While you might wouldn’t want to count the Dallas Cowboys out of the pictures just yet, it seems they won’t be the team signing Nolan Carroll this offseason. Who will? It’s either going to be back for the Philadelphia Eagles or a return to the Miami Dolphins.
The 29-year old cornerback isn’t picking up too much interest this offseason. He visited with the Cowboys but didn’t get a deal done, and while that might not mean anything, earlier signs showed Dallas as his number one option. Now, Carroll, who made $2.9 million last season in Philadelphia and $5.25 million overall after switching from the Dolphins to the Eagles in 2014, is looking for someone to give him probably a slight raise while also more than one season and hopefully some guaranteed money.
Both the Dolphins and the Eagles have been active in this free agency window so far, but both have the space to include Carroll in their intentions. The Dolphins have over $18 million to spend and the Eagles are just under $17 million of cap space, making a lot of moves to erase the “legacy” of Chip Kelly and his 2015 additions. Carroll is part of the Kelly legacy in a way, but he wasn’t one of his executive decisions, so he isn’t blacklisted by the Eagles.
Carroll, who has been in the NFL since 2010, played his college football for Maryland, going in the fifth round as he was picked by the Dolphins. In four seasons in Miami he played 58 times (Starting 26) and came up with 7 interceptions. He has 27 games for the Eagles in two years, including starting 11 games last season. Of his two interceptions in 2015, one was returned for a touchdown, the first of his career. He also had 14 passes defended in his two seasons with the Eagles, a tenure that might be continuing with a small free agency break.