Offseason Talk
Posted: February 17th, 2018 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 212 Comments »Normally the offseason is an exciting time. You look forward to figuring out how your team will get better. When you’re coming off a Super Bowl win, the offseason isn’t as exciting. You want to keep as many players as possible, but that’s a real challenge. Good players aren’t cheap.
The Eagles showed some goodwill toward Stefen Wisniewski recently.
Eagles G Stefen Wisniewski narrowly missed a $250k playing time incentive this year so the Eagles said no problem, we appreciate guys who block three guys on one play in the playoffs and redid his deal this week to include a $250k signing bonus for 2018. pic.twitter.com/Ymt84Li7fu
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 17, 2018
$250K isn’t much in the big scheme of things, but I’m sure Wiz really appreciates the gesture. It isn’t lost on agents and other players.
Encouraging words from an NFL agent. https://t.co/PHiQuwK6hJ
— Sam Lynch (@shlynch) February 17, 2018
The team can’t make everyone happy that easily. Brandon Graham is in the final year of a cheap deal and would like to get paid. Jimmy Bama wrote a good piece on Graham’s contract situation and why the Eagles should pay him. Jimmy pointed out that Graham could get a deal similar to the one signed by Vikings DE Everson Griffen.
In 2018, Graham’s cap number is $8 million. The Eagles could realistically actually lower his cap charge in 2018 by working out a contract extension, and if a deal were to be structured anything like Griffen’s, the Eagles could protect themselves against any age concerns by making him easily releasable after two seasons.
Realistically, the Eagles should be falling over themselves trying to get Graham to sign a deal similar to Griffen’s. From Graham’s perspective, it should take more.
If the Eagles think Graham can be a top flight pass rusher for the next 2 to 3 years, they should give him a new deal. If they have concerns about him declining, then they have a tough decision to make. You can’t talk about Graham’s situation without mentioning Vinny Curry. He signed a big deal a couple of years back and is due $11M in 2018. Curry simply isn’t worth that much money right now. If you can get him to take a pay cut, giving Graham a new deal makes a lot more sense.
The Eagles took a long look at DEs while down at the Senior Bowl. That wasn’t by accident. They know the DE situation is tricky and want to be prepared in case these contract negotiations don’t go as hoped.
I haven’t written much about the draft, but that will be changing.
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BGN found an interesting piece by Jason La Canfora. He went through the tough situations facing all 32 teams. About the Eagles…
The more executives I talk to, the more I am convinced that Howie Roseman will keep Nick Foles deep into the offseason and not trade him for anything but significant value. I’m not buying the alleged two first-round pick evaluation, but at least a second-rounder and something else. We’ll see if that market develops, but Foles’s value while Carson Wentz recovers from knee surgery is high. I do, however, expect him to be proactive in what he can get for left tackle Jason Peters. “The offense operated well without Peters, and he’d have some value,” one exec said. “The kid who filled in is nothing special, but the offensive line as a whole was fine without Peters.” Philly is in a cap bind, but Torrey Smith’s $5 million option might be too steep. And the Eagles want to extend Brandon Graham and began talks with him in season.
La Canfora and Howie are buddies. This could be Howie’s way of floating Peters name out there just to see what teams are willing to offer. If some team feels it is a LT away from being really good, they might make a good offer for Peters. With his age, price and the fact he’s coming off injury, I certainly wouldn’t count on that.
You know the Eagles would love to have Peters back, but he’s nearing the end of his career and his price tag is $10.67M. That’s a lot for a team with cap issues. If you could trade him, add some resources and save money…that would have to be tempting. We’ll see if anything comes of this.
Here is the BGN take on Peters.
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PFT had an update on the Eagles offensive coordinator situation.
“I’m thinking through a lot of things and processing a lot of things right now, a lot of names,” Pederson said. “I haven’t ruled out not having an offensive coordinator. But you know, as a head coach and some of the responsibilities that I have to do during the week and some of the other obligations, I’ve got to look at that too. Because that’s where your offensive coordinator can really step in so, like I said, I’m processing a bunch of things. I’m not going to rush into it, I’m going to make sure it’s the right person, the right fit for what we’re doing. I think that’s important too, that that person fits the culture and his way of thinking has to coincide with the way we’re thinking and … calling the plays and go from there.”
The Eagles have such a close-knit team and coaching staff that you have to make sure you bring in the right people. There is no reason to rush and make a hire.
Andy Reid struggled to find good replacements for the great staff he initially put together. That hurt the Eagles over time. It will be interesting to see how Pederson handles this challenge.
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Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat!
A week or so ago on Undisputed, Shannon Sharpe had some pretty good insight about repeating as champs. He pretty much summed it up as the team staying hungry. Mike Shanahan kept informing them that history is full of teams who’ve won it one year and not the next. To be special you have to win it again, which is true. And on top of that, this team had a painful divisional round loss two seasons prior to refer back to for extra motivation.
This Eagles team has the best chance to do it since the ’14 Hawks. They’re loaded, but that might not mean much if we don’t play the off-season correctly. A tight cap situation, lack of draft capital and a loss of coaches/players are going to have to be addressed. I don’t think that will be easy either. And on top of that, the mid to late season injuries to Peters and Wentz could very well be harder to overcome than anticipated.
Does anyone know if NFL Films will be doing a retrospective on the Eagles entire season? If so, can’t wait for that!
March 6th!
http://www.phillyvoice.com/heres-how-relive-eagles-super-bowl-run-beginning-end/
I want an OC from the outside to keep the dynamic with a lot of different backrounds and experiences in the offensive gameplan meeting. And while Dougie P didn’t rule out the “extended responsibilities” for Groh and Staley plan, what he said sure sounds to me like he’ll hire someone from the outside. A “person that fits the culture” is important – but he already knows that for the in-house candidates. I think he’s vetting and calling around for candidates he’d like to hire. And I’m pretty sure he can get who he wants. Two coaches around him just got very good promotions, the Eagles figure to be good again, Pederson gives his coaches responsibilities and doesn’t micomanage them and Lurie pays well. It sure helps that there aren’t any more openings around the league, too.
From the college ranks, or pro. I agree.
I’m with that as long as it isn’t a guy from a gimmick / running QB type background. I was bashing Greg Roman and Chud on a previous conversation on this.
It could be that there any not many good candidates left after everyone else filled their staffs. SB Champ problems
There are some good candidates out there. Tommy mentioned a few of them in this post:
http://igglesblitz.com/2018/02/reich-to-the-colts/
I obviously don’t know if Doug likes them or if they would fit in, but they sure would be qualified for that role.
Well here I am drinking rum for the first time since LII. I drank it only on game day all season except the KC game, which is why it became a ritual. So back to the start of this, here I am drinking rum, and I am immediately transported to the the happy feelings of season past.
Nice!
Kempski used the terminology “low mileage” when referring to Graham. This was made in reference to his low snap count total over his career.
Obviously, that term is used all the time in NFL, but does it really mean anything?
I’m not trying to debate Kempski or Brandon Graham, just if the terminology low milage is actually realistic for an NFL player, and athletes in general.
Looking at the the Boston Marathon results, the men and women that have recently won ranged in age from their early 20s to late 30s. Clearly, Marathon runners in their late 30s literally have run thousands of miles more than runners in their early 20s.
A human being is not a machine, human beings heal. Some players are injury prone, others are not.
I get what you are saying but I just think the example is a very poor analogy therefore having the high possibility of giving false results.
I disagree.
There cannot be a false result when the terminology low milage has never been proven to be true in the first place. It’s merely an assumption people perceive as fact.
AFAIK marathon runners aren’t hurling themselves full throttle at 300lb men when competing, so it is a poor analogy.
My knees begging to differ.
I really like the question. Fletcher Cox said something to the effect because of the heavy rotation all season. Thought he could play more minutes in the playoffs as a result. Maybe so, but I was a little surprised. Why should his stamina be higher from playing less? Obviously the more you play the greater the risk of injury. But assuming everyone is healthy, does mileage matter? Actually I’ve heard that marathoners, or at least ultramarathoners, do have a mileage issue. Might be cartilage wear. The best old marathoners started late in life. Not sure how that translates to a sport like football. Agree it shouldn’t just be assumed
If you play less snaps then you get less damage for your body to repair before the next game.
Over a season your body does not have the time to get back to 100% with just 1 weeks rest.
From a career point of view we know that the body ages – which entails a reduction in physical capability.
Given how badly many ex players age it seems reasonable to assume that ‘mileage’ is a true issue.
But on a case by case basis there’s likely to be such a large range I suspect it’s much more likely to be to see someone is broken down rather than won’t breakdown.
I could imagine week to week there isn’t enough time to recover. But from year to year, with an offseason to heal, shouldn’t there be full recovery unless there’s a serious injury? This is the context for Jimmy’s comment about mileage. Aging happens whether you sit the bench or play every snap, so that’s not directly relevant (but yeah, aging badly might tell you something). If mileage is a real thing, it suggests full offseason recovery doesn’t really happen, even when there’s no official injury. The damage sticks around, and accumulates. Football is not for the fainthearted.
I can absolutely see being fresh for the season being different than a low mileage career. You hear time and time again NFL players saying it takes several months to heal in the off-season.
It is not actually about ‘mileage’ in the strict sense of the word, which is why marathon runners are a bad comparison. Rather, the thinking is that in football you get injured all the time. Aside from the big injuries that force a player to sit out and maybe even have surgery, you have dusins of small injuries – small tears in ligaments, chips and bruises in bones, overloads on soft tissue, small cracks in cartiledge when you get tackled hard, tweaks to the back that hurt the discs, etc. These are actually injuries, they are just small enough that players keep playing through them. But they pile up and stay with you even after the body heals during the post season because they still create scar tissue and weaknesses that might be felt for the rest of their career. If you have played football for 5 years, you already have a boat load of these small injuries, especially if you play in the trenches. They affect your ability to train and practice, to perform at your peak as a result, and to avoid further injury because specific movements or bodyparts are weakened.
I appreciate you providing an actual answer worthy of discussion and not just a criticism of my post. Some took my “milage” analogy too literal.
However, as a former runner, I can attest that running on pavement beats the hell out of your feet, ankles, knees, and hips, yet 38 years olds can still win competitive marathons. At 38, I can’t kneel without horrible knee pain, let alone run a marathon.
I absolutely agree with your point on the number of injuries adding up over time taking their toll on the body and recovery ability. However, it seems just as important is the number of snaps in any given year, regardless of past mileage.
The original example was Brandon Graham and whether he will be able to play at a high level through his early 30s and if his lack of mileage is a factor. I think you have to look no further than Chris Long for an answer. Injuries derailed his career at 29, yet when he was put into a situation of not playing an obscene amount of snaps during the season, he stayed healthy and effective. I could see the same happening with Graham.
Defensive lineman seem to have an advantage over most positions in the NFL with their rotations helping them getting worn down in a game and more susceptible to injury. I’m sure offensive lineman would benefit too from a rotation, but that would limit their cohesive effectiveness.
OT, I don’t know what your knee issues are, but my knee pain went away almost entirely after putting some more muscle on my legs. Get squatting and kneel in peace again.
I think you are exactly right – certainly the number of snaps should matter a great deal for performance, especially for older players, regardless of their injury history.
I want to add that I used to run around 60 km a week in my mid 20’ies. That is now 8 years, three knee surgeries and three hip surgeries ago. I can’t even run to catch the bus anymore. So I hear you. 🙂 Growing old sucks.
Probably low mileage is essentially useless. I linked to a FO study about “injury prone,” which showed that the injury history does have an effect on the chances of future availability. Of course, there couldn’t possibly be a study showing how it affects their actual skill level, humans are too unpredictable and individual for that.
We see guys playing far into their 30s at a high level, and then we see some guys flame out once the first blush of their athleticism fades. Ray Lewis was infamous for going from a dominant player to very quickly, a guy who became a borderline JAG, but hung on for years.
Brandon Graham had a very severe injury, so I don’t think calling him low mileage really means anything. He’ll either continue to be extremely effective or not, and I don’t think anyone can predict it.
One more point: the idea that guys with “old man skills,” that is, less athletic players, will continue to be effective as they age because they “never relied on their athleticism” has been shown to be incorrect. It’s the athletic freaks who hang around longest, because even in their decline, they continue to possess the requisite athleticism to play. Consider Vince Carter or Dominique Wilkins.
Good stuff.
I don’t blame Doug for being slow to bring an OC in from outside. People are here one year, and gone the next and probably take away a ton of detailed information he’s put accumulated.
https://overthecap.com/player/everson-griffen/1774/
Interesting comp. I like that deal as the one to use for Graham. Good work Tommy. Especially with the 2nd and 3rd year numbers with the ability to walk away. I might make more of year one a lower salary with a higher overall signing bonus to get a bit lower than Griffen’s 2017, but those were the kinds of numbers I was talking overall on the prior thread. I just did mine over a shorter period of time. But the structure of the guarantees in Griffen’s deal make walking away easy. We’ll need that with Graham given his age.
Trading Jason Peters would only save the Eagles about $4 million in cap space. You can’t get a quality OT for that in the free agent market.
The problem is that he is a 36 year old coming off an ACL tear. If he doesn’t perform well I wonder if would be willing to take a backup role.
But cutting him would incur the same problem and if he isn’t going be here and isn’t going to retire, I’d like to get something for him rather than nothing for him. My preference would be, in order
1) He’s ready for one last year of pro bowl LT and shows us as much by week 3 of the pre season games.
2) He’s not quite what we want at LT and we trade him to somebody who will part with a conditional 2019 pick
3) He retires
4) We cut him
I think we’re good enough for next year with Big V at LT, but I’m most hopeful #1 is the outcome because I’d love another year of pro bowl Peters at LT. He’s one of the best to ever do it and I’d like him to be on the field for our repeat title win.
“You can’t talk about Graham’s situation without mentioning Vinny Curry. He signed a big deal a couple of years back and is due $11M in 2018. Curry simply isn’t worth that much money right now. If you can get him to take a pay cut, giving Graham a new deal makes a lot more sense.
The Eagles took a long look at DEs while down at the Senior Bowl. That wasn’t by accident. They know the DE situation is tricky and want to be prepared in case these contract negotiations don’t go as hoped.”
Curry would be $5 million saved if we cut him. So he can take a reduction in salary from $9 million to $4 million if he’d like to stay.
https://overthecap.com/player/vinny-curry/786
He can stay with a lower pay cut as you’ve got to factor in that the cost of his replacement. So say pay cut of $3m means you get Vinny. Or cut him and have a $2m a year DE.
The QB market is really saturated this year. You have free agent QBs (in no particular order)
1. AJ McCarron
2.Sam Bradford
3. Kirk Cousins
4. Teddy Bridgewater
5. Case Keenum
Then you have other QBs that could be me made available in trade or might end up being cut-
1. Tyrod Taylor
2. Mike Glennon
3. Eli Manning
4. Trevor Siemian
Then you have about 6 QBs that are projected be taken in the first two rounds
1. Josh Rosen
2. Sam Darnold
3. Josh Allen
4. Lamar Jackson
5. Baker Mayfield
6. Mason Rudolph
With all those options I don’t see how a GM would spend a 1st/2nd rounder on such an enigma like Foles.
Nobody on that FA list is that enticing to be honest. Just names.
I’d take Foles over every name on that list right now. And at about half the cost (or less) of the upper tier free agents.
I think some people are being so conscious of not overvaluing Foles that they’re criminally underestimating how intriguing he’s going to be to some GMs. It’s going to be fascinating to see how this plays out.
If I’m Jacksonville or Minnesota, I’m going hard after Foles, cause he is my best chance to get to SB, IF the OC can run a style that Foles can have success, people rip him for his bad games, but he is in the top 2 or 3 in the league with long pass accuracy. if he’s in minny next season, they would be very tough to beat. As a side note, I’d sign Sammy Sleeves as my backup if Nick is traded and Sam isn’t signed.
I have no interest in seeing Foles playing in Minnesota with DeFilippo and a healthy Dalvin Cook. I’d take less from Jacksonville to keep that from happening. But if the deal were too good to pass up, it’s a damn nice fit for the Vikes.
Except he’s not at half the cost or less. He’s going to demand a new deal the second a team trades for him.
It’s possible, but there’s nothing in Nick’s history to suggest that a holdout is a foregone conclusion. Is he going to holdout for Super Bowl MVP money if he stays in Philly?
In Philly he’s a backup. In a trade he’s QB1. You really think somebody is going to give up a pick and then his agent isn’t going to get on the phone screaming fuck you pay me? His contract would have zero guaranteed money left. And last time he was traded he went from a third round pick salary to a two year $24 million extension. And it’s going to be much higher this time around.
Either Nick is playing here for a $7 mil cap hit or he’s getting $50 mil in guaranteed money elsewhere.
He has four years left on his current contract for every team except the Eagles. Any team that would trade for him will renegotiate that contract before the deal is made. If Foles wants to demand Cousins money, he doesn’t get traded, and he likely doesn’t play this year. Or he can accept a very nice raise, a starting job, and still be a relative bargain compared to what Cousins and Keenum are getting.
He has 1 year left on his deal. It either is extended or is voided. Look up the contract, he has base salaries of $0 which isn’t a real contract.
Mike Glennon got $14/year to be a stop gap. Foles is getting way more than that if somebody trades for him to make him the franchise.
Also Nick Foles has made ok money in the league, and comes from money, and has talked about retiring. He’s not somebody that a team is going to be able to punk to taking a bullshit deal.
I looked it up before I spoke about it. There’s an annual base salary of $5.5M for 2019, 2020, and 2021, with a clause that those three years void if he’s on the roster 23 days before the league year starts.
Foles has some leverage. A team trading for him would also have some leverage. If Foles wants to play football, they’ll find a middle ground. If he’s losing sleep over what Mike Glennon got a couple of years ago and demands way more money, he won’t get traded anywhere, and he probably won’t play much football in 2018.
That’s not what OTC has.
I think Foles is ok being a backup here for his current salary. And I think he’s ok being a starter for good money. I think it’s naive to think he’s going to get punked into taking a shitty contract.
It’s what Spotrac has, and what the media has reported. And “punked” and “shitty” are your characterizations, not mine. I said middle ground. Something that allows the team that trades for him to sidestep the $30M Cousins madness, pay him significantly more than he’s making now, and use the remaining financial resources to put some talent around him so he has another crack at being a Super Bowl MVP again.
I’m guessing he’d be okay with that. Especially considering that money isn’t everything to him.
Go tell your boss that you’ll be fine only making 50% of what your peers are because you want the company to be successful and money isn’t everything.
Do I have a four year contract at a quarter of what they’re making before I sit down with him… so at 50% of what my peers are getting I’m still getting 100% more than I’m making now? I’ll need to know all the parameters before I entertain this hypothetical.
I don’t either.
Yeah Foles 7M cap number is a bit of a luxury for a guy who might only play 5 games but there are easier places to cut.
I put little stock in th rationale that it might cause Wentz to become unfocused/rattled if Foles is still on the roster next year too like Garcia did with McNabb.
If it does, Wentz is a lot less mentally tough than I though he was.
wentz helped foles a lot – lurie in sb speech made it clear wentz was franchise
I just don’t see that with Wentz. Was there really a thing with McNabb like that? I don’t remember.
No, made up by the local media and fans who had an axe to grind with McNabb
Does seem unlikely, unless a team strikes out in both free agency and the draft. And at that point, the Eagles would have eaten the $3 million roster bonus, so Foles would be rather cheap and more attractive than other trade candidates. That would likely be 2019 draft picks, but if a team was desperate, it *could* happen. I would have to think the Eagles would not trade him to a terrible situation, unless the offer was just too good to refuse.
Foles salary does not matter to a team trading for him. No one is trading for him without giving him a new deal.
Unless they need a one-year stopgap, very true. Although the cheap year would usually be factored into the negotiations.
Nobody is going to trade more than a 4 for a stop gap QB, especially when they can probably just pay for one. Even if you factor the one cheap year into the extension you’re still talking about a big ass extension dollar wise.
Logically I think you’re right. The only thing would be a Bradford type situation, where a team either strikes out badly in the draft/free agency and is still just a QB away, or there is an injury later in the postseason, etc. Either one of those scenarios would be 2019 picks though, not 2018. I really don’t see a team offering enough to tempt the Eagles to trade before the 2018 draft, for all the reasons you mention.
So the list of teams in need of a QB are…………..
Arizona, Denver, Minnesota, Cleveland, Giants, Bills, and Jets.
Wild cards cold be; Dolphins or Jags if they want to ditch out current punks.
Teams that might be smart to draft a guy earlier to shelve him for a year or two could be San Diego, Pittsburgh. Baltimore, and maybe New England.
Should be fun to see who goes where.
Normally I’m really excited to talk about the offseason, but this year it’s such a bummer. This team was amazing to watch and seemed to have so much fun playing together. Losing guys is going to be a bummer.
Anyways, sentiment aside, I’m hoping Brent Celek retires. He’s my favorite player and longest tenured Eagle, but his time is coming to an end. His contract value and what he provides the team just doesn’t match. If cut, the Birds save $4M with $1M in dead money.
Torrey Smith is another obvious target with $5M in cap savings if cut. No dead money at all there.
Chris Long is about $2M in savings with very little in dead money if cut.
With those 3 cut/retired, you’re looking at approximately $11M immediately. I’m also sure Howie and company are going to do a number of restructured contracts/extensions to ensure the core of the team remains together. i also wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the guys I’ve listed get restructured to bring their cap numbers down. I suspect this is going to be a very busy off season for the front office just trying to keep the core of the team together and bring in some new blood.
I would be absolutely shocked if Chris Long was cut.
Brandon Graham is unhappy making $7M at 29 and likely wants $15M+ per year. Chris Long was an integral part of the defensive rotation and will make just over $2M next season.
He’s a wily vet who can keep his line mates focused and relaxed. He’s still got a few sacks he can contribute too.
love old pass rushers looking for a ring
He performed very well for the team and I don’t dispute that, but he’s also going to be 33 on a cap strapped team. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him stick around, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see him cut too.
He’s incredibly cheap relative to the value he added. If we can’t afford that, we have mismanaged the cap badly. Curry is another matter. He would be an easy call except that Graham is likely to leave after 2018, and Long is a free agent then as well, leaving us with just Barnett.
I don’t disagree. And basing it on last year’s performance, I’d keep him. My only question is, does he provide that again next season? Age has to become a factor at some point and these guys tend to fall off a cliff rather than slowly decline.
I would always rather cut a guy a year too soon rather than a year too late.
EDIT: I absolutely agree about Curry. His contract compared to performance is the exact opposite of Long. He also has age sneaking up on him too. I believe he will be 30 next year.
He won’t hurt the cap that much even if it is a year too late. I think he’s perfect for the team. Doubt he falls off *that* much.
No he won’t hurt the cap that much. I’m just looking for easy savings (largely because I don’t understand the first damn thing about restructuring contracts, etc.)
And if I add in sentiment, Chris Long is an Eagle for as long as he wants. Dude is a must follow on Twitter and, in my opinion, represents the best of the NFL. Easy guy to love having on your team. The idea of cutting him is strictly business.
felt the same way about connor barwin
I’d be looking to trade/cut Curry. He saves more money, we already have his replacement on the roster, and it appears he will never live up to his contract. Time to cut our losses and move on
yup or take big pay cut
I agree with this. Either restructure or get moved.
I don’t see Long going anywhere. His pay compared to production is laughable. We got a steal with him.
You absolutely keep Long. Cut Curry if you have to shave off some salary on the D-line. Long is a bargain.
The MMQB’s Albert Breer reports free agent Kirk Cousins can file a grievance to block the Redskins from franchising him.
The Redskins want to tag-and-trade Cousins, but the CBA prevents them from tagging him without any plans to sign him. Washington would also need to commit at least $28.7 million in cap space to keep Cousins from free agency, putting them in a bad leverage spot. Cousins remains likely to hit the open market this offseason, where he’ll become one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the league. The Jets, Vikings, and Broncos are the top suitors for Cousins.
The 28.7 is the transition tag as well, not the franchise tag. That would still allow Cousins to sign a contract with another team, possibly with a structure that the Redskins could not match (nor would they really want to). It could have a huge signing bonus which the Redskins would have to eat in a trade. And the Redskins would get no compensation if he walks. I think the franchise tag would be 34 million or so for the tender. Cousins could possibly even just sign that and really put the Redskins in a bind.
remember skins traded for alex smith and gave him an extension. They just don’t want to lose cousins for nothing but have no intention of keeping him. Not fair to raise price on a player like that, i’d file too.
Agreed with that as well. I would certainly file a grievance but even if denied it could still backfire on the Redskins if they tried. It’s a pretty scummy move.
Trading Peters and even getting back a possible conditional 3rd/4th round pick (based on game starts) seems like a no brainer to me.
Not at all. Peters is due $7mil in new money in 2018, and $8mil in 2019 none of which is guaranteed. If he returns to his 2017 level of play his contract will be the best in football. The Eagles window is the next 2-3 years while Wentz is still cheap and core players are still in their prime.
Trading Peters makes no sense to me, especially if you can get him to play 2 more years, limiting Vaitai’s playing time, and allowing you to resign him to a deal at significantly below market value if you think he can actually be a quality starter.
Assuming he rebounds and it stays healthy. He would be a historical outlier at the position if he starts even 14 G.
It is part of the whole ‘maximize the short-term window vs building a more longer-term’ one.
Trading Foles is a tough option too because I could see him landing a solid 2nd pick and it frees up $7M to do other things with.
I mean its a historical outlier for a 36 year old tackle to exist. He got injured being rolled up on.. Generally in other sports (so few NFL players make it into the late 30’s outside of QB’s) what slows down is recovery speed rather than particularly increased injury rate, although the severity can be increased.
Peters seems a gamble the Eagles can easily make, and the cap situation really isn’t as bad as people think, we can get under the cap pretty easily with obvious cuts to Celek and Torrey, and have plenty of scope to restructure 1 or 2 deals to save some more cap.
Yeah but in context – 36 yo tackle coming off an injury – we just wont a super bowl, which personally i thought was a big part of the driver to stay. if he wants to play till 40 do we let him, does he still get top money? why pay lane so much? who do we give up?
i’m fine keeping jp – retire an eagle and everything, but he’s gotta take a pay cut, there’s other guys that were drafted here that we cant keep if we continue to pay him 11m a year
So far he has been a historical outlier. Even if it he doesn’t come back 90% he will still be better then 75% of the T’s out there.
I’m not a big fan of PFF, but they did have him rated as the best LT in the league before his injury. That is saying something.
we didn’t need him to win – so why pay $11m? it’s not like he’s trying to take a pay cut to stay
By that logic, we didn’t need Wentz to win either.
Peters had a lot to do with us getting out to a good record, especially when the LG spot was up in the air, and remained a big locker room presence (and tutor for Vaitai). If we let him go, we have really no depth at tackle at all. One more injury would probably have sunk this OL. I think he’s on the team in 2018. 2019 seems much less likely.
Piling on, we don’t need Hicks either so lets trade him for a 4th already.
Because he was playing at the level.of best T in the league before he got hurt.
That’s not how you build a team, by saying we didn’t need him to win so just cut him.
There is the bottom line, which eschews sentiment, and there is the bottom line which disregards the big picture. Letting a HoF safety get away for a relatively few million makes the franchise look small and JP is definitely a HoF performer who has spent the bulk of his stellar career in Philly. The guy is still valuable so there should not even be a discussion at this point.
Also cut Wentz too
Peters is likely to have 4.5 million of his 2018 salary guaranteed for injury. Cutting him is straight out and may be difficult to trade. Could possibly restructure but that would likely involve giving him more guaranteed money in later years. It’s also not a great idea to trade locker room leaders. The end is coming, but I think the renegotiated deal last year pretty much cements him being on the team in 2018. If he comes back playing as well as he was, he is not overpaid.
More to the point: who the hell is trading anything of value for JP? Doesn’t make any sense.
Resigning Graham to an extension is vital but it is hard to see him remaining an elite pass rusher for more than 2 years.
Question to if he is really an elite pass rusher too. His value is his overall game and playing the run so well too.
Still can’t pay top dollar to a DE in his 30s who averages 4-6 sacks annually.
I cannot see doing it. New money will be starting to go his way age 31, and he is probably looking at least the entire 31 and 32 year old salary being guaranteed and being paid $16+mil a year.
3rd contracts are dangerous, and i would personally wait and see how 2018 plays out before entertaining paying Graham. I would even be happy to tag him in 2019 if needed and he has a 9-10 sack season.
Peep the Griffen deal. You can get out of it, with ease, after the 3rd year is over. Tommy really pulled an excellent comp for Graham’s deal.
https://overthecap.com/player/everson-griffen/1774
I’m guessing Graham wants more than that deal.
He’s not 25 or 26, so I’m not sure if he’s able to get that. I think Tommy using Griffen makes a lot of sense. If anything, Graham has less sack production that Griffen anyway. Griffen has 43.5 sacks over the last 4 years, Graham has 27. So Graham wouldn’t be likely to out earn Griffen out on the market anyway.
agreed but he may prefer to play out his deal and find out on the open market. Olivier Vernon also had lowish sack totals and is getting lots more than Griffen. It’s a 3rd contract, but he has played on an under market deal and now has gotten his ring, so he may be looking to maximize the years he has left.
We’ll see if he can find somebody to pay him that going into his year 31 season. I don’t think he will.
You may be right but he may also not sign until he actually tests the market to find out. Or all this is posturing to try and squeeze a better offer out of howie. Cox pretty much did.
Griffin had 2 years left on his previous deal when he signed that extension in 2017(which is significant team leverage), He turns 33 during the season of his first year of ‘new money’ in his contract. which is a 2 years older than Graham will, which again is a significant difference.
For Griffin signing that deal locked another $18mil as guaranteed money, and while there is a risk he will outplay his contract in 2019 and 2020, even if he did it is probably marginal in total $$ value compared to what gained in extra protection for future income.
Graham i would argue is better, younger and in a better contract situation, making the Griffin deal a pretty difficult template to use.
They found a way to pay Wiz …love it and there ya go ..good faith and they did something creative to pay a guy who preformed !! LOVE IT …
..
Any one know any huge ego maniac rich Jacksass who could have done this a few years ago but instead WASTED AN ENTIRE SEASON because he is a stubborn ego maniac ???????
..
who did we lose?
TO’s 2nd season
Wiz and TO are like night and day different. TO was an absolute me-first jackass clown who tried to hold the Eagles hostage, set a new contract precedent after one season and fucked over his team for his own glory.
Eagles rightfully kicked him to the curb as quickly as possible. Cancers like that ruin team chemistry; as we saw this season the Eagles have a roster full of team-first players that win.
Wiz is a salt of the earth player who never whined or asked for any special treatment. He is a true professional and the team rewarded him for it. Good for the Eagles. I hope TO goes into the HOF as a Cowboy, would be appropriate for a selfish ahole like him.
Best WR we ever had … a career of diva before he came here so no one missed the news flash. . He got cheap shot by the Cowboys, his Super Bowl performance was superior .. wish wish wish someone had an f in clue to pass to him in the last 2 minutes and wtf not renegotiate with him next season. Creatively. Keep him why waste him and was a full season.
One of the reasons i hate the NFL is that players get horrible reps for trying to get paid. Even the jerky ones
Also worst teammate we ever had. TO was a great player, but like Gary said above, he was a cancer. I love how people conveniently forget this and make the Eagles out to be the bad guy in how this all went down. That was 100% TO. The only reason we didn’t have TO long term as _actually_ one of the greatest WR in franchise history (as opposed to potentially) can be spelled out in two letters.
NO, he was always who is is.
we knew it when trying to get him.
..
The call was: he’s the best but can you manage him. .. the world knew it . Instantly the BEST WR for Eagles EVER. not even close.
And his focus on the SB was far more professional than AR’s.
.AR couldn’t manage him that s it.
So he was s Dick, wtf Anfy can’t deal? ?? 1 more reason andy sucks.
Eagles aren’t the bad guys ..Andy Reid is. He is the cancer. Hiding behind a yo-I’m-just-a-regalar-guy facade. .
Got alot of schit for this for years but when he takes another franchaise with great talent nowhere, and cashes his $M,
His bandwagon is skinnier. ..
You want to pay him 7M to fuuuck up ???
No, his value is far lower.. build a team but don’t manage them, don’t decide their payroll, don’t call the plays, don’t menage the clock ..
But if you ar stoooo pitt enough to pay him. .. he is dsmn gkad to get you to full payroll and a playoff loss
wow.
No. Just, no.
Everyone who “picked” TO over Andy and the Eagles is an idiot. At least, that’s what I thought back in the day. It was plain as day. This does nothing to change my mind.
I’ve seen you recent anti-Andy stuff and I thought, hey, I get it, Andy disappointed us all in the end, maybe this guy is a little over the top with the Andy hate, but I get where he’s coming from, he’s making a point. But no, it’s how you actually feel, and it’s kind of delusional. Sorry, I don’t mean to pick a fight or anything, but seriously, nothing you say about this is truly tethered to reality. I’m as disappointed in Andy as the next guy, but your bile and vitriol towards him is frankly disproportionate and weird.
He creeps me out thats what it is.
I actually see him as a bad guy parading around as a good guy.
Yeah it was his press conferences where he litetally would speak down to people. .
..
But I’m over it
“..but I get where he’s coming from, he’s making a point”
..
Thank you for that. Appreciate the consideration. I just get worked up. The guy bothers me for so many reasons ..what can i say.
Mostly because i feel he snubbed the fans so regularly in his pressers. That’s wher i really started questioning who he was.
But im mostly over it now that BBD proved so much ..and then caught that beer 1 handed in his parade… greatest ever
Not 100%, that is ridiculous. The Eagles were notoriously cheap and abrasive about contracts at that time, and McNabb most likely bears some blame as well.
Okay, maybe 90%.
TO punched his own ticket out of town. He complained about being paid a paltry amount per year on the second year of his contract, which was ridiculous because he completely ignored the fact that his first year was considerably more. Instead of considering the average per year, he picked the low number and threw it around as evidence that the Eagles were being “cheap”. The Eagles signed him to essentially a 2 year prove it deal, at a decent rate considering his past history, and he was pissy because they didn’t immediately renegotiate it. Which, of course, was a self-fulfilling prophecy with regard to “proving it”. He forced his way out of town, and the Eagles’ supposed “cheapness” at the time had nothing to do with it.
Lol, been looking around at everyone’s mock daft 1.0, and there s absolutely no one in agreement over who we will select.
Guess that is what happens when you are picking 32, no holes on starting roster, and the only major depth hole is behind a top 5 player at his position.
Feels strange.
trade back! pats style
I traded down and still got D3’s boy Rankin at 2-8. I was overpaid by a round in the trade down, so that trade would have netted me Denver’s 4th rather than their 3rd. I really feel bad that I didn’t get any help at LB or DE, but every dude left there seemed like a reach when I tried to look at those positions. I need to read more on those position groups.
Round 2 Pick 8 (DEN): Martinas Rankin, OT, Mississippi State (A-)
Round 3 Pick 7 (DEN): Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia (A)
Round 4 Pick 31: Folorunso Fatukasi, DT, Connecticut (A)
Round 4 Pick 32: Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State (A+)
Round 5 Pick 19: Javon Wims, WR, Georgia (A+)
Round 5 Pick 32: Terrell Edmunds, SS, Virginia Tech (A)
Round 6 Pick 32: Austin Corbett, OG, Nevada (A+)
And so it begins
Bonus points if you trade back once and get 20 picks in the 4th round.
We’re probably going to lose some players, but maybe we don’t know who yet. Perhaps that’s part of the issue.
I’m leaning towards LB in the draft if Bradham leaves in FA. Hicks is reaching the fragile player territory and I don’t want to see Joe Walker/Najee Goode as primary backups when Hicks gets injured again. The problem is that whoever you’re getting probably won’t be as good as Hicks or Bradham.
Rasheen Evans seems to second guess himself. Either that or he diagnoses plays too late. Maybe he doesn’t have the best instincts? I don’t know. He doesn’t attack down hill on runs often and is more willing to sit + catch guys
Leighton Vander Esch is probably right up there with Smith in terms of instincts but he’s just a solid athlete. High floor guy with a decent ceiling. Not sure if I would pull the trigger on him in the first.
Malik Jefferson could eventually be Mychal Kendricks but you don’t want that in the first round.
That doesn’t sound too good. So I assume you want to trade down and take a linebacker…
Van der esch is pretty athletic though. He played hoops too in high school. He’s only been a starter for a year so he doesn’t have too high a floor.
here’s zierlein profile on him. his workouts will be interesting including BP.
Big, long and athletic. Has history of achievement with dominant performances and state titles in two sports in high school. Former basketball standout with fluid hips and smooth movement around the field. Almost no delay in his change of direction. Has agility and quick-twitch for sudden lateral bursts in his slides to close out slashers.
Vander Esch is a loose-hipped, instinctive linebacker who played in 2017 like he had a GPS tracker on the football. His production totals against both the run and pass are rare for being a first-year starter and with a frame that is primed for more muscle, his NFL ceiling is high.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2018/profiles/leighton-vander%20esch?id=2560232
I think they need to retain Bradham unless he just demands too much. But they’ll probably lose MK if we keep Bradham and we’ll need depth.
They’ve tended not to go 4-3 linebacker in the first but 32 is barely a first.
I didn’t get the feel that Vander Esch has sideline to sideline speed . He’s more quick than fast and he doesn’t take on blocks very well.
Mike McCray out of Michigan seemed like a nice choice. Not the most explosive but good instincts, hard hitter and does fairly well in coverage. I agree with thoughts on Evans. For this scheme dont you want a guy who is more read and react like Evans?
Haven’t seen anything on McCray yet but will put him on the list.
I’m sure it’s fine but probably not the most optimal. I would prefer guys with better instincts since I still have nightmares from the old wide 9 days with Washburn.
I’ll be vacationing this off-season on the The Eagles are the Frickin’ Super Bowl Champions Island.
Vikings beefing up, still adding offensive coaches.
________________________________________
Report: Vikings adding former Raiders offensive coordinator to coaching staff
Posted by Mike Florio on February 17, 2018, 7:19 PM EST
Adam Caplan reports that Todd Downing is expected to join the Vikings in the role of senior offensive assistant.
The Vikings recently hired former Eagles quarterbacks coach John
DeFilippo to succeed Pat Shurmur as offensive coordinator. The Vikings
also declined to let quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski interview for
the offensive coordinator on Shurmur’s staff with the Giants.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/02/17/report-vikings-adding-former-raiders-offensive-coordinator-to-coaching-staff/
Defilipo with the culture change by taking a page from Dougie and gathering veteran coaches that has a variety of experience.
Offtopic – This is very irrational but I hope the Vikings suck ass for the rest of my lifetime.
1. Flip is almost like an Asst. Head Coach/Offense with Downing (a former OC) and Stefanski under him him. Offensive coaches now 3-4 deep like Doug had with himself, Reich, Flip and Groh.
2. Yes I too would enjoy beating Minny like a drum for the next 50 years. Haha.
(Why? For having whiny arrogant fans that couldn’t take the NFCCG loss and handle it with a little class. They were lucky to be there in the first place after the Saints game, but had all kinds of attitude with us when we blew them out.)
Yup, even Pats fans took their loss better than the Vikings fans. It still kind of pisses me off that they’re relevant to us right now, they’re like gnats that won’t go away.
Hahaha. Let’s get ’em again next time!
Pats played insane and can as usual be proud .. vikes got crushed
Disagree. I want the Vikings to be just good enough to continue to lose to us in the playoffs. No other fan base brought so many weeks of enjoyment to the rest of the country as the whiny Minnesota fans.
Now if only they had a real QB or two this would matter.
A lot depends on whether Bridgewater has enough talent for DeFillipo to develop.
Yes a lot depends on them finding a real QB.
Minny and Denver must both be plotting on Kirk Cousins.
Is that fool’s gold?
I read today on PFT that Kirk can block tag, thereby blocking the “tag and trade” deal previously announced. Then he can hit free agency to negotiate his own deal… If I understood it all correctly.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/02/17/cba-gives-kirk-cousins-an-immediate-path-to-checkmate-if-washington-tags-him-again/
There’s no doubt that DeFillipo learned a lot from Pederson.
That’s why he’s the hot OC hire in Minny.
Maybe we can hire Stefanski as OC when his contract is up (next year?).
Hopefully it becomes too many cooks in the kitchen for them.
Like their qb situation.
That will be interesting. I’m not sure any of their options are ideal. And any better outside options are going to be very expensive. They aren’t at the top of the draft board to snag a top QB there either.
I’m thankful for Wentz. And Foles.
Hasn’t ruled out not having an offensive coordinator? Does that not seem like an odd statement to anyone else? I know Dougie calls the plays, but I can’t imagine a team just deciding that they don’t even need someone in that role period. At worst you’d think they’d give someone the title to just assist Doug with the offensive game plan.
If they do, I would imagine they would break up the responsibilities among the staff. They could hire someone to do part of the job without being called “offensive coordinator”. Different ways they could slice it.
Perhaps that means Doug was “really” the offensive coordinator to begin with.
Belichick once went 14-2 with neither an OC nor a DC, haha.
Doug could tell me that he hasnt ruled out not having a left side of the OL this year and I might buy it. Dude has bought himself as much latitude as possible this year.
Did anybody see Torrey Smith’s son TJ imitate Jason Kelce’s parade speech?
https://twitter.com/JamieApody/status/964512586283868160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bleedinggreennation.com%2F2018%2F2%2F16%2F17019894%2Ftorrey-smith-son-tj-nfl-network-interview-video-watch-philadelphia-eagles-patriots-super-bowl
T.J. had the best line trolling Brady on total access…
The Eagles almost surely will pick up Agholor’s fifth-year option for $9.5 million in 2019, but Roseman would probably like to hammer out a long-term deal for the USC product this offseason that would lower his cap figure down the line.
Agholor can probably expect an extension that averages about $9-10 million a year for the first three years of the deal, a fair deal if the Eagles are expecting more from him in years to come.
https://www.fanragsports.com/eagles/what-to-do-with-4-eagles-eligible-for-3rd-year-contract-extensions/
who would have thunk it last year…?
Every year I DVR the SB and delay when I watch it. I fast forward through the commercials and just watch the game. Then within a few days I go through and just watch the commercials. I usually have heard about certain ones and I just like to get caught up with the rest of the world. This year, I have yet to watch any commercials and I don’t care.
Wow, you suck as a capitalist. (ironic/sarcastic/fun tone)
Ha, I wish….. My wife keeps buying stuff.
So what’s the cap situation with Curry? Out of all our players I think he has the worst contract. Nice player but hasn’t come close to living up to the deal we gave him.
If we could get him to agree to a pay cut that would be magical.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/vinny-curry-9869/
Prime candidate to restructure his contract this year. $6M dead money is a lot to swallow for outright cutting him even if it saves $6M in cap space. If he’d agree to take a signing bonus up while substantially decreasing his yearly base salary that might be ideal for both sides. I doubt he would make $28.5M over the next 3 years on the open market.
Yeah that’s the thing, his performance hasn’t come anywhere close to justifying his contract so I can’t imagine he’d have a lot of success signing a new deal elsewhere, I’m guessing somewhere around 5-7 million per year.
How much would a re structure save them. A couple million? We need to open up a lot of space especially if we want to sign Bradham.
It could save them “a couple million” more than cutting him outright, because the dead money is so high.
Cutting him would save us $5M while we’d have $6M of dead money on the books. However, if you cut him, you have to replace him with someone else, which costs money. So you have to deduct that cost from the $5M you save. For sake of argument, let’s say you cut Curry and sign a rotational DE for a cap hit of $3M in 2018 to replace him. The net effect of those moves is you saved $2M.
Alternatively, you could keep Curry, but ask him to take a pay cut to his base salary moving forward and hopefully through a combination of adding guaranteed money, while decreasing total cash value he’d agree and you could save just as much.
There’s a million ways to do it, but my hope would be to keep Curry, as he’s a reliable decent starter that generates pressure and plays the run well, while getting him to accept a pay cut that brings his cap hits into the $7M/year range. Saving us $3-4M/year moving forward.
That’s only looking at 2018. If he restructures we still are paying him in 2019 and beyond. By cutting him we save $6mil this year, but are free of him moving forward. Having the extra cap flexibility in future years could allow us to convert some base salaries of guys like Brandon Brooks or Lane Johnson into signing bonus to free up even more in 2018.
I am always of the thought that if you have a bad contract, get out of it ASAP. Take the short term hit so it doesn’t hurt us long term.
The only issue with this thinking is that, while he has a terrible contract, Vinny Curry is not a bad player who we need to get “free” of.
He’s a good rotational player or low-end starter, being paid as a good starter, who’s out of guaranteed money.
A cheaper version of Brandon’s 2015 deal makes sense for both sides — having 7 starting-caliber DL is a feature, not a flaw, in Schwartz’s defense.
I would make replacing Curry a priority in the draft or FA. I agree we need that DL rotation.
It’s just good run stopping DEs are a dime a dozen. Chris Long was as productive as Curry at a fraction of his salary. We can replace Curry’s skill set fairly easily.
Vinny also gets a solid amount of pressure. He just has trouble finishing for the sack.
I think he’d get something like 4/$25m, with $8m guaranteed in FA, and I’d be fine with the Eagles being the team paying him that.
I’d be ok keeping him if we can make it work. If we need relief he’s one of the first guys in my cut/trade list.
Not saying Curry has played up to his contract the last 2 years, but it is far from terrible moving forward. Curry has become an excellent run defender and pushes and contains the pocket well. That has significant value and if Curry became a free agent there is a good chance he would match the contract he is on now in the 2018 fair market making any attempt to force him to take a big cut pretty tough.
On the cap, he’s owed 3/$34.5m, with $6m “guaranteed” (that’s just remaining signing bonus) going forward.
Last year, at the same age, Everson Griffen signed a contract whose cap hits amounted to $32.1m over the first three seasons…coming off consecutive Pro Bowl selections.
Curry’s contract is absolutely untenable going forward, and he wouldn’t get anything close to that on the open market…but he’s also a good player, which is why a restructure that cuts his rate in return for more guarantees makes sense.
By restructure, I also meant pay cut. I would ask for lower yearly salaries in return for giving him some more money upfront. I’d want his cap hit down around $7M a year. I think they can rework his deal in a way that lowers all his future cap hits and keeps him on the team.
“Most Versatile Offensive Weapons in the 2018 Draft”
TE/WR/RB Jaylen Samuels, NC State
It was difficult to even give Samuels an official position in college
with the way NC State used him on offense, and he’ll be even more
difficult to slot at the next level. He was a part tight end, part
running back, part slot receiver for the Wolfpack, finishing his college
career with 1,865 receiving yards and 1,095 rushing yards to go with 47
total touchdowns (19 receiving, 28 rushing). Samuels has the quickness
to be handed the ball in a traditional run game or on jet sweeps while
lining up all over the field to create mismatches in the passing game.
Other than a difference in size, he is reminiscent of Eagles TE Trey
Burton, who came out of college as a jack of all trades and has tapped
into some of that ability at the next level.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/draft-the-most-versatile-offensive-weapons-in-the-2018-draft?utm_source=cj&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=cjaff
Good morning, MM. Shhh.
I brought him up before too. He is an excellent receiver and pretty good runner. He lost weight down to 223 for the Senior Bowl and may be trying to make it as a back. There aren’t too many 5-11 TEs when you think about it. If he can block at fullback maybe he’ll be a Leonard Weaver type.
Don’t think he’s a pro tight end. I think he replaces Smallwood, Sproles and Barner for you all in one.
I think you are greatly overrating his talent level. He’s a one speed runner with limited quickness. He’s not a mismatch problem at the NFL level like he is at college. He’s not too big for NFL safeties or too fast/quick for NFL LBs. We will need to scheme to get him into space. Sproles is a guy defenses have to scheme for. He is a mismatch pretty much any time he is on the field.
I give Samuels a lot of credit for getting the most out of his talent. He is the definition of a football player, but guys like him rarely succeed in the NFL.
A few highlights of NC State teammates Pederson could utilize:
Nyhiem Hines -but would they take him in the 4th after taking Pumphrey last year?
https://youtu.be/yux–IPgbiU
Jaylen Samuels
https://youtu.be/RuelQpPUT7M
Everyone is looking for the next trey Burton, but I’m not convinced the eagles are. He was underutilized in this offense that prides itself on creativity. Burton should have been a key role player instead of an after thought. We all like trey, but I think the eagles are looking for a different type of player.
As for Samuels, he’s a day 3 pick. Too small to handle any blocking duties as a TE (smaller than Burton) and not fast or quick enough to be a NFL RB. He’s a player without a true position who will need to be used creatively, again sornthing DP didn’t go out of his way to do with Burton.
Nyheim HInes, their RB is an intriguing option for us on day3
Samuels is a much better receiver than Burton ever was but he may not be what we’re looking for at RB/FB/hback.
I feel the same way.
He’s not a better RB than anyone already on the roster.
Ags already occupies the slot as a WR.
Ertz is a better receiver at TE and at 223 pounds he cannot be expected to a good blocking TE.
Billy Brown is 6’4″ and 255 pounds and has great hands and more potential as a blocker.
Mack Hollins is a faster WR capable of playing on the outside who also has excellent hands.
As for Walter Football’s comparison to Brian Westbrook, I don’t see it. Westy was elusive as a RB and Samuels highlight tape shows no shake and bake elusiveness Westy was known for.
Hey Dave, this guy might give everything Barner gives you, and also relieve the need to keep Smallwood around. May replace Pumphrey too if Pump can’t cut it. May replace an aging Daren Sproles too…
Looking at his stats, he has no punt returns and only 12 kick returns. Barner was only brought onto the roster when Sproles went down as he became the primary punt returner and deep man on kickoffs with Clement.
That’s what I find odd about the scouting report on Samuels, he is compared to Brian Westbrook but Westy was an electric punt returner.
Yeah I was thinking Day 3 as well. And since we have no 2nd and 3rd rounders yet, I would like a pick like Samuels a lot.
And we’ll most likely need a Return Specialist who can contribute creatively in several ways like Sproles used to do.
Pretty funny…..
https://youtu.be/cOlBPN8ao24
Funny, true, but that would be us if there were ever a Cowboys-Pats SB. (Even writing that makes me want to bleach my keyboard).
Never again speak of such things! That’s why it’s so much fun to watch! Lol!!
Ahhhhh… The Tears of Mine Enemies…
Round 2 Pick 9 (OAK): Taven Bryan, DT, Florida (A-)
Round 3 Pick 18 (DET): Leighton Vander Esch, ILB, Boise State (A-)
Round 4 Pick 17 (DET): Ian Thomas, TE, Indiana (A+)
Round 4 Pick 31: Nyheim Hines, RB, North Carolina State (A+)
Round 4 Pick 32: Nick Nelson, CB, Wisconsin (A+)
Round 5 Pick 19: Alex Cappa , OT, Humboldt State (C)
Round 5 Pick 32: Terrell Edmunds, SS, Virginia Tech (A)
Round 6 Pick 32: Skyler Phillips, OG, Idaho State (A+)
Round 7 Pick 19 (DET): Kyle Lauletta, QB, Richmond (B-)
Some guys that I think could be targets for the eagles as we head towards the Combine:
Maurice Hurst – dusruptive, penetrating DT. We build along the lines and will be losing Beau. Likely 1st round pick
Ronald Jones – our offense is tailor made for a guy like RoJo with our outside zones, RPOs, and screen game. Reminds me of Jamal Charles. Explosive playmaker that can score any time. If we don’t plan on giving Amati a 2ns contract could be a priority target. 1st round pick
Sony Michel – while not nearly as explosive as RoJo he offers many of the same traits. 2nd round pick
Justin Reid – versatile safety in the mold of MJ. Spends more time in the slot and LB than in the traditional saftey role. Can replace Corey Graham while learning the ropes from Jenkins. Playmaker who creates turnovers – 2nd round
Harold Landry – this guy is being criminally underrated early on here. He had 16.5 sacks a year ago and it wasn’t by accident. He is explosive and can dip and bend with the beat of them. If we trade Foles and find a way to get in range for this guy I’d be ecstatic. Could rise out of range come combine time. Mid 1st
Tyrell Crosby – not sure exactly how athelticbhe is, but he plays with some natural power. Plays nasty. Can play RT or either OG spot. That versatility could be huge as we prepare to reshape this OL as we begin to move on from JP, Wiz, and Kelce. 2nd round
Some later round guys I like:
LJ Scott – RB – MSU
Kameron Kelly – S/CB – SDSU
David Wells – TE – SDSU
Dorian O’Daniel – LB – Clemson
Nyheim Hines – RB – NCSU
Colby Gossett – OG – App State
Besides explosiveness, Michel is also an inch shorter and 15 pounds heavier than Jones, who’s built like a toothpick.
RoJo runs hard though. Neither is ever going to be a super physical inside runner, but Jones is the better player. While maybe not the same threat in the passing game, I think Jones could have a Kamara like impact. He’s special. Michel is very talented, but does not have those special qualities.
I don’t trust 200 lb RBs, unless they’re either 5’9″, or have absurd, Jamaal Charles/Reggie Bush level measurables.
He’s a guy whom I’ll be interested to see on the bench press.
I don’t think he’s far off of Charles. His 40 time might not be as fast, but his acceleration is top notch. He’s RB #2 for me in this draft. Not good, but special potential
Yeah, I just don’t like the prototype. Could be a me thing.
Fair enough. He’s one of my favorite players in the draft.
Keep in mind he would be paired with Ajayi early in his career so he wouldn’t need to be a bell cow.
Jones is physical, not like Ajayi or Blount but like Shady.
Shady was 5-10, 204 at his pro day. That’s who Jones reminds me of but slightly smaller and he’s good in traffic, that’s one of the things that stands out about him.
He can put on some muscle. He’s not that skinny imo. He’d go down if he was:
https://youtu.be/45hhblS8Wqg?t=1m7s
Shady weighed in at 204 after he lost like 10 pounds of muscle in the week leading up to the combine, due to the flu.
Dude has always played in the 210-215 range, going back to college.
Also…Pump broke a lot of tackles in college, haha.
For better or worse, Jones is just a type of player I don’t like drafting before the 3rd.
Good point. Jones gets in the weight room, he can be Shady’s size easily. Let’s see if he adds muscle for the combine like you said.The difference is mostly a little muscle.
So trade back and take him with the 3rd you get. Backs can vary a lot.
No way he lasts until the 3rd. Likely 1st/early 2nd at the latest.
LJ is still a Sparty btw.
I thought he declared. My bad
Few 2nd rounders in there. So either Eagles get a 2nd round pick, trade down or they gonna be reaching. Tough draft spot having little ammo.
It’s what makes trading Foles so tempting. We need ammo and he has value. Should be a really interesting offseason
Scott went back to school
Yea my bad. Thought I saw he declared. If we are looking for a bigger back I thought he’d fit nicely.
Yea I had doubled checked on him because he was a guy that I thought if you told him to do the Le’veon/Clement cut some weight but still be a big dude he could be a very nice player.
I thought the same thing. He plays too heavy at MSU. He would provide that big back presence, but can also catch out of the backfield. He isn’t as limited as blount was for us.
According to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano, free agent TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins recently turned down a two-year, $8 million offer from the Jets.
Per Vacchiano, the offer was “short on guarantees.” Despite this, Vacchiano expects the two sides to eventually “talk again and work something out.” Seferian-Jenkins set career-highs in catches (50) and receiving yards (357) this past season and is still just 25. A reunion makes sense for both sides.
How much of a benchmark would that be for our Trey Burton?
He played in 15 games with 1 starts. Targeted 31 times with 23 receptions for 248 yards (10.8 per catch avg) and 5 TDs.
Trey also had a very special TD pass completion in the Super Bowl.
Is he worth 2 years and $8 million on the market? Or less?
That’s what I was wondering. I’m thinking more, just because he’ll be a projected starter, and there are some TE needy teams out there. I do wanna keep Trey if at all possible but I understand the situation he’s in.
The Texans have told LB Brian Cushing he will be released.
“Brian Cushing can’t lay off tha juice!”
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