Todd Herremans has not been officially released by the Eagles yet and he cannot start talking to other teams until that happens, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. The move needs to show up on the league’s personnel notice before Herremans is allowed to chat with other clubs. Herremans, 32, has been with the Eagles since the club selected him in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. The Eagles could opt to hand Herremans’ job over to backups Allen Barbre or Matt Tobin but may look at Raiders center Stefen Wisniewski, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane.
Wisniewski started all 16 games for the Raiders in each of his four years, with the last 48 games coming at center. The son of former Raiders great Steve Wisniewski opened his career with 16 starts at left guard, increasing his versatility. Stefen Wisnewski is a cheaper alternative to signing Mike Iupati or Orlando Franklin, although perhaps not too much cheaper. He ranks 32nd on Pro Football Focus’ top 75 free agents.
In other news across the league’s eastern divisions …
- The Eagles are also expected to pursue free agent corner Byron Maxwell, and Phillymag.com’s Sheil Kapadia examines why they should with a film-based analysis. Maxwell was the fourth Legion of Boom member the past 1 1/2 seasons, starting in two Super Bowls, and served as an effective deterrent as teams attacked the Seahawks defense’s right flank. At 27, Maxwell is one of the market’s top corners.
- League insiders tell Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald that if the Dolphins can strike a deal with pending free agent Charles Clay in the coming weeks, it probably decreases the likelihood that wide receiver Mike Wallace remains. Top exec Mike Tannenbaum has made it known that he wants to retain the tight end.
- Washington met with Brian Orakpo‘s agent at last week’s scouting combine and expressed interest in re-signing him, but there’s a long way to go between the two sides, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com. In an extended look at Orakpo’s free agency, Keim notes that many people around the league don’t expect Orakpo to return to D.C.
- Washington has hired Dave Ragone as their offensive quality control coach, Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com tweets. Ragone served as the Titans’ wide receiver coach from 2011-12 and the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2013.
Zach Links contributed to this report