After beating the Giants in Week 17, a number of writers for the Philadelphia Inquirer came out to eulogize a promising season that ended in disappointment.
One of the biggest questions the Eagles have heading into the offseason is the contract of Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy. Zach Berman caught some of what McCoy said about his future with that team in a series of tweets.
“I’m an Eagle, I love it here. My six years here have been excellent. I’ve been very, very, very productive here,” said McCoy. “We’ll see what happens. It’s a business. Anything can happen; I know that. But I’m sure we can work something out.”
“It depends how they want to do it. …I love this team, and I’ll do whatever it takes. …We’ve got some time.”
While he has made it clear that he would be willing to restructure his deal, Jeff McClane writes that he would be surprised if McCoy took a pay cut to remain with the team (via Twitter).
- McCoy may be the most talented player on the offense, but Chip Kelly’s offense needs a quarterback to make it go. Mark Sanchez has likely played his final game as the team’s starting quarterback, and his time as an Eagle in general may be up, writes Mike Sielski.
- Owner Jeffrey Lurie was unwilling to commit to the team’s other quarterback, Nick Foles, according to McClane (via Twitter). He said the team would know more by March about the situation developing at the position.
- The Eagles are coming off two good seasons, one that ended in a playoff appearance and one that fell just short of the mark. Bob Ford believes the team needs to make the next step, which won’t be easy. “The hardest part is to go from good to great,” Lurie said. “We’re at the good, but we don’t want that. We want to be great. I just look at what we could have accomplished this year. It’s exciting. We’re not sitting here 2-14 or 4-12 or whatever. . . . I think we’re pretty close. We know exactly what we need to upgrade. We’ve got a great group of young players, a lot of up-and-coming stars in this league. It’s all in front of us.”
- One big decision for Lurie that could be the difference between taking the team from good to great is the choice to keep or move on from general manager Howie Roseman, writes McClane. As of now, Lurie says that Roseman will be back with the team. Roseman’s first-round pick in 2014 was unable to see much playing time, and reports have it that the hierarchy is unclear between himself and Kelly.
- A weakness of the 2014 Eagles was the secondary, and that will be a priority this offseason, according to Marc Narducci. He writes about how they fared without Bradley Fletcher, and with inconsistent play even in the Week 17 win, there will surely be changes in time for 2015.