow him to sign with the other team, gaining a draft pick in the corresponding round with which they tendered him. The higher the draft round the Eagles tender him at, the higher the cost his 2020 contract would have been if he didn't get any offers elsewhere.
Had the Eagles tendered Clement at the "original (low) round" level, he would have counted on the 2020 salary cap at $2,132,000. Because he entered the league as an undrafted free agent, the Eagles would not have received a draft pick in return for losing him. Instead, they would have only had the right to match any offers he received from another team.
With Darren Sproles retiring and Jordan Howard also scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, the remaining running backs on the Eagles' roster are Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, and Elijah Holyfield.
The Eagles could still look to bring Clement back, but if they did it would obviously at a lower price tag.
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