The only thing harder than making it to the Super Bowl is making it back to the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles could figure this out the hard way. After riding their incredible depth to a 14-3 record and an NFC championship, the Eagles are at risk of losing defensive stalwarts like interior defensive lineman Javon Hargrave and safety CJ Gardner-Johnson in free agency.

“Hargrave is gonna get $20 million a year,” ESPN's Adam Schefter speculated on Philadelphia sports-talk radio station 97.5 The Fanatic, “I don't think [the Eagles] will be able to afford to re-sign him.”

Similarly, Schefter predicted that Gardner-Johnson will command somewhere around “$13 million” which would also push him out of the Eagles' price range. To wit, Gardner-Johnson tweeted a cryptic video that could be parsed as a farewell message to Philadelphia, indicating that he doesn't expect to return.

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Last season, the Eagles were able to assemble a loaded defense thanks to a combination of shrewd scouting and the trickle-down benefits of Jalen Hurts' rookie contract. But with Hurts entering the last year of his four-year, $6.2 million contract, the Eagles must now clear enough cap space to give him the massive extension that he deserves, even if it means sacrificing other important pieces.

As such, the Eagles are suffering from their own success. The problem with having so many good players is that it becomes financially impossible to retain all of those good players. Beyond Javon Hargrave and CJ Gardner-Johnson, other Eagles mainstays like Jason Kelce, James Bradberry, Isaac Seumalo, Miles Sanders, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, TJ Edwards, Marcus Epps, Boston Scott, and Kyzir White are all free agents this year. The looming Hurts extension may mean that the 2023 season is the Eagles' best (and maybe last) chance to build a deep and talented enough roster to win a Super Bowl, but they'll have to make some very tough decisions to do so.