According to a Tuesday morning report from Dave Zangaro at NBC Sports Philadelphia, the Eagles' 2026 class of undrafted free agents came with a combined $775,000 in guaranteed money, the lowest figure Philadelphia has spent on a UDFA class since 2021.
That's not a coincidence. It's a signal about where the back end of this roster is.
The Eight UDFAs and What They Got
Per NBC's reporting, the Eagles signed eight undrafted players this spring:
- Kapena Gushiken (DB, Ole Miss), $272,500 guarantee, $25,000 signing bonus
- Joshua Weru (DE, Arizona State), $272,500 guarantee, $25,000 signing bonus
- Tucker Large (DB, Washington State), $80,000 guarantee, $0 signing bonus
- Dae'Quan Wright (TE, Ole Miss), $50,000 guarantee, $25,000 signing bonus
- Maximus Pulley (DB, Wofford), $50,000 guarantee, $25,000 signing bonus
- Jaeden Roberts (OG, Alabama), $20,000 guarantee, $20,000 signing bonus
- Rocco Underwood (LS, Florida), $20,000 guarantee, $20,000 signing bonus
- Deontae Lawson (LB, Alabama), $10,000 guarantee, $10,000 signing bonus
Each contract follows the standard three-year UDFA structure: $885,000 base in 2026, $1.05 million in 2027, $1.165 million in 2028.
The Two Real Bets
The guaranteed-money column tells you everything about how the Eagles see this class. Six of the eight UDFAs got $80,000 or less in total guarantees, essentially camp invitations. Two players got real money: Kapena Gushiken and Joshua Weru, tied at $272,500 with $25,000 signing bonuses.
Gushiken joins a defensive backfield that has Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean locked in as starters, plus Riq Woolen, Kelee Ringo, and Jonathan Jones competing for outside corner depth (a battle we wrote about earlier this week). The DB room is the most crowded position group on the roster, and the Eagles still felt strongly enough about Gushiken to give him meaningful guarantees over a higher-profile signing.
Weru is the one to watch most. The Eagles' edge rusher rotation behind Jonathan Greenard is a Year-2 first-round project (Nolan Smith Jr.), a veteran trade addition (Arnold Ebiketie), a Bucs reclamation (Joe Tryon-Shoyinka), and a soon-to-be 38-year-old (Brandon Graham, contract pending). An undrafted edge with a real guarantee has a path to snaps if the rotation doesn't hold up.
Why So Little?
Three things explain the lowest UDFA spend since 2021.
First: the roster is loaded. The Eagles drafted eight players in April, including a first-round wideout (Makai Lemon), a second-round tight end (Eli Stowers), and a first-round linebacker (Jihaad Campbell, from the 2025 draft now entering Year 2). The 53-man math is tight before UDFAs even sign.
Second: top-of-market UDFA bidding wars cost real money. Coveted undrafted prospects can command $200K to $400K+ in guarantees. The Eagles chose not to chase that tier, they made two reasonable bets at $272,500 each instead of one splashy $400K+ signing.
Third: this is Howie Roseman's pattern. Roseman has shifted his UDFA philosophy over the years. When the roster is thin, the Eagles spend big to lock down depth lottery tickets. When the roster is championship-ready, they save their cap room and let the practice-squad system do the developmental work.
$775K in 2026 says Howie believes the roster is championship-ready.
The Bottom Line
Most of these eight UDFAs will not make the 53. That's the reality of every UDFA class. The two who got real guarantees, Gushiken and Weru, are the ones with a realistic path to the active roster, and Weru is the one with the clearest schematic opening.
The bigger story isn't the names. It's what the spend itself reveals: the Eagles' front office, after a Super Bowl LIX win and a 2025 season that ended sooner than they wanted, are betting on the players already in the building rather than spending on long-shot reinforcements.
