St. Louis Rams v Philadelphia Eagles

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 5: Defensive end Cedric Thornton #72 of the Philadelphia Eagles recovers a fumble and scores a touchdown in the third quarter against the St. Louis Rams on October 5, 2014 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Evan Habeeb/Getty Images)

(Evan Habeeb)

The Eagles are making sure it won't be easy for restricted free agent Cedric Thornton to fly the coop.

According to ESPN's Field Yates, the team has played a mid-level tender on the defensive end. That means if Thornton agrees to a contract with a new team, and the Eagles decide not to match it, his team new would owe the Eagles a second-round pick.

Although it is possible a team is willing to part with a second-round pick for Thornton, it isn't very likely.

Thornton finished last season with just 51 tackles and one sack, but is regarded as one of the better players on the defensive line by Eagles' coaches.

Teams can begin contacting free agents today, but are not able to officially reach a contract agreement until 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Eliot Shorr-Parks may be reached at eshorrpa@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotShorrParks. Find NJ.com Sports on Facebook.