Bennett Goes Bye Bye

There were reports that the Eagles were shopping veteran DE Michael Bennett at the Combine. It turns out they were right.

On the surface, this seems nuts. Bennett is a gifted pass-rusher. Why on Earth would you deal him for so little?

Bennett went on the NFL Network on Friday morning and said that he wasn’t taking a pay cut. Instead, he say whoever he played for, he wanted a raise. That wasn’t going to happen in Philly.

The Eagles knew Bennett wanted more money and that had to be why they were shopping him. They weren’t going to give him a raise.

There is also the x-factor of Bennett’s personality. This is now two years in a row that a team has traded him for a late round pick. That doesn’t happen by accident. The teams were trying to save money to be sure, but that can’t be the only reason. Pass rushers are too coveted.

The Eagles just signed Brandon Graham to a big money deal. You can argue about whether Graham is better than Bennett or vice-versa. In terms of character and locker room fit, Graham wins by a mile. That’s part of why the Eagles kept him around.

Graham and Derek Barnett are going to be the starting DEs. You would have to think Chris Long is coming back. Would the Eagles really deal Bennett if they expected Long to retire?

After Graham, Barnett and Long, things are pretty open. The Eagles have Josh Sweat and Daeshon Hall, young, athletic players who haven’t produced at the NFL level.

Some people have talked about the Eagles signing a veteran DE to add to the mix. I don’t see that. I think they know they need to get younger on the DL so I would expect them draft someone. There is risk in that, but with Long and Graham being older, the Eagles need to develop young pass rushers.

This move does put a lot of pressure on Barnett. He had a solid rookie year and did some good things in his six starts in 2018. That said, Barnett has not developed into an impact player. He needs to take his game up a notch in 2019.

The Eagles gain $7.2M in cap space. That could help them to re-sign a player or two if they want, or to be more active in free agency. They now have about $25M in space. They have options.

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Tevin Coleman would make sense for the Eagles. He is young, productive and explosive. He wouldn’t be cheap, but also isn’t likely to cost Le’Veon Bell kind of money.

Coleman averages 4.4 yards per carry and 11 yards per reception for his career. He’s not a guy you feed the ball to for 20 carries a game, but he is a talented playmaker. Coleman would be a nice fit in the Eagles offense.

His price tag will determine if the Eagles are serious or just curious.

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