BG Comes Back

Posted: March 10th, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

For the past week, maybe two, all we’ve heard about is the free agent exodus that will be heading out of Philly. On Friday, we finally got some good news.

Great news.

From a football standpoint, the Eagles bring back a key pass rusher and team leader. From a fan standpoint, it would be terrible to see BG wearing another uniform. He will play his 14th season as an Eagle. His goal is 15. We’ll have to wait and see how that goes.

How could you not love this guy?

“I definitely don’t want to miss out on this championship that we’re about to make a run for,” Graham told ESPN. “I pretty much directed [my agent] Joel [Segal] just to get a deal done before free agency so I wouldn’t have to go through that part. I’m just so happy everything came to fruition.

“It wasn’t even about no money. It was more about wanting to be an Eagle as long as I could still play at a high level, and of course I still have a sour taste in my mouth on how things ended this last year [with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl].”

Absolute legend.

BG won’t be going to Canton, but he will certainly go down as one of the most popular Eagles of all time. He is terrific on the field and even better off it.

https://twitter.com/EliotShorrParks/status/1634265229717651457

Like I said, legend.

The Eagles are in very good shape with edge rushers. Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat are the most dynamic duo in the league. Graham gives them a highly productive rusher off the bench. Believe it or not, Derek Barnett is still on the roster. He got hurt in the opener last year and has been forgotten since. The Eagles have to figure out if keeping him is the smart thing. His contract situation isn’t ideal so cutting him might not make sense. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

Last season BG had a career high 11 sacks. He also had 11 TFLs, 16 QB hits and 2 FFs. Not bad for an old man coming off the bench.

*****

The Eagles still don’t have much cap room. That helps, but Howie Roseman and his staff have a lot more work to do.

Speaking of which…

What???

Here’s what is going on. Slay wants an extension. The Eagles seem happy to give him one. The dispute is over the money. The Eagles basically told his agent to talk to other teams and see if anyone else will pay what Slay wants. If some other team wants him, the Eagles will work on a trade. If no one else is willing to pay his price, hopefully he can work something out with the Eagles.

Slay is a good player. He’s also 32. All he has to do is look around the league at veterans getting cut left and right. Heck, just see what happened to James Bradberry last year. I think he would be smart to work something out with the Eagles. You know the old saying…the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.

I think Howie is handling this the right way. He has to know there will be a very limited market for a 32-year old corner who wants big bucks. There are some really good corners in the draft. Teams will see that and it might make them hesitant about paying Slay the money he wants.

You would hate to lose Slay if things don’t work out, but the Eagles have to keep an eye on the future. If they need to go young in 2023 to get in better cap shape and to try to develop young talent, so be it.

The Eagles could also look to add veteran CBs that are cheaper. They found Steve Nelson in 2021 and Bradberry last year. There are a few veteran corners available in free agency and more could be cut. The Eagles will have options. Hopefully keeping Slay is one of them.

If the Eagles can sign him to an extension, that would help to create cap space for this season.

Bradberry will turn 30 this summer so teams will be more likely to give him a bigger deal. Here are some predictions from former agent Joel Corry on a few Eagles.

DT Javon Hargrave

  • Contract package: $60 million/3 years ($20 million per year)
  • Overall guarantees: $42 million
  • Fully guaranteed at signing: $42 million

CB James Bradberry

  • Contract package: $43.5 million/3 years ($14.5 million per year)
  • Overall guarantees: $30 million
  • Fully guaranteed at signing: $30 million

S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson

  • Contract package: $40 million/3 years ($13,333,333 per year)
  • Overall guarantees: $27.5 million
  • Fully guaranteed at signing: $27.5 million

Guys are going to be getting paid. The Eagles just can’t compete with those numbers.

_

One Comment on “BG Comes Back”

  1. 1 Eagles News: Fletcher Cox Likely Leaving Philadelphia? said at 6:27 PM on March 11th, 2023:

    […] BG Returns – Iggles BlitzSlay is a good player. He is also 32 years old. All one has to do is look around the league to see veterans being cut left and right. Hell, just look at what happened to James Bradberry last year. I think it would be wise for him to work something out with the Eagles. You know the old saying… better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. I think Howie is handling this the right way. He must know that the market for a 32-year-old who wants big money will be very limited. There are some really good corners in the draft. Teams will see that and may be hesitant to pay Slay the money he wants. You’d hate to lose Slay if things don’t work out, but the Eagles have to keep an eye on the future. If they need to be young in 2023 to get in better shape and try to develop young talent, so be it. The Eagles could also add veteran CBs who are cheaper. They found Steve Nelson in 2021 and Bradberry last year. There are several veteran corners available in free agency, and even more could be cut. The Eagles will have options. Hopefully keeping Slay is one of them. […]