Keep Kelce?

Posted: January 18th, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 130 Comments »

We know the Eagles are going to cut some players this offseason. One of the guys we’re uncertain about is C Jason Kelce. I’ve gone back and forth as to whether I think the team would cut him. Jimmy Bama has a source who indicates the Eagles might let go of Kelce.

The Philadelphia Eagles are considering moving on from starting center Jason Kelce this offseason, whether by trade or outright release, a source told PhillyVoice.

Kelce, who turned 29 in November, was drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft and immediately became the starting center, appearing in 78 regular season games for the Eagles, all of which he started.

Kelce is scheduled to count for $6,200,000 against the salary cap in 2017, $3,800,000 of which the Eagles would save if they traded or released him. Kelce is the tenth-highest paid center in the NFL, according to overthecap.com, and there’s a significant gap in pay between himself and the eleventh-highest-paid center.

Salary is a key factor in this discussion. If Kelce were cheap, the Eagles would almost certainly keep him. He’s not. Kelce will turn 30 next season and that also has to be taken into consideration.

There is another factor – Isaac Seumalo. The Eagles are very high on him. They might want to pair him with Carson Wentz so the team would have a strong C-QB duo to grow together.

Kelce remains an effective starter, and at times he is a very good player. Kelce is probably still the most athletic C in the league. He is durable, starting all 16 games in 3 of his 5 seasons. He is smart and don’t underestimate how important that is in the C position. Making line calls and adjusting for blitzes and stunts is not easy. If a C can’t do this well, all the size, strength and athleticism in the world does him no good.

Kelce has started 78 games. He has played in the West Coast Offense, Chip Kelly’s no-huddle attack and whatever you want to label Doug Pederson’s offense (bit of a Reid-Kelly combo?). You can plug him into just about any offense.

In an ideal world, the Eagles would trade Kelce. That would net them a draft pick in return and would really help with the cap situation. The Eagles wouldn’t get much of a pick due to Kelce’s price and age, but any pick can help as the team tries to bring in young talent.

Seumalo played LG, RG and RT this year, but plenty of people think his future is at C. He is big, smart and athletic. And young and cheap. That’s a terrific combination. The one downside here is that if you move Seumalo to C, you have to figure out LG. Would the Eagles keep Allen Barbre to play that spot? Could they draft someone? Is there a free agent the team might target?

Jason Peters won’t be moving to LG so don’t try planning an OL with him, Lane Johnson and Big V on the field together. We’ll have to wait and see what the team has planned, if they do move on from Kelce. Lots of dominoes to fall in the OL situation.

*****

Speaking of the OL…

Interesting move.

The Eagles liked Thomas heading into the 2013 draft. They brought him to Philly for a visit. He played LG and LT in college and the Eagles love versatile OL. I know Chip Kelly was the coach back then, but Howie Roseman was part of the draft process and Jeff Stoutland was the OL coach. They’re still here and might still think Thomas has some potential.

PE.com has some bio information on Thomas.

The 27-year-old Thomas was a third-round pick of the Dolphins in 2013 out of Tennessee. He started 26 games in his three-year NFL career, including all 16 contests in 2015 when quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw for a career-best 4,208 yards and running back Lamar Miller tied a career high with eight rushing touchdowns. He was Miami’s starter entering this year’s Training Camp, but lost the job in the preseason to 2016 first-round pick Laremy Tunsil.

Thomas, who is 6-5, 316 pounds, was pressed into action this season after Tunsil suffered an ankle injury. Thomas was released by Miami in October.

A three-year starter at Tennessee, he played in 50 career games, spending time at both left tackle and left guard. He allowed just two sacks in 1,296 pass plays with the Volunteers.

Thomas is the kind of redemption project you want. He has NFL talent and some experience. Things just haven’t worked out so far. He might not ever pan out, but he’s worth bringing in and taking a look at this spring and summer.

_


130 Comments on “Keep Kelce?”

  1. 1 LeatherWallet said at 9:15 PM on January 18th, 2017:

    Ideally you would cut Kelce and start Seumalo. Keep Barbre for another year and draft a G this year who can hopefully develop and replace Barbre in 2018. And hopefully Vatai can develop enough to start at RT that year too.

    Then in 2018 your line from left to right is Johnson-Young guy-Seumalo-Brooks-Vatai

    Of course, this is an ideal scenario and maybe looking too far ahead.

  2. 2 Jerry Pomroy said at 9:28 PM on January 18th, 2017:

    Not a bad scenario or a far fetched one though.

  3. 3 Dominik said at 10:21 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    The draft is apparently really weak at Offensive Tackle. Bad year to find a Peters replacement imo. Let’s hope JP plays one more year and Vaitai develops into a solid Swing Tackle. Then you can invest your 2018 1st rounder (or you look at FA) to replace JP. One must remember: while it’s not easy, it’s easier to find a RT than it is to find a LT. We already have our LT. And yes, I do believe Lane will find a way to stay clean. He knows that his career and a lot of money is at stake. That gets your attention as a player. And he wasn’t an addict (after all, his first suspension was for something which is now legal and his second suspension wasn’t done with bad intentions at all, it was just stupid).

  4. 4 Fufina said at 9:26 PM on January 18th, 2017:

    Thomas is a nice depth vet Guard guy, which you always want 1 or 2 on your roster. If he has to start half a dozen games due to injury he is not going to get you killed and has enough experience to start at short notice or in game, something that can be really hard for young OL.

    Does probably mean Wiz is not coming back.

  5. 5 Fufina said at 9:52 PM on January 18th, 2017:

    Off topic but DAMN Embiid is a monster. If he stays healthy he is a multi time MVP. Generational talent.

  6. 6 Sean Stott said at 3:08 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    What’s to prevent him from leaving for a better team in a few years?

  7. 7 laeagle said at 4:25 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Cap space, maybe? Maybe also the idea that the team has been building up for exactly this kind of scenario?

    What’s to prevent a Philly fan from having even an ounce of optimism?

  8. 8 Sean Stott said at 12:46 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I don’t know enough about basketball salary stuff which is why I asked, calm down.

  9. 9 bubqr said at 4:53 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    New CBA = he’ll get a lot of money from Philly. Plus, he’s fully engaged into the Philly rebuild + once he’ll be a FA, Philly might not be that bad (they’re 7-2 in 2017 and just beat 2 playoffs teams).

  10. 10 Iskar36 said at 4:57 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Yea, the new CBA is really helpful for the 76ers if Embiid is in fact an elite talent.

  11. 11 Donald Kalinowski said at 9:39 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    He’ll be a resticted free agent in the summer of 2018 which means that the Sixers can match whatever offer he gets. Embiid could take a 1 year deal and become an unrestricted free agent but he is risking a multi-year contract.

    The most another team can offer is a 4 year contract. The Sixers can offer a 5 year contract with stlightly higher salary.

    So he’s basically safe for another 6 years unless something drastic happens.

  12. 12 theindianeagle said at 1:04 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    He also has a real connection with the fans. He seems to really love playing in this city.

  13. 13 RobNE said at 3:48 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    we will be the “better team” in a few years. TTP.

  14. 14 bill said at 8:22 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    I generally don’t watch basketball, and hate NBA basketball, but I’ve been stopping to watch games where Embiid plays. Incredible athlete. So fluid for his size – always looks like he’s in complete control. Will have to watch when last year’s #1 overall comes back; in my uneducated opinion, neither Noel nor Okafor appear to be elite (or even really good at this time) players, though those who know the game better than me keep telling me that they both can develop into nice players, but they’re going to have to commit to getting better, and neither is likely to be a starter playing significant minutes on the court with Embiid. Should be an interesting offseason for that team, as they need to decide their identity going forward.

  15. 15 Anders said at 8:31 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Noel is an elite defensive player and below average offensive player. Okafor is just bad (but improving).

  16. 16 Chiptomylou said at 8:44 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Okafor is gone. I don’t see how he stays. I’d love to keep Noel around but not sure if he’d take a bench role spelling Embiid.

  17. 17 bill said at 10:09 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    That’s reasonable. But I still think the overall grade on Noel is not good right now, because watching last night’s game, Embiid left the floor with a 10 or so point lead in the first, and Noel came in. Not only did the raptors tie the game, they did it quickly and convincingly. The drop-off from Embiid to Noel appears to be steep, at least right now.

  18. 18 Anders said at 3:13 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Embiid might already be the best center or close to it (Embiid is having a rookie season in terms of effectiveness not seen in decades). Also the Raptors are the 2nd best team in the East

  19. 19 RobNE said at 3:47 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    not fair to compare Noel to the GOAT. Noel is good.

  20. 20 Chiptomylou said at 8:42 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    It’s going to be very exciting to see how him and Simmons mesh. Probably won’t be this season but next season look da fugg out!

  21. 21 Jernst said at 2:23 PM on January 20th, 2017:

    I know right? So crazy that they fired Hinkie literally right at the point where all his process shenanigans were just about to pay off big time. Love that Embiid mentions “The Process” in literally every single quote he gives to reporters. Sam Hinkie deserves all the credit in the world.

  22. 22 Ray888 said at 10:22 PM on January 18th, 2017:

    Saw a report that Dallas may let LG Ron Leary go in free agency. Leary + Seumalo vs. Barbre + Kelce = about the same $, younger & better.

  23. 23 midnitemud said at 11:29 PM on January 18th, 2017:

    This is exactly what I was thinking earlier today. If they don’t want to risk throwing a rookie LG into the inferno, maybe Leary would be a good investment. He is still relatively young (28 when 2017 season starts) and may come with a bit of a price tag, but I would be much more secure in having an established vet to protect Wentz. Peters-Leary-Seumalo-Brooks-Johnson sounds pretty good to me (along with some solid young depth).

  24. 24 Fufina said at 7:13 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Dallas will have to – they can start La’el collins in that spot and they are in a lot of cap pain in 2017. In fact they may want to cut Doug Free and start La’el Collins at RT to save even more cap. Regardless he is not getting resigned.

    Not sure Eagles can afford to spend $7-8mil a year on a guard this off season however considering their limited cap and other needs.

  25. 25 Sb2bowl said at 4:29 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Collins is going to need to be re-signed, as well as Martin very soon for them. They don’t really have a RT in the wings from what I’ve read. Gonna be interesting to see what happens to the “most vaunted O-line in the game” lol

  26. 26 Jernst said at 2:20 PM on January 20th, 2017:

    That oline is going to have a tough time staying together much longer. Leary’s contract is up, he’s an UFA. Doug Free’s contract is up after this season, Martin is up after 2018 and will be eligible for his first contract extension at the end of this season, and La’el Collins is a RFA at the conclusion of this season. The only players locked up are Smith and Frederick who are both signed through 2023. Other than that, the rest of that line is going to all be looking at getting paid between now and the end of this coming season. That’s a lot of potential money to be throwing around in a short amount of time, if they want to keep that line intact. Especially with them being right up against the projected cap over the next few years.

  27. 27 D3FB said at 10:47 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Too much $ tied up at OL.

    Go young, build a homegrown unit.

  28. 28 Tumtum said at 11:22 PM on January 18th, 2017:

    Seems a worth flier. Appears he was cut after their line was rekt by Tenn this season. Suppose he has been pretty garbage in his career, but that line wasn’t known for being good. Perhaps a change of scenery can bring out the best of him. At least clubs close in Philly before 6am! Not assuming anything..just know what I would be doing if I played there.

  29. 29 Mitchell said at 11:51 PM on January 18th, 2017:

    Kpassagnon is an interesting guy. Dude is freaking massive at 6’7″ and 290 lbs. He looks really quick off the edge for a guy his size and has flexibility to turn the corner. He is a physical dude but needs to learn to use his hands and long arms better to keep OL off him. I saw him use a couple of counter moves including an inside spin and shoulder slap. You know Schwartz would love a guy this big but where the hell do you draft him. He’s got the physical characteristics of an NFL player for sure but he played against St. Francis and South Dakota St…. 4th maybe?

  30. 30 A_T_G said at 6:05 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    What kind of name is that? It sounds Viking or Middle Earth.

  31. 31 Corry said at 7:23 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Middle Earth Viking.

  32. 32 A Roy said at 12:37 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Is that anything like an AC Viking?

  33. 33 Sb2bowl said at 4:28 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Apostrophe Comma Viking

  34. 34 ChoTime said at 10:47 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Mixed in with a little French. Maybe he’s a Gaulic Ostrogoth.

  35. 35 Corry said at 7:40 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    I’m abivalent about Kelce. On one hand his athelticism is such an asset. I love seeing him clear a path on screens and pulling around the edge, but on the other hand I’m sick of seeing him unable to hold his ground against larger nose tackles. I also wonder how often short yardage situations are determined by his inability to get movement in the run game. He does seem to be a leader in the locker room as well, so there’s that to consider.

    So I guess all that rambling I’d have to say I wouldn’t be upset to see him go, nor would I be unhappy that he stays.

  36. 36 myartz04 said at 8:19 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    I agree with you, it’s really hard to get a read on Kelce. The way I look at it games usually never come down to a clutch screen pass but they do, however, come down to 3rd and 1, 4th and 1, and goal line stands and as you stated, this is where you need someone big enough to move someone out of the way.

  37. 37 Bert's Bells said at 10:11 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    It’s really the bad snaps that bother me most. He’s good for a least one a game. Maybe some of that is communication with the QB.

  38. 38 Tumtum said at 1:44 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    You know its pretty bad when each fan will have a different thing they hate most about a center. I’m surprised there is so much to dislike about him, but we still like him in a way. Kind of like DGB or Nelson I guess. We know there is a possibility for more.

  39. 39 Bert's Bells said at 1:47 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    He is really good in space. That’s unquestionable.

  40. 40 Tumtum said at 10:09 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Agreed. Like I said, I don’t want to see him go. When he didn’t make the line calls he was, like, super good.

  41. 41 Tumtum said at 1:40 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Well said, feel very much the same. Though my biggest problem with him is the blatant penalties in the face of the ref. Not just holding penalties that would have been sacks. Holding penalties where there wasn’t impact on the play because he can’t stand being beat. IDGAF flagrant face mask pulling in front of the ref on 3rd and short that would of easily been converted.

    I actually probably am more towards the dislike side anymore… still want him.

  42. 42 Jernst said at 2:09 PM on January 20th, 2017:

    Agreed. I think Kelce needs to be replaced. I just don’t think this offseason is the one to do it. Cap savings is minimal, we’d have to eat almost two and half mil in dead money (money we already paid and that counts against our cap that offers absolutely zero return on our investment), and we’d be going into Carson’s pivotal 2nd year with an inexperienced center who were unsure can handle the job and absolutely no depth at either C or G. Whereas we could just eat the $3.8M it would take to keep Kelce, hope to get one more good year out of him, allow Seumalo a year to get his feet wet at LG before taking over all the responsibilities of center, have Barbre as the top reserve instead of starting, have Seumalo as a backup C if Kelce goes down and one more year to restock the bare cupboards at guard before making the move.

    This calculation all changes, however, if let’s say a team desperate for a starting center offers us a 3rd round pick for Kelce.

  43. 43 Insomniac said at 8:20 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Corey Davis isn’t attending the Senior Bowl. Really disappointed about his decision, even more so when Khalil Mack declared he wasn’t going to attend.

  44. 44 Mitchell said at 9:18 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    That is disappointing. Really would like to see what he can do against some steeper competition, although, he did play really wrll last year against Alabama(?).

  45. 45 D3FB said at 10:46 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Against Power 5 opponents:
    2015:
    Mich State: 10-154-1
    Ohio State: 6-42-0
    2016:
    Northwestern:7-70-0
    Illinois: 4-97-0
    Wisconsin: 6-73-1

  46. 46 kid said at 12:17 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    That does not look promising

  47. 47 xmbk said at 12:26 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Why? Even WR are impacted by supporting cast. Pretty solid, esp given that they likely were gameplanning around him.

  48. 48 kid said at 5:58 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Yea you’re right

  49. 49 Stephen E. said at 3:32 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I would have been ecstatic if any of our WRs had put up those 2016 numbers.

  50. 50 Mitchell said at 2:24 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Pretty good considering the doubles he gets.

  51. 51 Insomniac said at 1:26 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Yup, he can address his inconsistency at the combine and pro day but you can’t ask for some of the best CBs to guard you there like a real game.

  52. 52 Tumtum said at 1:37 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    The way these agents get these guys to participate anymore, wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t think the Senior Bowl wouldn’t be able to add to his value.

  53. 53 Insomniac said at 2:09 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    That’s true, what he’ll gain is probably not worth the risk of the injury if he’s as good as he thinks. The question marks are still going to linger for him since he’s not going to prove that you should really take him over Mike Williams pre-combine.

  54. 54 Mitchell said at 2:55 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Regardless of what he does, I pick Williams before him.

  55. 55 Media Mike said at 4:22 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Complete punk move. Anybody who skips the Senior Bowl is showing a fear of competition and scrutiny.

  56. 56 Howie Littlefinger said at 7:57 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Or fear of getting hurt in a meaningless game where u can do nothing BUTt hurt your draft stock

  57. 57 Fufina said at 8:44 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    People move up the draft boards all the time from the senior bowl. Wentz cemented his no.2 pick by balling out in the training sessions. The reality is that the chance of injury is pretty low, and the upside with a good performance is significant.

  58. 58 FairOaks said at 10:30 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    But if you are a highly-rated pick already, the question is more if you can take a hit to your stock.

  59. 59 Jernst said at 2:03 PM on January 20th, 2017:

    I tend to cut these guys some slack, especially if they’re widely considered a sure thing 1st round pick already and potentially the #1 or at worst #2 overall prospect at their position. There’s nothing to be gained (aside from maybe jumping a couple of draft spots higher) and everything to lose (tearing an ACL in a meaningless game when you were already assured a huge 1st round contract).

    If anything, this helps the Eagles if he’s truly one of our desired targets. If he went there and played out of his mind he’d potentially play himself out of contention at our pick by piquing the interest of a team that might otherwise be scared off by his lack of top college competition.

    Personally, I’m hoping Davis is still there when we pick and that we scoop him up and he similarly makes (almost) everyone forget he never attended the Senior Bowl just like Khalil Mack has.

  60. 60 xmbk said at 8:44 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Getting a pick for Kelce isn’t unrealistic, as the cap hit for his new team wouldn’t be as high as it is for the Eagles. Should be teams willing to pay roughly 4 mill for a solid starting center with a couple of years left in him.

  61. 61 Fufina said at 10:24 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Agreed, it is a very tradable contract, and in the right scheme/fit i think he could be a very effective starter. Not sure who runs a zone blocking scheme with a need at C, but i am sure there are a 1-2 who might be interested.

  62. 62 anon said at 11:22 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Chip Kelly in Jax?

  63. 63 Fufina said at 12:04 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Ohh would be a nice fit – knows the scheme and is a high character guy, and they have oodles of cap to spend as well so its a 0 risk move for them. 4th round pick would be nice.

  64. 64 UKEagle99 said at 1:29 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Kelly didn’t get the Jax OC job…

  65. 65 Sb2bowl said at 4:42 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    The fact that Alex Mack has had such a big influence on ATL’s line may help us out a bit- he brought leadership and stability to their group, and even though they don’t have the most talent, they have played much better this year compared to years past.

    Kelce is trade able, though I think doing so this year would be a mistake. But then again, I don’t work for the Eagles.

  66. 66 Howie Littlefinger said at 7:56 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Mack got PAID.

    I disagree with your logic but sincerely hope it works!

  67. 67 Sb2bowl said at 9:27 AM on January 20th, 2017:

    He did get paid. But he was a 29 year old center hitting free agency. Now he’s paid like the top 5.

    Kelce is the same age, but is paid just under top 10 money going forward, with 2 years left on his contract. He’s worth something, but it remains what that value really is……….

  68. 68 eagleyankfan said at 10:41 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    older I get — the more memory I lose :). “immediately became the starting center” — I thought Kelce became a starter do to injury. I’m probably wrong on that though…

  69. 69 Bert's Bells said at 10:51 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Jamaal Jackson was health in TC. The coaches definitely wanted Kelce to win the job. I think it was Howard Mudd’s second year.

  70. 70 eagleyankfan said at 11:01 AM on January 19th, 2017:

    Thanks.

  71. 71 Tumtum said at 1:35 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    This was Jamaal Jackson version 2 though right? Didn’t he either get cut or lose his job, then that person got hurt and JJ came back in to finish out the previous season? I feel about a 3% confidence level in that.

  72. 72 Bert's Bells said at 1:43 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Maybe. He was injured opening day in 2010 and some scrubs filled in. Don’t think he was ever cut though, just IR.

    Oh, and on reflection I think 2011 was Mudd’s first season. But I’m too dumb to google that ish. That really explains why he was cut for Kelce.

  73. 73 Sb2bowl said at 4:41 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    We held on to Jackson for insurance purposes (if I remember correctly) that year, and he was gone the next.

  74. 74 Sb2bowl said at 4:27 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    It may have been Mudd’s first year- Juan just switched to the defensive side of things, and Mudd brought in his zone blocking scheme. Kelce was a rookie 6th round pick who was put in ahead of Jackson. It was a head scratcher at the time

  75. 75 Dave said at 4:38 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Correct, Mud wanted an athletic center and Jamaal was a mauler coming off missing the previous season witha torn tricep.

    Jamaal replaced Hank “Honey Bear” Fraley during the 2005 season when Fraley went down with an injury.

    Ironically, if we move on from Kelce this year to Semaulo, we will have gone from an undersized center to a mauler, to an undersized center, back to a mauler.

  76. 76 Sb2bowl said at 4:39 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Isaac will be the highest drafted C we have had since our super bowl run of “honey buns”- both he and Jamaal were undrafted finds for us.

  77. 77 Dave said at 5:13 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Ah, yes, Honey Buns. Not sure why, but I couldn’t get Honey Bear out of my head.

  78. 78 Jernst said at 1:57 PM on January 20th, 2017:

    Yea I remember Jackson was really pissed and didn’t understand his demotion during TC. A lot of fans were wondering why we eventually dumped Jackson, who had been a fairly decent starter for a couple years, to put in an undersized 6th round pick too.

  79. 79 Corry said at 1:11 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Per Schefter, the Seahawks may lose a 2nd round pick for failing to disclose season long knee injury to Richard Sherman.

    https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/822144129513701376

  80. 80 Sean Stott said at 1:15 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I mean I’m glad it didn’t cost us anything, but we should have also been punished for the handling of the Earl Wolff injury.

  81. 81 Tumtum said at 1:34 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Feel like the team genuinely didn’t think Earl had an issue.

  82. 82 Sean Stott said at 1:56 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    At the time I remember Earl disagreeing about that.

  83. 83 Tumtum said at 10:08 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Yep..it was a weird situation.

  84. 84 Jernst said at 1:55 PM on January 20th, 2017:

    The Eagles and Earl agreed on his diagnosis. Earl disagreed that he could or should continue to play when his knee was aching. The Eagles were right, he could play on an aching arthritic knee (Westy and Trotter did this throughout their entire careers). Wolff was also right in that it was his right as a human being to refuse to cause further arthritis (the only complication of playing on it) by continuing to play. Wolff did what he felt was best for his long term health. But, no professional football team will ever employ a player that has arthritis in his knees and refuses to play on it whenever it starts to ache. If you want a career in the NFL, you have to be willing to put up with the pain of early onset arthritis. Wolff was not and hence he no longer has an NFL career.

  85. 85 Media Mike said at 4:23 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Pain Tolerance.

  86. 86 Sb2bowl said at 4:25 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Correct- they thought he could go, Earl didn’t. I remember Chip specifically saying that the medical staff had cleared Earl, but Earl held himself out.

    http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/philadelphia-eagles-earl-wolff-microfracture-surgery-knee-injury-2015-training-camp-081915

    http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/21/eagles-arent-waiting-for-earl-wolff-to-get-healthy-anymore/

  87. 87 Jernst said at 1:50 PM on January 20th, 2017:

    Yes…it wasn’t only though that they didn’t think Earl had an issue. They eventually diagnosed his problem. But, the problem was a small area of arthritis where the cartilage over the bone had worn down. A football player can, and most do, play through that type of condition. Jeremiah Trotter famously played his entire career with pretty much no cartilage whatsoever covering the two bones in his knee. I shutter to think what he’ll look like walking down stairs in a couple years, but the fact remains that players can and often do play through arthritis. Westbrook did the same thing. Wollf’s was minor by comparison to what I expect most players deal with. Unfortunately, it’s damn near impossible to make someones articular cartilage grow back. The only surgery that really even tries to do this is microfracture surgery, where they drill small holes in bone with what essentially amounts to a small power drill and hope that that injury causes cartilage to grow as it heals. Problem is that it doesn’t work all that well, the cartilage that grows if any grows at all, typically wears out fairly quickly and more often than not the scar tissue that ends up forming from the procedure ultimately ends the career of most pro-athletes anyway.

  88. 88 A_T_G said at 1:46 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    That was different, though. That was just some scrub who we pushed to compete for a job through an injury. This is a premier starting CB, this impacts betting lines. Gamblers are going to be pissed.

  89. 89 Sean Stott said at 1:59 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I totally get your point, being that there are gambling influences that drive decision making, but the league can’t eat its cake and have it too. Something like this needs to be enforced league-wide, otherwise publicly support gambling.

  90. 90 A_T_G said at 5:28 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    No, I agree with you completely. I was speaking tongue in cheek to point out the absurdity for exactly the reason you mention.

  91. 91 xmbk said at 2:20 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Seattle isn’t disputing that Sherman had an MCL. The Eagles disputed the extent of Wolff’s knee.

  92. 92 Sean Stott said at 4:13 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I disagree. If they disputed the extent of Wolff’s injury, they should not have been able to put him on IR

  93. 93 xmbk said at 7:10 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    That’s a notoriously difficult injury to diagnose. They reported the injury, it was only the extent to which it impacted him that caused the problems. What would the violation be?

  94. 94 Jernst said at 1:44 PM on January 20th, 2017:

    Not necessarily. The Eagles did all the required tests and had multiple experts look at the injury. They noted a small area of his cartilage that was worn down (arthritis in other words) and thus causing him pain. They also documented this injury on their injury report. The issue was that since there was nothing structurally unsound or unstable with the knee (really just early onset arthritis), they, including the orthopedic surgeons that looked at him determined that he could play through the discomfort as many players with similarly arthritic knees do. And, while playing with early onset arthritis would almost definitely lead him to eventually have even worse arthritis in the future, this is true for pretty much every professional football player. This really only became an issue because Wolff (as is his right as a human being that needs to look out for his future health) refused to play on the knee if there was any pain in it at all. So, they were kind of at an impasse. Medically, he was cleared to play with the issue that he had, but personally he decided not to. The coaching staff clearly wasn’t a fan of his decision, but they didn’t hide his condition, fail to report it, or force him to play. When further tests showed that the area of arthritis was slightly larger and worse than they thought, Wollf was given two options. He could still play through it despite it being uncomfortable, or he could opt to have season ending and potentially career ending surgery where they drill into the bone around the area of arthritis and try to stimulate cartilage growth that way. Wolff opted for the surgery which turned out to be career ending. That’s on him. The Eagles and their orthopedic surgeons didn’t do anything wrong. You can argue that they weren’t nice enough to him about a very real issue he was having with his knee, but this is professional sports. All NFL players have arthritis, those who stick around play through it. You simply can’t pay a guy or rely on a player that will refuse to play through that pain whenever it flares up.

  95. 95 Mr. Magee said at 1:22 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Would love to see it, but can’t see that happening – sounds highly unlikely

  96. 96 Corry said at 2:05 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Well a little bit of further clarification: the Seahawks have already lost a 5th round pick due to contact during OTAs, so this would likely be an elevation of that lost pick not in addition to. In other words instead of losing a 5th round pick, they’ll now lose a 2nd round pick.

  97. 97 Bert's Bells said at 1:36 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I haven’t followed this story. Seattle withheld medical information from a player? That sounds like criminal negligence.

  98. 98 Sean Stott said at 1:57 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    They withheld that there was an injury to Sherman. They didn’t withhold this from Sherman.

  99. 99 Bert's Bells said at 2:27 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Gotcha. A “Belichick”, I believe it’s called.

  100. 100 Stephen E. said at 3:34 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Our CBs played far worse with two good knees.

  101. 101 RobNE said at 3:45 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I don’t really get it. This affects who, professional gamblers?
    Belicheck etc do this all the time. How is this of all things worth a 2nd round pick. Plus, he was playing right? So you are talking about an injury that players can play thru, even if less than optimally. Isn’t that 90% of the players at any given time?

  102. 102 Sb2bowl said at 4:22 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    It’s probably more about the competitive advantage from one team to another (and gambling). A team that is honest and lists all their injured players is at a disadvantage against a team that does not. That’s probably the hang up.

    A 2nd round pick is steep, but they have to make a point.

  103. 103 RobNE said at 5:05 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    maybe they could focus on a lot of more important things like getting rid of calling TO right before field goals. This Sherman thing is so far down on my list I think it’s ridiculous.

  104. 104 Sb2bowl said at 5:44 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Maybe they are working their way up to it?

  105. 105 Media Mike said at 4:24 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Yes. It is worth a 2nd round pick.

  106. 106 Corry said at 5:08 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    The 2nd round pick is an elevation of the 5th round pick they’ve already forfeited for too much contact during OTAs.

  107. 107 RobNE said at 5:09 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    ok fine, I’m not spending time on feeling bad for the Seahawks, this just isn’t high on my list. I mean isn’t this the time of the year to accuse the Pats of cheating?

  108. 108 Corry said at 5:12 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Not while they’re still in the playoffs. This only happens after they’ve won the super bowl.

  109. 109 Media Mike said at 4:24 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Good. I’m tired of teams cheating via the injury report.

  110. 110 Gary Barnes said at 1:51 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I would not cut Kelce especially in Wentz’s very important 2nd year of development and with other changes likely occurring in other parts of the offense.

    Change for change’s sake is rarely a good idea and his salary is not onerous enough to negate his value as a player IMO.

    We have zero idea if Seumalo is ready to be the starting C and it would be better to give him more time to develop his skills as a OL in general before forcing him into being the leader of the group.

    The OL again is the most or at least among the most important parts of the team and the engine of the offense. Let Seumalo compete with Kelce openly, that is fine. If we drop out of contention or Kelce gets injured, give Seumalo another shot if he loses the competition initially, that is fine. But to cut a valuable and talented player just for cap relief from a vital position on the team seems unnecessary.

    We should be able to gain enough cap relief by letting Barwin and others go.

    If you can trade him for good value, I could be open to that, but again only if they are very confident in Seumalo and we have a backup plan in case Seumalo flops. The Eagles do not have a great record in evaluating talent recently and thus I’m skeptical until I see Seumalo prove it.

  111. 111 Ark87 said at 2:55 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Yeah, I have a cautious approach. I get Kelce hasn’t been ideal, especially for what hes going to get paid, but this O-line needs talent. Ditch a starter, move over a young and talented starting guard, suddenly you have lesser talents shifting up the depth chart. A weak depth chart to begin with. I guess I’d like to see us add a starting guard before moving a starting guard to center and ditching Kelce.

  112. 112 Howie Littlefinger said at 7:36 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Yea but KC started a rookie C last year so it’s not like it would be unheard of to unload a so-so player with a top 10 contract

  113. 113 Jernst said at 1:32 PM on January 20th, 2017:

    True…but why take an unnecessary risk with you most valuable asset (Wentz). The most important thing for his development, even more so than getting him some weapons to throw to, is to keep him well protected and ultimately healthy.

  114. 114 Tumtum said at 8:35 AM on January 20th, 2017:

    I, and I believe most other here, agree. Not like Isaac can’t just beat him out in camp.

  115. 115 Jernst said at 1:28 PM on January 20th, 2017:

    This! Exactly this. I don’t even need to write a post, this is exactly what I was thinking. In addition, moving Seumalo to Center next year while releasing/trading Kelce really depletes our depth at guard. Which, with a RG who missed two games last second with anxiety, and a LG who’s going to be 33 next year, it would seem to me that guard depth is important.

    If Kelce stays and the starting guards are Seumalo and Brooks, with Barbre as the swing/utility player with tons of starting experience that can fill in without us missing a beat, I feel very comfortable. If Kelce is gone, and Seumalo is starting at C, we now have to project Barbre as the starting LG with Brooks at RG. We’d have a completely inexperienced player at the vital C position that we are not fully sure can handle the job. No backup center and Tobin (I guess as the utility swing/backup player) and possibly a draft pick for interior depth. That’s less than ideal.

    I’d rather expend the $3.8M to keep Kelce for one more year, let Seumalo get his ears wet at the easiest position along the line (LG) so that we know for sure what we have in him as a player. Add some young depth at guard this offseason and get rid of Kelce next season when his dead cap hit is down around $1M. No reason to pay Kelce $2.4M this year to suit up for someone else.

  116. 116 Media Mike said at 4:28 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I’m one of the more anti-Kelce people here, so I was happy to see the report from Kempski.

  117. 117 Ryan Rambo said at 4:34 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Release Kelce or keep Barner?? Which one do you pick??

  118. 118 Media Mike said at 4:35 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    You need to get you a GM who can do both.

  119. 119 Ryan Rambo said at 10:40 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    You are the GM. Which ONE do you choose??

  120. 120 CrackSammich said at 7:12 AM on January 20th, 2017:

    He got fired for focusing all of his time on marginal talent.

  121. 121 GermanEagle said at 4:49 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    So when is the NFL finally rewarding us with a 3rd round pick for the Maclin tampering by tha Chiefs….?!

  122. 122 Sean Stott said at 4:51 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    You could make a case that having Maclin off the team improved our draft position considerably enough that we made up for that 3rd pick

  123. 123 GermanEagle said at 4:58 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    Well played. Never thought of it this way!

  124. 124 P_P_K said at 9:48 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    With a positive attitude like that, you’re the guy I want around when bad sh*t is happening.

  125. 125 Sb2bowl said at 5:04 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    The NFL really dropped the ball on that one!

    Get it? Lol

  126. 126 Sean Stott said at 6:20 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I got it 🙁

  127. 127 Nick C said at 8:41 PM on January 19th, 2017:

    I think we went back and forth last off-season over who can complain about this more lol. Still absolutely ridiculous and I am now pissed off yet again at how the NFL hates us haha.

  128. 128 Ryan Rambo said at 4:09 AM on January 20th, 2017:

    Dorenbos & Asante vs Desean Jackson – Locker Room Baseball: 25|8

    https://youtu.be/0DZ_FdBxIi8

  129. 129 A_T_G said at 7:38 AM on January 20th, 2017:

    And so ended the career for 85 Jeremy Williams… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3365859984cb91efd7a12346dbee6a8c681386cd029647d8665df18b3a113a76.png

  130. 130 Tumtum said at 8:34 AM on January 20th, 2017:

    Our practice squad used to be really good. What happened to that?