Hitting the Market

Posted: March 2nd, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 131 Comments »

Big news out of Buffalo today. There are reports that the Bills will not use the franchise tag on Jairus Byrd, their star Safety. The Bills hope to still get a deal done with him, but I get the feeling that’s not real likely. For whatever reason, it just feels like Byrd wants to play for someone else. Obviously money is a huge issue, but reportedly the Bills have already made him offers that would make Byrd the highest paid Safety in the league. If he has rejected those offers, money may not be the only factor.

Will the Eagles be interested in Byrd? You bet.

Will the Eagles sign him? That’s tougher to figure.

Byrd is a very good Safety and that is a position where the Eagles need help in a big way, but I don’t think Byrd is a player you hand a blank check. As Howie Roseman says, you must have a walkaway figure. Lots of teams will have interest in Byrd. I don’t think the Eagles will get into a bidding war for his services. I could see them making a big offer, but I doubt this will be a Jon Runyan/Jevon Kearse/Asante Samuel type of thing. Those guys were given record setting mega-deals.

I didn’t expect the Bills to let Byrd hit the market so I have yet to thoroughly study his 2013 tape. I have watched a bit and there is plenty to like, but Byrd isn’t a great player. He does have some issues. I’ll watch several games and then do a full write-up on him. At the very least, Byrd’s presence on the market could help the Eagles. It might create competition for his services and the Eagles could end up landing someone else. We assume Byrd will be their primary target, but it is possible the team will have some other player in mind.

Byrd isn’t the only free agent of interest who might hit the market.

I don’t really understand this. Why on Earth would you let Orakpo go? He and Ryan Kerrigan make a terrific set of bookend pass rushers. And Orakpo doesn’t seem to be itching to leave. Here’s some comments from the Washington Post article.

Washington Redskins officials were in final deliberations this weekend over what was described as a difficult decision about whether to devote the financial resources necessary to retain outside linebacker Brian Orakpo.

According to several people familiar with the situation, the Redskins like Orakpo as a player and ideally would prefer to keep him. But there have been differing views within the organization, according to those sources, about the wisdom of either using the franchise player tag or pursing an expensive long-term contract with Orakpo when that money and salary cap space instead could be used to address other needs.

“I think there’s a lot of back and forth on it,” said one person with knowledge of the team’s deliberations.  “I don’t think it’s clear cut.”

Will the Eagles have interest in Orakpo if he does hit the market? They could. He is a good 3-4 OLB. He’s not great, but is the kind of talented, high character guy that I could see Chip Kelly liking quite a bit.

We’ll find out on Monday if Orakpo gets tagged or not. That will be interesting to follow.

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131 Comments on “Hitting the Market”

  1. 1 Jernst said at 9:32 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    For the first year in a while I feel like I have no idea what the birds will do. I’d be completely unsurprised if we signed one of those two guys and equally unsurprised if we signed neither.

    The real problem is that neither is a GREAT player…they’re really good players that you’ll have to be willing to pay great player money to in order to land them. Can’t decide how much I’d be willing to over pay for either.

  2. 2 Tom W said at 10:42 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Please tell me how you figure Byrd is not a great safety. Maybe berry maybe earl Thomas. Nobody else really comes close. Not ward. Not gholdson. Not antrell rolle. Not clover. Not Moore. Mccourty? Weddle c’mon

  3. 3 Cliff said at 10:45 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    You think he’s “great?”

  4. 4 Tom W said at 10:59 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    I am concerned about the present not historical greatness. He is IMO best safety in football and at least top 3 so yes that makes him elite. Just bc he is on buffalo his talent is overlooked. Look at his numbers opp completion percentage ints ff frecoveries it’s not even close

  5. 5 anon said at 11:09 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    What makes you think he’s not great?

  6. 6 Cliff said at 11:23 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    I honestly don’t know either way. I didn’t watch a single Bills game last season. I’m just seeing a lot of unbridled love for him from Eagles fans and that’s always a red flag to me.

  7. 7 Tom W said at 12:43 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    If it’s your average wip caller or Philly.com reader but the opinions here are typically not your average mindless fan who listens to what Angelo and the best writers tell them and actually draw upon advanced stats to support their arguments

  8. 8 D3FB said at 11:16 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Kam?

  9. 9 Jernst said at 11:57 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    You might be right, he might actually be great and just undervalued because he plays for Buffalo. I haven’t watched film of him or studied his game so I can’t really argue. The few numbers I saw from the article you posted were really impressive. If he’s as good as you say he is, I’m all for us signing him, so you can calm down, no one’s trying to get you all worked up over is perceived greatness.

  10. 10 Mitchell said at 11:38 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    That is what is so exciting. We don’t know what the Eagles will do but we know whatever it is, it will be a good move!

  11. 11 Joe Minx said at 9:33 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    The Seahawks are apparently choosing not to tag Steven Hauschka. If I were the Eagles I would have definite interest in him.

  12. 12 Jernst said at 9:34 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    yea, I agree … we need a kicker who can generate touchbacks and hit 40+ yard fgs consistently

  13. 13 ezgreene said at 11:00 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Same % from over 40 as Henery.

  14. 14 Jernst said at 11:43 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    If you compare Hauschks numbers from the last 3 years where he was a starter in Seatle and leave out the years he barely played more than a handful of games in Baltimore and Denver: Henery is 84.5% from 40-49 yards Hauschka is 92%. Henery is 40% from over 50 yards, Hauschka is 54.5%. I’m not great at math, but I think Hauschka’s numbers are better. He also made 94.3% of his FGs last year compared to 82.1% for Henery. He also had 48% touchbacks compared to 37%. Hauschka has improved each of the last 3 years while Henery has had worse numbers each year he’s been in the league.

  15. 15 Anders said at 4:59 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    and we still talk about such a small sample size that you cant with confident say one is clearly better than the other.

  16. 16 Jernst said at 11:05 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    You are correct. If you run a standard Z test on those numbers you come out with about a 85% confidence level which means that we can be 85% sure that Hauschkas numbers are better because he’s actually better and not just because of random chance. I know in most scientific situations like when you’re testing the efficacy of a drug or something you’d like to have a 95% confidence level to claim statistical significance, but I think for upgrading our place kicker, I’m more than comfortable signing someone that we can be 85% positive is truly better than what we currently have.

  17. 17 Tom W said at 11:05 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Kickers are a dime a dozen yr to yr. just get one who puts in end zone every time.

  18. 18 Sean said at 10:04 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Byrd may not be a great player, but he is great at what he does.

  19. 19 Insomniac said at 10:06 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Byrd and Orakpo are good but not great. The FA market isn’t all that strong this year.

  20. 20 Tom W said at 10:38 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Who is great than?? Byrd is a top 4 safety. That is great. Please tell me three guys who are better w a straight face. This is one player everyone says is elite I don’t get all the not great talk at all.

  21. 21 A_T_G said at 10:59 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Well, he dropped from top 3 to top 4 in the three minutes between your comments, maybe the injuries are taking a toll.

  22. 22 Tom W said at 11:00 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Hilarious

  23. 23 Tom W said at 12:29 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    So whose better. 64 starting safeties in the nfl please name me 3 better than byrd

  24. 24 Jernst said at 12:48 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    He could be the best safety in the league for all it matters. If safety play is so bad that the best safety in the league isn’t going to add much to the win column compared to a merely adequate safety, then paying him $9-10 mil per year (the amount you give to a game altering player regardless of position) might not make sense. Again, this isn’t an attack on Byrd. He might be worth every penny for all I know, but wondering if he’s “great” (not just for safeties but outside of position) is a reasonable question.

    And, if he’s a good safety that has some holes in his game, a concerning injury, but creates some turnovers, I think it’s stupid to just back up the brinks truck simply because he happens to be the best of whats available in a historically bad time for safety play.

    Again, this doesn’t mean I think he’s a bad player or isn’t great. He may well be great, I haven’t seen enough of him to know either way. But, come with more than he’s better than the rest therefore deserves a huge chunk of our cap space to convince me that it’s a good use of resources.

  25. 25 Tom W said at 1:00 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Who says it’s historically bad safety play??? You? Maybe in Philly but the rest of the league may argue with you. I have you an in depth article that discusses how Byrd is far an away the best safety. I didn’t pull shit out of my ass. You can follow that up w profootballfocus from 2010-2013. Now your argument is philosophical. Based on your flawed reasoning no position than maybe qb would be worth spending top money on a player. So since you aren’t really making an argument just disagreeing when someone pushes you to take a stand on your opinion I can’t be keep arguing bc you are never going to agree. Ninety nine percent of the people haven’t watched him and no little about him anyway bc he is from buffalo. But what he has done in his short career is pretty damn impressive

  26. 26 Jernst said at 1:10 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    No safety play is pretty bad these days and most people agree, I havent heard anyone say that safety play is really great these past couple years. Many teams are having trouble fielding a decent set of safeties. Your article compared him to other similar safeties around the same age that recently signed a contract and came up with what a market value price would be for him. It didnt compare him to all safeties and prove that he was the best player in the league. Still I was impressed with some of the numbers they presented and was inclined to change my opinion on him.

    The thing that’s so offensive is your attitude towards other posters and their mere questioning of whether he’d be an adequate return on a hefty investment, not the thought that he might actually be a great player well worth the money.

  27. 27 anon said at 1:00 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Your second sentence does make sense. But what, then, do you spend your money on?

  28. 28 Jernst said at 1:27 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Personally (and I know this is going to make Tom’s head explode), but I’d love to see us sign Byrd. I’d be ecstatic if we could land him, but I’d like it to be in the $6-7 mil range. That might not be possible. So perhaps you look at a player like Jenkins who has first round talent and has yet to put it all together or hope the right player is there in the draft and stick with Nate Allen until he can take over. In that case, I think you spend you’re money on the areas that always win you games and where you get the most bang for your buck…the trenches. Signing a rush OLB or a OG.

  29. 29 A_T_G said at 6:37 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Wait, what? I wasn’t the one that called him top three or top four depending on which comment I was writing. That was you. How would me naming safeties help?

    Besides, personally I see Byrd as the best safety since the famously nappy-haired Wheaton product, C. Lice Debred.

  30. 30 A_T_G said at 6:36 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Doh…

  31. 31 Insomniac said at 11:29 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Earl Thomas, Eric Weddle, Eric Berry. Kurt Coleman.

  32. 32 Tom W said at 12:30 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Eric weddle? That’s gotta be a joke. His contract was laughable when they overpaid him the first time.

  33. 33 Media Mike said at 8:39 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Eric Weddle = Adam Archuleta / Jason Seahorn. Overrated.

  34. 34 Jernst said at 11:36 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    So what you’re saying is, he’s white?

  35. 35 Media Mike said at 11:39 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I’m saying because a lot of fans “identify” with the guy personally, they think he’s better than he is. The Weddle fans are just as bad the Seahorn and Archuleta people were.

  36. 36 D3FB said at 11:29 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Who is the third best fullback? Is he great?

  37. 37 BobSmith77 said at 11:52 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    In a league with 32 teams, I’d say anyone who is top 3 is ‘great’ at that position if they do it over more than a single year.

  38. 38 D3FB said at 12:05 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I mean it’s all context. Obviously anyone who even gets a cup of coffee is incredibly talented. I brought up fullback because they are a dying breed, I would imagine only about 20 teams in the league even carry one anymore. Tom claims that being one of the top 3 or 4 safties in the league today makes Byrd great. My contention is that safety play is crap all over the league. There are 64 starting safeties in the league, probably only 15 or so are anything more than average. Being the in the top 3 at safety is much different than being in the top 3 at DE/OLB.

  39. 39 Insomniac said at 12:09 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Exactly this. Long gone are the days of Reed, Dawkins, Lynch, Polamalu, and etc in their prime. Sloppy tackling is a pandemic in general these days though.

  40. 40 Tom W said at 12:39 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    This isn’t a historical crying spree about safeties. We are talking about they best safety in football today … At they least top 3 out of 64. Where Dawkins and Ed reed came up is beyond unrelated to the question what he is worth. If he is elite at his position and top 3 out of 64 he gets elite money. His age is worth it. I don’t see how this simple statement went awry. Elite safety play is so important in today’s nfl … W all teams throwing more using slot wr more going 3-5 wide more and throwing to tes more … The free safety is arguably on of the most important positions on the defense. And Byrd excels at his position. What is their to argue about aside from the city’s annoying undying whining about how they miss Dawkins

  41. 41 Insomniac said at 1:06 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    No but it’s your hysteria that makes no one want to even listen to your blabbering. He’s one of the top safeties because of a dreadful era of weak secondaries. Byrd is a good ballhawk. I’ll just leave it at that.

  42. 42 ICDogg said at 1:08 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    The secondaries are weak because the rules have changed to the advantage of the offenses. You have to look at the safeties relative to other safeties playing today under the same rules, otherwise it’s apples to oranges.

  43. 43 Jernst said at 1:14 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Reasonable stance. And, compared with current safeties I’d say he’s undoubtedly a top safety. However, it is reasonable to discuss whether, under current debilitating rules, if he makes enough of a difference with his skill set to take up $10mil in cap space per year. It’s just a question … and the answer might very well be yes. The reason there’s so much responding to Tom is because he acts like simply asking that question is blasphemy on a level that requires personal attacks on your intelligence.

  44. 44 ICDogg said at 1:26 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I agree, Jernst… also, different systems might make certain safeties look better or worse than they really are. The guy on Detroit who actually gives up a lesser QB rating than him… that had to be tough playing behind a wide nine group. He’s probably vastly underrated.

  45. 45 Insomniac said at 1:24 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    That’s true since the more recent changes and the rise of the hurry up offenses kill defenses. However, safeties are traditionally the last line of defense. Like Tommy mentioned, Byrd is good but he has your typical modern safety flaws. Unlike a certain someone, I won’t feel bad if we passed on him.

    http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/22167/jairus-byrd

  46. 46 ICDogg said at 1:34 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Right, I’m not passing judgment on that, I’d love to have him, but that’s a lot of money that might be used better elsewhere.

    Like maybe for TWO safeties.

  47. 47 Insomniac said at 1:48 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    The Fletcher/Williams experiment worked out a lot better than I expected. If we follow the same blueprint, we’relikely get Malcom Jenkins/Chris Clemons (or both?!) and draft a rookie for probably the same price of Byrd.

    I’d like to have Byrd too..for the right price.

  48. 48 Tom W said at 7:22 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Yep that Chung Philips experiment was amazing as well. Worked historically great. If the safety play in the league is historically bad as you all keep opining bad I’d rather not keep signing average to below average safeties or odds are we will keep having crappy play and be revisiting this problem over and over again

  49. 49 Tom W said at 12:34 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Seriously?? That’s your opinion that the safety play is shit. I could say the same about half the qbs and half the corners. I am talking about Byrd wanting to get paid like the best safety in football. Forget great. It’s a dumb word the article brought up. This isn’t a philosophical argument. The guy is top 3 in the nfl. He wants to get paid like that period. He is elite for his position. Period. If we pay him market value atleast we know he is the best vs decker getting an inflated wr one contract when he probably isn’t even top 20. Understand??

  50. 50 Jernst said at 12:41 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I think the issue is less about whether you consider him really really good or great…all that’s just semantics. Everyone on here thinks he’s a damn good safety and would be thrilled to have him on our team. The question is, is he so good at safety (regardless of how elite he is compared to the lack of talent in 2014 at the position) that it’s worth paying him $9-10 million per year?

    Even if he’s the third best safety in the league, I think that’s a legitimate question. Is he great enough to take up that much cap space? The answer may very well be yes, but I don’t think going on a mini tirade calling everyone that questions his unfathomable greatness a dope is really necessary.

  51. 51 Tom W said at 12:48 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I’m calling them dopes bc they changed the argument. Tommy said he isn’t great he is good. Nothing in his statement had anything to do w other positions or historical context of safeties today and safeties from ten yrs ago. If the kid is a top three safety and we have the money and it won’t affect signing foles or cox or Boykin or Kendricks in 2 yrs bc we are already 30 mil under and can front load the contract and aren’t paying our other safeties shit what is everyone so scared about or are they just arguing to argue

  52. 52 Jernst said at 1:03 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    No one changed the argument. Byrd as far as we know wants a huge contract in the $9-10mil a year range. That kind of money is typically reserved for people that dominate games on a regular basis, not for someone that gets 4 picks per year. So it’s fair to say he’s good, but not dominatingly so to take up that much cap space.

    And, yes dropping that much cap space into one player would definitely affect are ability to sign other players…that’s the whole point of a salary cap. We’re no where near $30mil under the cap. If you take half our remaining cap space and spend it one guy he better dominate like only special players can, regardless of how he rates against the current sad group of safeties in the league. Thats why comparing him to other positions and other dominate safeties of the past is relevant.

  53. 53 Tom W said at 1:33 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    He turned the bills down bc he doesn’t want to be there. He is looking to win not break the bank per the local buffalo beat guys. So there is that.

    Look at his career numbers. He averages about 7 ints a year. He only played 11 games last yr. his numbers are near if not better than so called all time greats you keep bringing up. Only difference is this kid is in buffalo and you don’t watch him bc he doesn’t play national games. Just look at his career and the advanced stats. The proof is in the numbers not some bs historical debate about Ed reed. The kid is a top 3 safety in the league today. I can pull up about fifteen links from nfl writers who say just as much.

    And since u have never watched him, how do you know if he is dominant or not. Bc he isn’t on sportcenter or in the pkayoffs?? They said the same thing about dre Johnson for yrs. don’t take my word for it just good his name and best free safety

    And your cap number is way off. Just go on above the cap and realize we are cutting avant and Chung And the nfl has suggested the cap is going up to 140 then 150 mil in next two yrs

  54. 54 Jernst said at 1:47 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Over the last 4 years he’s had 1, 3, 5 and 4 ints…for an average of 3.25 ints per year. His first yr in the league he had that ridiculous 9 int season. Even if you add in his first season from 5 years ago that’s only 4.4 Ints per year…so who’s numbers are off

  55. 55 Jernst said at 2:01 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Also, we’re not $30mil under the cap, we’re $21.4 under the cap and we haven’t signed rookies, extended Boykin, Cox, Kendricks or Foles yet, so we need to have some discussion about cost and benefit. I don’t care at all if Lurie spends all his millions on my pure unadulterated entertainment. I do care if Byrds deal comes back to bite us if he spends a good portion of it counting 9mil against our cap keeping us from improving our roster in other areas while sitting on the bench with plantar fascitis or if he averages 3 int a year over the course of the deal like he has the last 4 years.

    Again, I’ll be stoked if we sign him, but I think I also won’t be shocked or irreparably disappointed if we pass on him.

  56. 56 Media Mike said at 8:43 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Boykin, Cox, Kendricks, and Foles would all be in line for 5 or 6 or 7 year contracts that would be structured in a manner that going a little nutty for a player this offseason (not saying it has to be Byrd) won’t keep us from resigning anybody we want to next off season.

  57. 57 Jernst said at 10:45 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Well hey, if there’s literally no financial ramifications to signing him, then what are we talking about? Sign the guy!

  58. 58 xeynon said at 1:05 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Do you really hate punctuation that much?

  59. 59 D3FB said at 1:09 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Tommy allows alot of open discussion in the comment section. However he doesn’t allow personal attacks on other commenters. If you’re going to do that go back to BGN.

  60. 60 Tom W said at 12:31 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I’m talking about now. This fucking year. I don’t care about Dawkins or reed or historical greatness. Talking about the safety market in the nfl 2014 Jesus Christ

  61. 61 A_T_G said at 2:03 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I thought Christ got the franchise tag?

  62. 62 ICDogg said at 2:06 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Christ was a great college prospect until he got hung up on his boards.

  63. 63 Anders said at 5:01 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    The question you have to ask is not how good he is, but will be worth his contract. Peyton Manning might be the great QB of all time, but if Denver had grossly overpaid for him (lets say they had offered him 30 million per year), he still wouldnt have been worth it.

  64. 64 Tom W said at 7:10 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    You could say that about anyone the eagles sign to a contract. If he is great and we pay market value at a position we spend less than twenty eight other teams why wouldn’t it be worth it

  65. 65 Anders said at 7:34 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Paying market value is not always a good thing either. Take RB, unless you have AP or McCoy, is it worth paying market value? History shows it is not (I think Ravens, Panthers and Texans are regretting some of those market value RB deals). Market value tells me RB is a valuable position and therefor should be drafted high, but history shows that it isnt worth it.
    If the market is ineffiecient, why should I follow it?
    Remember the cap is a limited ressources, so that is why we talk about him been worth it. If there was no cap, giving out ineffiecient contracts is not a problem, but when you only have limited ressources you have to stay effiecient to not become the Cowboys in terms of the cap.
    I would love to have both Byrd and Orakpo, but I do not want to overpay for them, so no more than around 8 mill for Byrd and around 10 for Orakpo per year.

  66. 66 Tom W said at 8:16 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I think comparing running back one of the most injury prone and least sought after positions in today’s nfl to safety is a bit misleading.

    Close to 8 mil a year is what exactly the market is now. I’m not saying overpay him like the raiders .. We shouldn’t have to do that bc he wants to play for a winner. 5 for 43 w 23-28 guaranteed gets it done and is reasonable. The cap is going to be 17 million higher in two yrs when we need to sign foles we have more available money then we know what to do with. And even without that increase. The natural attrition of older players like Ryans herramins celek Williams in two yrs alone means we will have more than enough to resign foles Boykin and whomever else we deem worthy. Howie knows the cap and it’s always above excellent in shape. Beyond that, we spend less than 28 other teams at safety so spending on one stud and developing two young guys like Wolfe and say Buchanan in the second rd along w a cheap vet wouldn’t be overextending us at the safety position or hurting us at another position. Where else are we going to spend the 30 mil under the cap after we cut Chung and avant and lower djax number to 8 mil a year. Even if we carry over ten mil and pay the rookies 3 mil that still leaves us close to fifteen million to spend or Luries keeps it and get rich. Backup dl okay. Fourth corner okay We are set on offense other than drafting a young guard. Dline is young as hell. Ilbs aren’t changing. Starting corners aren’t changing. We aren’t spending big at olb w Barwin cole locked in and unable to be cut without giant dead money hits. We will draft Coles replacement this yr or trade for dion. Our money is there to be spent on Byrd or ward type pkayer and we can even front load his deal and give him ten mil this year to offset the dead money in yr 4 and 5. As an elite 27 yr old prototypical fs., I don’t see how paying him just above what gholdson and weddle got isn’t worthwhile. Risks w every signing but our coach knows this kid better than anyone. And he fits our biggest need at a position that we really suck at drafting. I don’t see the downside if we don’t have to compete w highest bidder ie raiders if the rumors are true and he wants to play for a winner

  67. 67 SteveH said at 10:06 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    God bless the Washington Team, don’t ever change.

  68. 68 Media Mike said at 8:46 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Byrd – 6 years / $60 million. Get ready.

  69. 69 theycallmerob said at 10:08 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Yes to Byrd, no to Orakpo.
    Anyone hear anything on Ward? Oddly quiet in CLE, last I heard they were more concerned with a long-term deal for thier Cenger (Mack)

  70. 70 GEAGLE said at 7:21 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Very weird…been trying to find out for three days..not a word

  71. 71 Tom W said at 10:36 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Byrd not great???? H arguably is a better cf and playmaker than earl Thomas … And maybe berry …. Love to know who tommy thinks is better at safety …. The ball hawking/turnover creating impact alone of Byrd is mind boggling over the last three yrs … His impact is immense … Not great … He is top 3 safety in the nfl.

    Beyond that, I think the eagles will look at the market for Byrd based on similar contracts like any gm or agent would do and set a starting point and walk away….. Spotrac did an excellent in depth analysis about jbyrd and what it could take to land him based on the market

    http://www.spotrac.com/premium/research/nfl/contract-forecast-jairus-byrd-v2-407/

    Starting point is 5 yrs for 41 mil and 18 guaranteed. Goldson contract. Can’t look at Berrys deal bc that was his rookie deal based on old cba. Troy p gets 9 mil a yr but everyone knows it really comes down to guaranteed money.

    Eagles could easily offer between 23 mil to 28 mil if we get a lower salary per year so his impact in yrs 3-5 isn’t as great on the cap.

    Walk away is probably 5 for 47 and thirty mil guaranteed.

    I’d settle on five yrs for 43 mil and 23 guaranteed. Front load it and its basically a four year deal. If he wants to play w chip and win he will take it.

    Our competition if the local buffalo news is true is a team w a chance to win. That eliminates raiders jags and some other really bad teams w a shitload of money. If he just wants fu money then eagles can’t compete w raiders jags etc.

    Eagles colts falcons broncos pack have money and a need at safety and chance to win in next two yrs. bengals too. Pack and bengals don’t spend big time money in free agency. Think we gotta worry most about colts and grigsby big spending habits. Outside chance pettine in Cleveland has a chance at Byrd being his old coach for one yr and they have a shitload of money. I doubt it. Browns are a bigger mess than buff.

  72. 72 Cliff said at 10:48 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    So you’re saying you think we should sign Byrd?

  73. 73 Tom W said at 11:01 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Sorry for thinking and making a rational evidence based argument. What a joke

  74. 74 Cliff said at 11:27 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    I’m thankful for your contribution. I’m just kidding with you, man.

  75. 75 ICDogg said at 11:00 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    A couple of interesting tidbits in that link

    • QBs who threw into Byrd’s coverage averaged a QB Rating of 35, second only to Glover Quin (DET).
    • Byrd’s 4 INT were 3rd among all NFL safeties, even playing just 11 games.

  76. 76 Tom W said at 11:03 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Yea actually bringing stats and evidence to an argument typically shuts most dopes up. The amount of turnovers he has caused from 2010 to 2012 is historically strong as well. If that is the most important stat in winning correlation … And this guy forces more than anybody ….

  77. 77 anon said at 11:10 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    Seems to fit exactly the type of defense that we want to run.

  78. 78 Media Mike said at 8:50 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Ah Glover Quin, the one who got away. I need to pound the table harder for players I like this offseason.

  79. 79 ICDogg said at 10:41 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    http://youtu.be/2WNrx2jq184?t=28s

  80. 80 BobSmith77 said at 11:35 PM on March 2nd, 2014:

    This defense desperately needs play makers. They have one (Boykin) and possibly another (Kendricks) but he is too highly inconsistent from week-to-week.

    If Byrd is out there, I’d love to see the Eagles make a real hard push for him. He is someone who ideally would continue to be highly productive the next 2-3 years and could be moved over to SS for the last year or two of a deal if necessary.

    Only real concern I would have is how serious is the plantar fascitis in both of his feet that sidelined for much of last year & is the Eagles think he will have the same range and coverage skills in another 2-3 years to make it worthwhile giving him a huge payday.

  81. 81 xeynon said at 12:56 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    My prediction: the Eagles pass on Byrd and while everyone else is distracted chasing him make an aggressive play for a second-tier FA like Malcolm Jenkins before his price gets bid up.

    I’m okay with that. Byrd is a good player, but he’s not Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins, or Ed Reed. As far as I’m concerned you don’t make a guy the highest paid safety in the league unless he’s that kind of dominant force.

  82. 82 Jernst said at 12:57 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Agreed…just because he’s top three at this time or whatever Tom keeps blathering on about, doesn’t mean you drop $10 mil on a guy just cause. That kind of money requires game changing dominance.

  83. 83 Insomniac said at 1:00 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    His mancrush on Byrd is unhealthy.

  84. 84 Tom W said at 1:02 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Too funny. Same idiot. Three different names. Not one of your identities has watched him play or read anything about him. Just wasting my time. Go back to listening to wip

  85. 85 CrackSammich said at 1:08 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I appreciate that your responses are coherent and that you proofread,
    but you’ve made your point already and now you’re just spamming the
    board. Stop, please.

  86. 86 Tom W said at 1:21 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Whose spamming I have three clowns disguised as the same person arguing to argue

  87. 87 Jernst said at 1:34 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    You realize that when everyone in the room thinks you’re the clown, that the far more likely reality is that you are in fact the clown, not that everyone else is delusional or that everyone is secretly one person with multiple aliases, because in no way could multiple people all read your comments and come to the same conclusion that your attitude is offensive and off putting.

  88. 88 Tom W said at 1:46 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Stop whining. You sound like my girlfriend. You act like it’s the first time people talked about Byrd when his name has been going around since last yr … It’s been debated and debated … We have the money … It’s not going to affect signing foles or the other 3 kids bc of Howie structures the contracts front loaded and the gigantic cap increase. He is one of the best at his position … A position we are dreadful at and a position we have no money invested in … We already have millions invested in olb and guard … A great safety makes our corners better since they can then play press and helps against tes and slot wrs and helps us in third down defense where we were horrible last year. The nfl has changed. It’s not 1995. Safeties are probably more important than corners now. Teams are slowly catching on. It’s not much to ask to spend 5 for 43 mil w 23 guaranteed to land this kid. No one is saying ten mil or overpaying. That is market rate. If you just don’t know enough about Byrd okay then but don’t give me bc he isn’t a future hall of gamer at 27 we should spend money on him or that in your opinion safety play is historically bad. If u wanna be cheap and sign Jenkins okay I can understand that. But why are we trying to save Luries money. The cap is fine. Will be fine. We aren’t getting orapko. The real only position it makes financial sense to spend on this year in free agency is safety

  89. 89 Jernst said at 1:53 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Are you at all concerned that me, insomiac, D3FB and your girlfriend are all the same person?

  90. 90 D3FB said at 1:37 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Insomniac and I are both frequent commenters. Jernst also comments fairly often. You’re implying that all three accounts are maintained by the same person? So one person actively comments from three different profiles? Insomniac and I frequently disagree. So one person puts in all that work and argues with himself, for the sole purpose of being able to use all three accounts to harass you?

  91. 91 Jernst said at 1:38 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    seems logical…I’m not sure what you/me are so baffled by

  92. 92 D3FB said at 1:39 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    You’re so silly, I mean I’m so silly.

  93. 93 Insomniac said at 1:42 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Look man, I try to respect everyone’s opinion and people try to keep that mutual here. People love to hate on shah8 on his opinion on Foles but when you cross the line of insulting people for disagreeing with you then this isn’t the place for you.

    I also have no clue about why you’re so paranoid about this either.

  94. 94 Insomniac said at 1:08 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Stop crying and go back to phillymag. You’re as irritating as GEAGLE was on BGN.

  95. 95 Tom W said at 1:22 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    And you added nothing to the entire conversation but got his feelings hurt

  96. 96 GEAGLE said at 7:25 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    My nuts out of your mouth..it’s unhealthy

  97. 97 Tom W said at 1:03 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Ten mill. Way too much cuz but thanks

  98. 98 Jernst said at 1:17 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    The article that you yourself posted had his fair market price projected at $9.1 mil per year of salary.

  99. 99 Tom W said at 1:23 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    The article actually lists 7.9 as fair market and the authors predict he goes for 9.1

  100. 100 Jernst said at 1:37 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    What do you think his cap hit will be if he plans to be the highest paid safety in the league and goes for a deal of at least $9.1 mil per year average?

  101. 101 Tom W said at 1:49 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    He doesn’t want to play for buffalo. Highest paid safety in reality is what gholdson gets. Berrys deal was based on old cba and troys was only a three yr deal and was a horrible deal in retrospect. Highest could easily be 5 for 43

  102. 102 xeynon said at 1:03 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    It really is a terrible era for safety play. Earl Thomas is the only guy I’d say is playing at the level of the three I mentioned earlier right now.

  103. 103 Joe Minx said at 1:40 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    That would be highly disappointing to me. Jenkins does nothing for me. Byrd may not be the answer but neither is he.

  104. 104 xeynon said at 11:13 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Jenkins is a solid starter who still potentially has some upside (only 26). He can also play CB against slower receivers. He’s not a star, but he is a versatile piece that would upgrade the secondary at a reasonable price, sort of the S version of Fletcher or Williams. I’m okay with that kind of acquisition.

  105. 105 ICDogg said at 3:41 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I realize Byrd is the name drawing the most interest from the fanbase but I could very easily see the Eagles having more interest in Orakpo or Worilds.

  106. 106 Tom W said at 7:16 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    That’s a ton of money to have tied up at olb. You gonna bench orapko or cole? Think we stuck at olb other than a stud rookiemfor another yr

  107. 107 ICDogg said at 7:47 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I’m gonna rotate because I have the defense playing a lot of plays per game and I can find lots of plays for them all.

  108. 108 GEAGLE said at 7:17 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Worlds agent is the same agent who did the Kelce and Barwin contracts so it’s safe to assume Howie has a quality relationship with him..love how the media doesn’t even consider who the agents are when trying to predict the market and what type of relationships do the agents have with teams, recent history…it really really matters especially when dealing with very powerful agents like Segal and Parker…
    …
    Bills agents is the one the forced Jason peters out of the bills and into philly
    ..
    But Worlids isn’t signing with a team that will force him to time shared at ROLB..that’s his beef with the steelers and he is trying to force them to cut Woodley….Worlids is not signing with a team that has Barwin and Cole on the roster, he just isnt

  109. 109 Anders said at 7:37 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    The safety Im most interested in is Mitchell from the Panthers, guy has all the tools and like Allen just had his best year, the difference is Mitchell is faster and can hit. I think when Kelly draws up a perfect safety he is close to been what Mitchell is.

  110. 110 Tom W said at 8:25 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    A hws guy who had an average yr on a defense with elite pass rushers? Could just as easily bust out like Chung or Allen or Jenkins or major wright or Stevie brown …. Why gamble at the position we have been burnt at for 5 yrs when there are two obvious answers w pkayers our head coach has recruited and coached and still haven’t hit their prime. Mitchell cost five mil a year for five yrs and 12 guaranteed why not spend the extra three mil a year on Byrd or ward when we know a whole lot more about them and can take guessing out of the equation and solve our safety problem once and for all and go from liability to great in one signing. Why perpetuate average to below average safety play w shoddy signings when this yr wr really don’t have anything else to spend Luries money on. We resigned everyone.

  111. 111 GermanEagle said at 6:37 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Mmmmmh, while Byrd may not be the second coming of Brian Dawkins, he is very well a difference maker, someone the Eagles desperately need, especially as their Safety has been a position of need since the latter left towards Denver.

    Let me ask you this: how many players like Byrd’s caliber hit Free Agency in their prime? The chances are slim to none. I will be disappointed if the Eagles sign a guy like Malcom Jenkins instead, who’s not a huge upgrade to non-playmaker Nate Allen.

    I agree to not give Byrd a MEGA deal for the ages, but I will absolutely not have a problem with the Eagles making him the highest paid S in the league.

    On that note: Byrd is the word!

  112. 112 GEAGLE said at 7:24 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I think we are planning on going after him

  113. 113 GermanEagle said at 7:54 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I think we should, no question about it!

  114. 114 GEAGLE said at 8:24 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Let’s see:
    …
    OLB is a position we have to fill with a young player, becaue we already spending too much money on the position to not how a Longterm answer at ROLB
    …
    Dion is more talented then any OLB we can get at 22, and we know him better then anyone we can pick at 22…why the hell wouldn’t we go after him?

  115. 115 GEAGLE said at 7:23 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Orakpo.??? Get real, we ain’t signing an NFC East OLB who has NEVER sacked Romo

  116. 116 GEAGLE said at 7:46 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    If Byrd isn’t great, then I don’t know what safety is…just silly

  117. 117 eagleyankfan said at 8:05 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    The question is – and I’m half joking – is Byrd the smart, high character player Chip wants? I have no idea on his character traits but according to articles in the past, Chip only goes after high character/smart players….

  118. 118 Tom W said at 8:19 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Chip recruited and coached him so save to say he would know better than anyone else

  119. 119 Phils Goodman said at 7:01 PM on March 3rd, 2014:

    He was recruited before Chip’s time and he doesn’t like to interfere too much on the defensive side of the ball.

  120. 120 Tom W said at 7:32 PM on March 3rd, 2014:

    So bc he doesn’t call the defensive pkays you don’t think he knows about Byrd or what type of person he is?? Is that really what you are trying to tell me? Do you think he could reach across the coaching table and ask azz who coached the dline and was assistant head coach at Oregon? Do you honestly think chip has no idea what Byrd is all about despite him being at Oregon when chip was off coordinator and coach I find that highly unlikely if not plain ole silly

  121. 121 Phils Goodman said at 7:42 PM on March 3rd, 2014:

    No, I’m saying you were wrong about Chip recruiting him and the suggestion that he “coached” him is also misleading without context. Please stick to the facts.

    I very much want the Eagles to sign Byrd. I’m simply pointing out that your statement was incorrect.

  122. 122 Tom W said at 8:20 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Thanks bud. I’m amazed. I guess the standard to spend Luries money is a hof or bust. I didn’t think paying market rate not overpaying for Byrd was going to. Cause an uproar.

  123. 123 Media Mike said at 8:36 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Here is the essential issue with Byrd. He’s better than Weddle ($8 mi. / year) and Goldson ($ 8.25 / year). The starting point for Byrd is going to be a good deal higher than either of those contracts.

  124. 124 Tom W said at 8:54 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Don’t think it has to be a good deal higher. We could just offer more guaranteed money to him say 25 mil and do the same contract as gholdson or a tad higher say 8.5 a yr. front load bc we have the money … Say minimum salary first year but 8 mil signing bonus paid in yr one. So that’s nine mil. 8 mil in salary yrs 2-4. And then bigger salary number like 12 mil in yr 5 w no dead money and he never sees that fifth yr anyway. Restructure if still playing at a high level or move on

  125. 125 Media Mike said at 8:56 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    If we wanted Byrd and put up your deal, how do you counter if the Skins put up 6 years / $60 million.

  126. 126 Tom W said at 9:02 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Walk very simple. Doesn’t sound like he wants to play for a shit team or otherwise he woulda stayed in buffalo who offered at least gholdson deal to him. If he wants to pay for highest bidder and that includes raiders or skins then it’s not someone we want to be involved with. Can’t blame him but I would question his incentive to be great at that point

  127. 127 Media Mike said at 9:07 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    I don’t believe anything Buffalo says about “substantial” offers. You may be right in the spirit of your comments, but Buffalo was reported to have offered Byrd, as of last year, some garbage contract that wasn’t even $7 mil / year. How much would they have gone up?

  128. 128 Tom W said at 9:39 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Actually it was reported Byrd turned down eight mil a yr last yr from bills and was offered more in the first two yrs of the deal this yr. the buffalo local beat guy I saying Byrd doesn’t want to be in buffalo anyways so money isn’t his only concern. U asked me what to do if skins or raiders offered monster deals and I said we walk away. Don’t know what you are arguing out anymore

  129. 129 Tumtum said at 8:59 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    When is the last time the Redskins had a homegrown player who was going to require a significant deal? This is really uncharted waters for them. This is literally the first guy on their team that eould fall under that category. They are used to paying for talent that was developed elsewhere.

    The only problem with Rak is that they say he wants to dollar. He is a nice player but Jared Allen he aint.

  130. 130 Media Mike said at 9:01 AM on March 3rd, 2014:

    Nice comment about their horrid drafting

  131. 131 Michael Carberry said at 11:33 AM on March 4th, 2014:

    I pray that the Eagles make a huge push for Aquib Talib!! The Agressive 6ft+ Cover corner would make a great fit across from Cary Williams and you’d still have Boykin flying around the slot. My primary targets this free agency would be 1.Talib and 2. Byrd/Ward. Then focus the draft around landing a Big Time Pass Rusher/OLB in the 1st Rd. and maybe Kelvin Benjamin if he falls to the 2nd round in this year’s draft… Creating a ‘pick your poison’ nightmare scenario for any scheming defense.