Tuesday Night FA Update

Posted: March 14th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 42 Comments »

Interesting day around the league.    

Let’s start with the Eagles.  Todd Herremans got a 3-year contract extension.  The team is also talking with Trent Cole about an extension.  Both are great moves.  Todd wanted more money with the move to OT, if not in general.  Cole wanted a raise based on the fact he had so badly out-played his contract.  Both guys talked to the team about this, but not the press.  That made the situation much easier to handle.  Kudos to both sides.

The Eagles were rumored to have interest in OG Carl Nicks.  I’m not buying it.  He will cost a fortune and isn’t a great fit in the Howard Mudd system.  You could pay Evan Mathis less and get a good player/great value.  Nicks is only rumored to be talking with Tampa.  I’m sure his agent is using the Eagles to help create a market for the guy.

More casual talk about the Eagles and LaRon Landry.  Still not buying that, but we’ll see.  He at least does make some sense.

All is quiet on the LB front.  About half the league has interest in David Hawthorne.  I have yet to see that he’s got a visit lined up.  I’m sure he’s trying to figure out which team wants him the most.  Curtis Lofton reportedly had a deal done with Tampa earlier, but then that was found to be false.  Still sounds like they are trying to get him.

Dan Connor is set to visit Dallas.  Weird.  Sean Lee is a stud.  The other ILB was either Bradie James or Keith Brooking, but is supposed to be Bruce Carter this year.  Connor is insurance I guess.  Carter tore his ACL late in 2009.  He was able to play last year as a backup and STer.  I don’t expect Connor to go anywhere that doesn’t promise him a shot at the starting gig, unless they throw some big money his way, which seems unlikely.  As an Eagles fan I’d much rather face Connor than Carter.  The flip side is that I’d rather have Connor stay on the market in case we need to make a run at him.

Ben Leber was in Philly for a workout.  Don’t read too much into this.  He could be a SAM target for the team, but he would be here as competition for a rookie or as a band-aid 1-year player.  Leber is 33 and only started a few games in 2011.  He’s a descending player.  Eagles are just kicking the tires and seeing if he could fit here in the ways I mentioned above.

Be patient.

I’ve gotten a few questions on Kevin Kolb.  Think I covered this recently, but here’s the deal.  He still loved Andy Reid and the Eagles.  Problem is that the clock is ticking on him and he wants to play.  If Kolb is cut, will want to go somewhere he can challenge for a starting spot.  Think SEA or CLE for now.  If nothing works out for him, maybe he could be talked into coming back.  Really does love Reid and has a genuine friendship with Vick.

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Some thoughts on FA – Around the League.

42 Comments on “Tuesday Night FA Update”

  1. 1 Septhinox said at 12:35 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Would you be happy with Erin Henderson and then drafting Kuechly or Kendricks?

    Would we be good to go at LB then?

  2. 2 TommyLawlor said at 12:52 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Erin Henderson isn’t what I think Juan wants in a SAM. He’s more of an old school, up on the LOS type. I could be wrong. Still trying to figure Juan out.

    We need a starter at MLB. Would be nice to upgrade SAM, but we can also get by with adding prospect there. MLB is the key spot.

  3. 3 Davesbeard said at 5:08 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    I think Juan is still trying to figure Juan out. I won’t be surprised if I’m surprised by Eagles moves on D this year.

  4. 4 JRO91 said at 8:59 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Does he understand gap responsibilty? High Motor? Bad Knees? Have great family dinners that Juan can attend? Then he is exactly what Juan wants!!

  5. 5 iskar36 said at 1:30 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    I think the Nicks rumors were quickly shot down after they were initially reported. I guess there may be a possibility that the Eagles are interested, but I think you are right. Mathis would be much better value, and did a great job there last season. I did hear rumors that a few teams were interested in him though, so that does have me a bit concerned.

    The Landry rumors that I saw all came from Cole and Eliot Shorr-Parks, so I got the sense that it was the same rumors we heard before FA started just being repeated again.

    So far though, I am happy with what the Eagles have done. Extending some of their key guys is a quality move. Considering that extensions could have been done before FA or anytime after, do you think the Eagles timed these extensions carefully? To me, it seemed a bit surprising that on the day FA starts, the Eagles extend two important players who had 2 years left on their contracts. Sort of seemed like a message saying “we believe in our team and will prove that by backing our own players.” Maybe I am reading too deeply into the timing, but I still found it interesting.

    I also hope that Shady is not too far behind. If he is not given a new contract by TC, I would not fault him one bit if he decided to hold out.

  6. 6 Christopher Miller said at 9:33 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    I wondered the same thing about timing…send message to fans that we are happy with team as is? Apply pressure to DJax or Mathis to accept offer on table while there is still money to be had? Wait to see who came free before using resources? Still seems weird that it took so long to “work out the language” on Cole’s deal when they could have been discussing it all along.

  7. 7 Davesbeard said at 5:07 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    I love that Howie seems to learn from his mistakes.

    “We went all out in FA and it ruined team chemistry? Lets focus entirely on extending our best players and signing a few backups”

    He may swing too far the wrong way but will hopefully after a few more seasons come to a stop somewhere in the middle.

  8. 8 Adam Tiszóczki said at 7:12 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    I don’t think that’s the case. I could be wrong, but i don’t see a change in the philosophy. Last year was unique because of the tremendous amount of quality players who were available, they planned the cap for this opportunity and made big (but not huge) investments. Now they wait for the payoff. The team has to be built from the draft in the coming years too, not from the FA. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t use FA signings, if the right player (fit, age and need) is available for a fair price.

  9. 9 GermanEagle said at 7:26 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Thanks to LolBucs (VJ – 5 years, 55 Mio, 26 Mio gtd) and LolSkins (Garcon – 5 years, 42.5 Mio, 21.5 Mio gdt) the Eagles will have a hard time now to convince Rosenhaus of re-signing Desean for anything than 8.5/year.

    By the way I happen to believe more and more – once Desean signs his FT – that the Eagles will wait until after the draft to offer him a long-term contract, if at all….!

  10. 10 D3FB said at 11:14 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Hopefully Rosenhaus will accept the far more realistic comps of Stevie Johnson and Colston since they both stayed with their organizations.

  11. 11 brza said at 7:58 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    The market is shrinking for Asante. Rams signed Finnegan yesterday and Bucs signed Eric Wright today. But maybe it will cause the Lions to get more desperate now that Finnegan and Rogers are off the market. But Brandon Carr is still available. How many more teams are left in the market for CBs other than the Lions, Cowboys and Skins? Pats?

  12. 12 GermanEagle said at 8:15 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    I wouldn’t necessarily say that the market is shrinking for Asante. The Rams’ gain is the Titans’ loss (Finnegan), so I could see them Titans making a play for Asante now..!

    However please do not trade Asante to the Cowgirls nor LolSkins within the own division!

  13. 13 brza said at 8:51 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    I figure that if the Titans weren’t ready to pay Finnegan, who is younger and a more complete CB, $10M per year then they probably wouldn’t be willing to pay Asante $9M plus give up a pick for him in the trade.

  14. 14 Mac said at 12:01 PM on March 14th, 2012:

    If the Titan’s get Manning maybe we can trade Asante to the Colts for Freeney straight up.

  15. 15 nopain23 said at 8:40 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Dallas is going to sign Carr..so it looks like the hooded one is gonna have to do us a favor…

  16. 16 nopain23 said at 8:47 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Why not….then we just run Shady to that side in the red zone….everytime we play them

  17. 17 JRO91 said at 9:02 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Lofton and Tulluch may have a hard time finding work. If Lofton’s asking price was too high for the Bucs, who have endless cap space, I don’t see many other teams with a huge need at MLB that can afford him. Fletcher and Hawthorne are gonna get the attention. I really wish the Eagles would move on Hawthorne…I know they want to see what the market is, but I know someone like the Saints are going to swoop in and take him. I love the idea of him at SAM and Luke at MLB. If Luke struggles, you can slide Hawthorn over, and put Chaney or another draft pick in at SAM.

  18. 18 brza said at 9:05 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Four year extension for Cole! Nice! Now lets get Mathis and Landri resigned and set up a visit for Hawthorne and/or Erin Henderson.

  19. 19 GermanEagle said at 9:14 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    According to Adam Caplan it’s a very signifcant extension for Cole, meaning we probably won’t have enough money left re-signing Mathis AND being a serious contender for Hawthorne…

  20. 20 brza said at 9:21 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    The FO tends not to touch the base salary of the remaining years on the previous contract when extending guys. So it will probably just be the hit from his bonus which will also be spread out over 6 years. So I doubt the cap hit for Cole will be more than $3-4M more this year. But I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

  21. 21 aerochrome2 said at 9:29 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Where is caplan talking about the numbers? Or is he just talking in generalities?

  22. 22 GermanEagle said at 9:30 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Good points! I was forgetting that Cole’s cap hit was already 4m this year…!

  23. 23 brza said at 12:41 PM on March 14th, 2012:

    Caplan just released the figures. $53 million over four years and he gets $15 million guaranteed. The two remaining years stay the same. It think for cap purposes the guaranteed $15M gets spread out over all 6 years which means his cap number will be increased by only $2.5M this year. Almost exactly what they saved by trading Justice so I guess we’re still at square one (about $14M under the cap).

  24. 24 aerochrome2 said at 12:50 PM on March 14th, 2012:

    13.5M a year? Wonder how that will compare down the line, I guess it sounds about right, but hopefully cap goes up enough that it seems like a great deal in two-three years.

    http://thesidelineview.com/columns/caplans-nfl-corner/source-eagles-and-cole-reach-agreement-contract-extension

  25. 25 hallcr3 said at 9:24 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    These extensions are good moves any way you look at it. We’re keeping 2 of our best players. You have to think moving Asante will absolutely get done soon now to make room for a LB, Mathis, and new contracts for DeSean and LeSean.

    Also, LONDON FLETCHER IS STILL AVAILABLE!

  26. 26 TommyLawlor said at 9:41 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Fletcher didn’t go to Va Tech. Why do you want him? Shouldn’t you be screaming for Xavier Adibi?

  27. 27 hallcr3 said at 9:47 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Is Adibi available?! What the hell are we waiting for!

  28. 28 hallcr3 said at 9:48 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Your dirty liar! He signed with the Vikings!

    Way to get my hopes up…

  29. 29 hallcr3 said at 9:49 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    Oh, I take it back! He is available!

  30. 30 ChaosOnion said at 10:46 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    The Nicks deal is 5-yrs $47.5 million, with $31M guaranteed. Let me say that again. *$31M GUARANTEED.*

  31. 31 brza said at 11:21 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    WOW! Winston Justice’s value, or lack thereof, is amazing! Eagles just traded Winston Justice and a 2012 6th rounder to the Colts for their 6th rounder. They moved up 15 spots in the 6TH ROUND! They might as well have just traded him for a case of PBR and a 6-pack of pudding.

    Eagles Insider ‏ @EaglesInsider
    Both sixth-round picks are for 2012. #Eagles move up from 17th in the round to 2nd. Justice’s reported cap number had been over $4 mil.

  32. 32 GermanEagle said at 11:41 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    That’s another 4m ish on top of the Eagles salary cap. Good move!

  33. 33 JRO91 said at 12:23 PM on March 14th, 2012:

    Actually what I read is it was 2.5 mil to the cap…1.5 will be dead money.

  34. 34 iskar36 said at 11:51 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    As GermanEagle said, the value of this deal is the money, not the compensation in the trade. Justice was likely to get cut either way, so the fact we got anything in return is valuable.

  35. 35 Chris_Tomlinson116 said at 11:52 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    I was going to say that this is Reid’s backup plan in case he can’t trade with Belichick sometime earlier in the draft (swapping 5th rounder for this pick)… but they traded away their 5th rounder for Ochocinco.

  36. 36 Mac said at 12:03 PM on March 14th, 2012:

    Hahaha… sounds about right to me.

  37. 37 Eric Weaver said at 12:40 PM on March 14th, 2012:

    Yeah! Another starting 6th round linebacker! I kid!

  38. 38 brza said at 12:43 PM on March 14th, 2012:

    Yeah, if they were just going to cut him anyway then its a good move. I’m just surprised that Justice had that little value. 2 years ago he was a pretty good RT.

  39. 39 ACViking said at 11:39 AM on March 14th, 2012:

    T-LAW:

    With Justice’s departure and the King free to look, where does OT go on the “needs” list?

    Also, what makes more sense: Drafting an OL to fill the LG spot (i.e., letting Mathis go) and signing a 2-down MLB?

    Or paying a nice chunk of money to retain Mathis and hoping Luke K is still on the board?

  40. 40 ACViking said at 12:11 PM on March 14th, 2012:

    Watching Trent Cole’s PC on his extension.

    He’s throwing around the word “They” a bunch in reference to the front office/management — which includes AR.

    Interesting choice of words. Just a bit of edge, seems to me, about how the F.O. is the enemy.

  41. 41 austinfan said at 12:25 PM on March 14th, 2012:

    Eagles only free up $2.3M for Justice. But a much nicer pick in the 6th rd, wish they could have gotten Indy to take the NE pick.

    JJ will free up another million when they trade him for a conditional pick.

    Unfortunately, their hands are tied until they trade Asante, but Finnegan’s deal makes him palatable (team might renegotiate, but won’t ask for a big haircut, if a top CB costs $9-10M, you can get Asante for $9.5M and no dead money, and shave a couple million off 2012, that’s a nice bargain).

    I think they’ll wait a couple days and bottom feed, none of the LBs are worth big money, I think they want to spend something like $4-5M for the starter caliber guys or go after Goff or Grant (7th rd tender, there goes the NE 6th rd pick). You spend $8-9M for a LB, you want Willis. Poz got $7M but notice Eagles weren’t interested even when they had the money, nor with Tulloch at $6M last year.

    Lots of backup OL (Pollack, Richard, Salete, Dunlap), DL out there.
    No need to rush, Mathis is their only prime target, they’d like Landri back, but Washburn can take a lot of athletic DLs and turn them into great 400 snap players.

  42. 42 47_Ronin said at 1:38 PM on March 14th, 2012:

    There’s been a lot of discussion on the top FA MLBs like Tulloch, Hawthorne and Lofton. But I’ve been thinking possible “under-the-radar” RFAs and UFAs. One guy that is intriguing is Larry Grant of the 49ers (6’1″, 250lbs). Grant was a 7th rd pick out of OSU by the 49ers but signed off the PS by the Rams under Spags. Went back to the 49ers as a FA and was a STer and excelled. When P. Willis missed games this year Grant took over and played well (in 3 games as a starter he had 28 Tkls, 2 sacks, 1 FF and 5 PDs). The 49ers tendered him at the original round level.

    Also, Joe Mays is available. Grant (or Mays) could be a less costly alternatives to the big name MLBs.