By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
The Eagles will be retaining yet another free agent from the 2018 roster.
The Eagles announced on Thursday afternoon during the Phillies Opening Day game that they had re-signed tight end Richard Rodgers to a two-year deal.
Roster Move: #Eagles have signed TE Richard Rodgers to a two-year contract.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/eaNdLLNLJ8
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 28, 2019
Rodgers will likely assume the third tight end position behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, though he may have some competition.
Rodgers’ return is a bit of a surprise in combination with the emergence of Josh Perkins who showed flashes when the receiving corps was injured and struggling early in 2018 before being placed on the injured reserve list.
Rodgers provides a veteran presence at the third-tight end position who is a very good blocker and special teams player. Both of those areas are areas where Ertz and Goedert have traditionally struggled a bit. His presence could very well help to round out Goedert’s game as he enters his second season.
As for the salary cap, the Eagles had $23 million in cap space prior to the signing, so the Eagles likely have $22 million leftover and around $15.5 million available for use in free agency after the space needed to sign draft picks.
For those interested in the compensatory pick game, the return of Rodgers takes another potential opportunity to get a pick off the board. Here is where the team stands now:
2019 Eagles Compensatory Pick Chart
| QB Nick Foles | Jacksonville Jaguars | $22,000,000 | 3 | ||||
| WR Golden Tate | New York Giants | $9,350,000 | 4 | ||||
| G/C Stefen Wisniewski | Unsigned | – | – | ||||
| RB Jay Ajayi | Unsigned | – | – | ||||
| WR Mike Wallace | Unsigned | – | – | ||||
| DT Tim Jernigan | Unsigned | – | – | ||||
| G Chance Warmack | Unsigned | – | – | ||||
The Eagles lost a fourth-round pick for signing Andrew Sendejo, so they will need at least one of their remaining free agents to sign a qualifying deal with another team to get that pick back. In order to earn the maximum of four picks, the team will need two of their free agents to sign qualifying deals elsewhere as well as another to sign for any other natural free agents the team may choose to sign.
