The Seahawks and Eagles hammered out a major trade on Wednesday, as defensive lineman Michael Bennett will now head to Philadelphia in a deal that also included a swap of draft picks. Seattle, for their part, looks to be undergoing an overhaul on the defensive side of the ball: not only have the Seahawks made a change at coordinator, but Cliff Avril, Kam Chancellor, and — most recently — Richard Sherman are among the veterans who could be moving on. Along its defensive line, Seattle is likely betting former draft bust Dion Jordan can play a larger role in 2018, while trading Bennett will also clear cap space that could be used to re-sign defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson.
Here’s more fallout and reaction to today’s deal:
- Philadelphia wasn’t the only club interested in acquiring Bennett, as the Patriots, Browns, Buccaneers, and the previously-reported Falcons also had their eye on the veteran — and versatile — defensive lineman, tweets Dianna Russini of ESPN.com. None of the reported teams should come as complete surprises: the Patriots, for one, have landed Bennett’s brother Martellus on two separate occasions, while the Browns boast the most salary cap space and draft capital in the league. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, also reportedly discussed acquiring edge rusher Robert Quinn before Los Angeles dealt him to Miami.
- The Eagles and Seahawks first struck agreement on Tuesday morning, but a third team jumped in and the deal stalled, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). While it’s unclear what club approached Philadelphia at the last second, it would make sense if it were one of the teams listed above. By Tuesday night, it was apparent Bennett would be dealt to the Eagles, but Philadelphia’s front office was still researching the deal, per Rapoport. While this is purely speculation, it’s possible Seattle was able to wrangle a bit more compensation for Bennett given that unnamed third team’s interest.
- With Bennett now in Philadelphia, the Eagles seem incredibly likely to part ways with fellow defensive lineman Vinny Curry. More than half ($5MM of $9MM) of Curry’s 2018 base salary will become fully guaranteed on March 18, so the Eagles will likely need to make a decision on his fate before that date. While reports initially indicated Curry would be released, the Eagles are — or at least, were — working to retain Curry at a cheaper salary. Philadelphia was projected to be $10MM+ over the cap before acquiring Bennett, so it likely won’t be able to afford a luxury like Curry.
- Speaking of cap space, Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com provided a good breakdown of where the Eagles now stand following the Bennett trade, and also examined several players whom Philadelphia could cut or trade in order to comply with the cap.
*Robert Quinn… also, why do the browns try to acquire everyone that is being shopped around? Every time I have seen a trade this offseason the browns seem to be interested. But no trades.
Browns Ha. Always Interested, never getting.
Why do people always have to bash on the Browns? There are other teams that have problems, too.
No one is at the Browns level of pain
Seriously? There are teams with 1-31 type problems?
My point is other teams have issues, not just the Browns. People need to get a life.
Nobody else was winless last year. You take cheering for a football team way too seriously
Issues go deeper than just wins and losses.
It makes them feel better about their pathetic lives
The Browns having serious interest in veteran defensive ends is interesting to me given the presence of Garrett and Ogbah. I could see why they’d want insurance and depth to mix and match behind those two (especially since Ogbah had a season ending injury last year), but Bennett and Quinn would likely be much more than just someone to mix and match. But you can never have enough quality pass rushers, so you never know.
The Browns are the single worst managed team in the history of sports and there isn’t a close second. It’s embarrassing. I would have more trust in a madden football GM to run that team.
Like I said, some people need to get a life.
I agree with you, but people always go for the low-hanging fruit when they make jokes so I’m not surprised either
You need to get a life and move on. The browns will always suck
Stay classy, and have a nice day.
The Edmonton oilers of the last 10 years are far more inept than the Browns. And you’re a fool if you believe otherwise
You are clearly too young to remember other poorly managed teams. Start with the KC Athletics of the 50s, who became just a feeder club for the Yankees. The Cavaliers of the 70s/80s owned by Ted Stepien were managed so badly the league made a special rule to keep teams from making the same mistakes and actually sold draft picks too the new owners to entice them to buy the team. The Detroit Lions were the first team to go winless in one year because Matt Millen completely destroyed that team, once drafting a WR with his first pick three years in a row. So, no, the Browns have been run poorly but it’s not a slam dunk.
Bennett will do well with the rotating dline. Obvious character concern that needs to be reeled in. As for the browns, that defense can be scary. Imagine if they got Sherman and some more hungry vets. They get enough pieces on offense that can manage (not be great) a game and let that defense do it’s thing, they could win seven or eight games. They steal a few others and could be somewhere close in a few years. Now granted they actually do the right thing and not go backwards like always.