Jordan Davis contract projection: Eagles DT could cash in despite inconsistency

Howie Roseman has been meticulously crafting the Philadelphia Eagles roster for 2025 and beyond, with an eye on competing for multiple Super Bowls in the coming years. There have been a number of high-profile extensions and additions this offseason, and things aren’t likely to slow down anytime soon.

Roseman’s success as a cap manager goes hand-in-hand with his success in the NFL Draft, and that means a number of promising young players will soon come up for contract extensions. Perhaps the most difficult decision among them could involve 2022 13th overall pick Jordan Davis, who has been an inconsistent but supremely talented defensive lineman through the first three years of his career.

Davis played a rotational role in his rookie season as an impactful run-stuffer, but wound up missing four games and ultimately fell short of expectations. 2023 was much better, as Davis was an above-average run defender and pass rusher while playing 45% of the total snaps in a deep Eagles rotation and starting all 17 games. 2024 seemed to be a step back, as Davis played just 37% of the snaps and regressed significantly as a pass rusher and was merely average as a run defender.

The Eagles will need to make a decision on whether or not to pick up the fifth-year option for Jordan Davis over the coming months. That option is expected to cost approximately $12.9 million, per Over The Cap. Given the inconsistency in Davis’ career so far, that might be the most prudent course of action for the Eagles. Philadelphia could keep Davis under contract for an additional year at a fairly high rate, but without the risk of a long-term commitment. It also doesn’t preclude the team from extending Davis during the next 12 months.

Whether the team decides to pick up the option or not, an extension will certainly be on the table in the near future. For the purposes of this projection, let’s assume Davis returns to roughly his 2023 form this season: a very good run defender with some pass rush juice who still has plenty of room for growth in his game.

What would a contract extension for Jordan Davis look like?
Unlike the Jalen Carter contract we took a look at earlier, Jordan Davis is likely to be looking for something more in the mid-range of interior defensive line contracts. It’s important to remember that good nose tackles (and run defenders in general) don’t always deliver big numbers on the stat sheet, but can be critical for creating opportunities for the rest of the defense. Davis looks like one of those types at this stage of his career.

Given his incredible tools and talent along with his age – Davis will be 26 heading into the 2026 season – it’s likely that the NFL will be willing to pay more than Davis’ production would otherwise indicate. A great example of this would be Javon Kinlaw, the 14th overall pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 2020 NFL Draft who came on strong in the final year of his rookie deal but had to settle for a one-year “prove-it” deal with the New York Jets last season. Kinlaw followed that up with a career year in New York and then cashed in with a massive three-year, $45M deal with the Washington Commanders in free agency this offseason.

Using that contract as a starting point, here’s my projection for a potential Jordan Davis extension:

Jordan Davis projected extension: 3 years, $51 million ($17 million average), $33 million guaranteed, $15 million signing bonus

This extension would slot Jordan Davis just ahead of Javon Kinlaw ($15 million APY), Tershawn Wharton ($15.01 million), and Zach Allen ($15.25 million) and tied with Jonathan Allen and Ed Oliver ($17 million). That would make Davis tied for 17th in APY among interior defensive linemen. His $33M guaranteed would put him ahead of Oliver and Allen, however.

This three-year extension would keep Davis under contract through the 2028 season. Given the way that Howie Roseman likes to structure contracts, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the signing bonus go up or down depending on how much option bonus is utilized. Like most of Roseman’s contracts, I’d expect to see the deal heavily backloaded to give the team cap flexibility in the short-term.

Personally, I think this is a pretty rich contract for Davis given what we’ve seen so far. In this projection, he has another good season (similar to 2023) under his belt. That does give you some confidence that he is at least a very good rotational piece who is still quite young and, obviously, has sky-high potential due to his rare size and length. But if that does happen, this is probably the going rate to retain Davis. He’s a high-profile player thanks to his draft status and the aforementioned traits, and he’s playing on an elite defense. If the Eagles aren’t willing to go this high, someone else is likely to swing big for Davis.

What are your thoughts on this potential extension for Jordan Davis? Do you think it would be worth it to extend Davis at this price given his potential, or would you rather see him stick around in 2026 on the fifth-year option?