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Eagles Could Still Trade Bradford

April 26th, 2015 at 11:39am CST by Rory Parks

After making one of the more surprising trades in recent memory when they dealt for Sam Bradford last month, the Eagles have insisted that they are not planning on using Bradford as a trade chip to move up in the draft to select Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. However, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, Philadelphia has done nothing to dispel that rumor since the deal was completed.

Specifically, the team has engaged in no contract talks with Bradford, who is entering the final year of his current deal and is owed nearly $13MM in 2015. Of course, Bradford could have some say in that as well. One team that could deal for Bradford would be the Browns, who are in desperate need of a franchise signal-caller and who have already tried to acquire the Oklahoma product this offseason. Under the framework of a three-team deal that Florio has put together, Cleveland would receive Bradford, Philadelphia would move up high enough in this year’s draft to select Mariota, and a third team could receive multiple high-round draft picks from bot the Eagles and Browns.

But if Bradford had his druthers, he surely would not want to be shipped to Cleveland, and if he were to sign a new multi-year deal with the Eagles, he would only become more valuable to a team like the Browns, which could keep him under club control beyond 2015. And that’s not to mention the financial aspect of a new contract, which would certainly require extensive negotiation. Bradford, after all, is hoping to play his way into a big payout in 2016 and is not willing to accept a “substandard” contract.

So the saga continues, despite the Eagles’ insistence that Bradford is not a stepping stone to Mariota. However, if a trade were to happen, one would think that the parameters would already be in place, or at least preliminary discussions would have been held. But just as there has been no chatter surrounding a new deal between the Eagles and Bradford, there have similarly been no substantiated rumblings about Philadelphia trading him. In any event, it looks like all possibilities remain on the table, and only Thursday night will bring any real clarity.

In addition to the Bradford piece, there are a few more Eagles nuggets to pass on today:

  • The Eagles cannot hide their interest in UConn CB Byron Jones, and Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer examines the case for Philadelphia to grab the speedy, physical corner with the No. 20 overall pick.
  • In a separate piece, McLane examines the size, speed, and other physical measurables that head coach Chip Kelly–whose “big people beat up little people” mantra has become a catchphrase–and vice president of player personnel Ed Marynowitz use to weed out certain players from their draft board. Although scheme, position, fit, and intelligence of course remain important components of the team’s evaluation process, if a player does not have the right build, the odds are he will not wind up on the Eagles’ radar. McLane wonders if that process is unnecessarily restricting the crop of talent from which Philadelphia picks.
  • Speaking of Marynowitz, Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer examines the challenges that await the newly-promoted 31-year-old.
  • Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com writes that the Eagles will not be selecting Alabama safety Landon Collins with their first round selection. Collins is widely regarded as the best safety in an otherwise weak class.

 

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Harris, Cowboys, Williams

April 11th, 2015 at 2:56pm CST by Rob DiRe

Whether the decisions made by Chip Kelly over the past month and a half turn out to be good or bad, the Eagles had a strange offseason. One of the stranger developments was Frank Gore agreeing to join the team and then backing out before signing a deal. Gore ended up with the Colts, and the Eagles ended up with a reputation as a place free agents were not excited about playing for.

Some believed that Kelly’s rigorous practice schedule was one reason 31-year-old Gore chose Indianapolis over Philadelphia. However, Jeff McClane of the Philadelphia Inquirer does not believe that Kelly’s practice methods are a real deterrent for free agents.

Here are a few other notes from around the NFC East:

  • Kelly is in New Hampshire to meet with R.J. Harris for a pre-draft workout, reports Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 (via Twitter). The receiver from the University of New Hampshire is a possible late-round pick for the Eagles.
  • The Cowboys have a number of needs along their defense, but have been linked to running back prospects with their top picks. If they pass on Melvin Gordon and Todd Gurley in round one (and both might be off the board by the time the Cowboys pick), Boise State tailback Jay Ajayi could be an option somewhere in the second round. Ajayi worked out with the team on Friday, writes Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram. The team also met with T.J. Yeldon and Tevin Coleman.
  • Washington’s Pro Bowl offensive tackle Trent Williams has changed agents in preparation for his free agency, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Williams fired Ben Dogra who was himself fired by CAA before joining Relativity Sports, but the tackle retained Vincent Taylor of MS World LLC. The team still plans on attempting to reach an agreement on an extension with Williams.

AFC East Notes: McCoy, Wilkerson, Jets

April 6th, 2015 at 7:52pm CST by Zachary Links

Geno Smith probably wants to put lots of work in during the Jets‘ voluntary offseason program, but he also has financial incentive to do so, as Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com writes. Smith’s contract includes a clause that ties about 32 percent of his 2015 compensation to offseason attendance and he must put in a minimum number of workouts to earn the bonus. Of course, beyond the money, Smith needs to prove himself this season given the mounting criticism and the presence of Ryan Fitzpatrick behind him. Here’s more from the AFC East..

  • LeSean McCoy hasn’t spoken to Chip Kelly since the trade that sent him to the Bills, but he has his own theory as to why he was shipped out, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “I don’t think he likes or respects the stars. I’m being honest,” McCoy said on Monday. “I think he likes the fact that it’s ‘Chip Kelly and the Eagles.’ ” McCoy set a franchise record with 1,607 rushing yards in 2013, but apparently wasn’t the right fit for Kelly’s offense. He was replaced this offseason in Philadelphia by Cowboys star DeMarco Murray.
  • Muhammad Wilkerson‘s situation illustrates how fast things change in the NFL, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap writes. It was rumored last year that he and former Jets GM John Idzik had worked on paramters of a new deal and the sides were somewhat close on an extension. Now, there’s obviously a significant gulf between the two sides and it’s not clear when or if it might be bridged.
  • Wilkerson deserves to cash in big, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News opines. The Jets star defensive lineman played the good soldier last year, hoping his big pay day would come as other standouts got their pay days. However, that didn’t happen and he was forced to take a stand this year during voluntary workouts.

NFC Rumors: Eagles, Panthers, Moore

April 4th, 2015 at 7:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

With Chip Kelly now overseeing personnel decisions, the Eagles have probably had the NFL’s most interesting offseason. There is considerable risk and potentially some reckless methodology involved with the splashy maneuvers the franchise made, writes the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane.

McLane asserts the Eagles overbid in splurges for Byron Maxwell (six years, $63MM) and DeMarco Murray (4/$40MM) with other suitors not willing to come within $2MM AAV in Maxwell’s case or, with the exception of the Raiders, backing off well shy of the Eagles’ new commitment figure to Murray.

Also acquiring injury-riddled veterans Ryan Mathews, Sam Bradford, Walter Thurmond and Miles Austin, the Eagles went against conventional logic perhaps banking on their sports-science practices can benefit their new talents, adds McLane. But in the latter duo’s cases, the contracts didn’t seem to be commensurate with the recent production, thus negating some of the value typically associated with signing injured players, writes McLane.

Thurmond (one year, $3.25MM), who missed last season with a torn pectoral muscle, received almost the same amount he did from the Giants last March when he was coming off a healthier campaign and Austin bound for Philadelphia on a one-year deal worth $2.3MM ($1MM fully guaranteed) fresh off years headlined by injuries and borderline irrelevance compared to his previous work.

With 1,000-yard+ rushing seasons in both of his odd-year seasons (2011 and 2013) and season-defining maladies in his past two odd-year campaigns, Mathews received a bit of an injury-reduced salary, however, at three years and $11MM.

“Let’s let it play out,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said to McLane. “I think with any coach, you need patience, you need vision, you need to let them gamble and fail, and gamble and succeed, because the last thing you want to do is make a coach risk-averse.”

Elsewhere around the NFC …

  • The Panthers‘ projected depth chart, according to the Charlotte Observer’s Joseph Person, has an open slot at No. 2 receiver behind 2014 No. 1 draft choice Kelvin Benjamin. Person slotted newly signed wideouts Ted Ginn and Jarrett Boykin with holdover Jericho Cotchery at the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 slots, respectively, and also left the starting cornerback position across from Josh Norman vacant for a late-arriving free agent. Michael Oher is positioned at left tackle, a role he’s only played for one full (2010) despite the literary and cinematic depictions of his pre-NFL life there.
  • Acquiring Ginn, Boykin and Oher, the latter two coming off disappointing seasons, represent the Panthers’ biggest gains this offseason, according to Person. The Panthers reporter listed defensive end, corner and running back as positions in need of upgrades heading into the draft, with Bene Benwikere‘s size (5-foot-11), Jonathan Stewart‘s durability and Kony Ealy‘s progression as charted concerns at those spots.
  • Sterling Moore briefly considered returning to the Cowboys before signing with the Buccaneers, according to an interview with Alex Marvez and Zig Fracassi on Sirius XM Radio (audio link). But the Cowboys left the corner feeling “kind of disrespected” after not electing to tender him as a restricted free agent this offseason despite a productive 2014 season.

AFC Links: Maclin, Dareus, Colts, Revis

March 28th, 2015 at 11:31am CST by Ben Levine

Part of Jeremy Maclin‘s decision to join the Chiefs was surely based on the five year, $55MM contract (including $22.5MM guaranteed) he received. However, the wideout insists the move had nothing to do with the value of the contract (via Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com):

“It wasn’t really about money. Obviously you want to get paid because of all the stuff that you do. But it wasn’t necessarily about who could pay me the most money.”

Meanwhile, Eagles coach Chip Kelly acknowledged that he wanted Maclin to return to Philadelphia:

“We didn’t think there was another receiver in that price range in free agency. We were trying to get Mac back. Felt we gave him a real competitive offer. Kansas City offered him a lot more than we did. We just weren’t going to go that high.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the AFC…

  • Marcell Dareus is in line for a big payday, and despite his previous issues off the field, Bills general manager Doug Whaley told ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak that the organization is comfortable with the defensive tackle’s maturation. “I think the maturity we saw this (past) year has us feeling that unless he has a relapse soon, that we’re pretty comfortable that he’s taking that step for him, as a professional, to be more professional,” Whaley said (via John Kryk of Canoe.ca). “He has taken those steps now.”
  • The Colts have made some notable moves this offseason, bringing in Frank Gore, Andre Johnson and Trent Cole. Still, as Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star points out, the team has plenty of holes, including safety, defensive line and center. “It can’t be Christmas every day,” general manager Ryan Grigson said. “There’s not a forever, endless river of cash flowing. We have a plan. We followed it.”
  • Rodney Harrison knows a thing or two about elite defensive backs, and the two-time Super Bowl champion said the Patriots made the right move by not over-extending to keep Darrelle Revis. “Bill (Belichick), he’s not gonna sell the farm for Darrelle Revis,” Harrison said while appearing on NBC Sports Radio’s “Under Center with McNabb and Malone” (via Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com). “Darrelle, as good as he is, maybe in a year or two he won’t be quite the same player he was this past season for the New England Patriots. I believe that was the right move to make.”

 

NFC East Notes: RGIII, Mariota, Hardy, Eagles

March 20th, 2015 at 9:02pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Buccaneers, Titans, and Jets have very clear needs at quarterback, and top prospects Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota could represent great options at the top of the draft for those teams. The Jaguars and Raiders hope they filled that hole in the draft last season.

The one team that could possibly go either way is Washington. Even with Robert Griffin III in the fold, if they have the chance to draft Mariota with the fifth pick, it might make sense, writes John Keim in his mailbag for ESPN. Even if the team does draft a quarterback with intention of replacing Griffin, Keim believes both Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy would still have a place on the depth chart.

For the record, he doesn’t see the team getting a chance at either of the two top passers.

Here are some more notes from around the NFC East:

  • Keim has not written off the RGIII era in Washington just yet. He addresses the team’s options should Griffin return to his 2012 Pro Bowl form. Keim writes that the team will engage Griffin in long-term extension talks should he perform at a high level this season, and would be able to franchise the former first-round pick if they cannot come to an agreement. He writes that the only decision coming is whether or not to exercise Griffin’s fifth-year option by May 3rd, at a price tag of about $16MM.
  • After jettisoning DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin off the team over the past two offseasons, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has built a receiving corps focused on more than speed and experience. Kelly places a high priority on other facets of the position, including toughness, blocking, and running hard routes, writes Jeff McClane of Philly.com. He adds that Kelly understands the value of an elite receiver who can get himself open and make difficult catches, but wasn’t ready to pay Maclin as if he was one of the truly elite pass catchers in the league.
  • The Cowboys made a stride to significantly improve their defense by signing Greg Hardy, but the move is met with mixed feelings by many in Texas and across Cowboy nation. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawling is among those disappointed in the team, writes Todd Archer of ESPN.com. “I’m a big Cowboys fan. I love them to death and I want them to beat the Eagles every time they play,” said Rawlings. “But at some point, being a sports fan gets trumped by being a father, husband, wanting to do what’s right for women, so this is not a good thing. I don’t think I’m going to be buying Hardy jerseys any time soon.”

Eagles Rumors: Murray, Mathews, Kelly

March 12th, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Eagles coach Chip Kelly took the podium today to announce the team’s signing of DeMarco Murray. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from that and more concerning the Eagles..

  • Kelly said his plan was always to bring in two running backs, according to the staff at PhiladelphiaEagles.com (on Twitter). Kelly believed that the three best backs in free agency were Murray, Ryan Mathews, and Frank Gore, and he wanted to get two to replace LeSean McCoy (link).
  • Despite speculation that the signing of Murray could dissuade Mathews from going through with his agreement, Mathews said the situation was never in doubt, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (via Twitter). Breer also writes that people within the Eagles’ organization were uncertain of Mathews would sign with the team after Murray was signed (via Twitter).
  • Kelly said he thought Murray would be out of the Eagles’ price range, but Murray turned down more money to go to Philly, Chearean Williams of the Star-Telegram tweets.
  • Despite having Murray, Mathews, and Darren Sproles on the depth chart, Kelly said he still plans to retain restricted free agent Chris Polk, Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com tweets. Kelly also said that he might only carry three tight ends this year.
  • Kelly isn’t sure if he can or will make a move towards a wide receiver in free agency, but he’ll look hard at this year’s wide receiver crop in the draft, Mosher tweets.
  • Kelly went into free agency with dollar figure earmarked for each position, Mosher tweets. He said the numbers were flexible, but his actions clearly show that he values running backs over wide receivers.
  • Murray told reporters that he felt that the Eagles gave him a great opportunity to win a Super Bowl and that the deal “wasn’t about financial security or anything like that,” Williams tweets.

Chip Kelly On Mariota, McCoy, Bradford

March 11th, 2015 at 12:46pm CST by Zachary Links

Eagles coach Chip Kelly hosted a press conference this afternoon and we’ve gathered all the highlights right here. All links to go the Twitter feed of PhiladelphiaEagles.com, unless noted otherwise:

  • Kelly told reporters, including the staff of PhiladelphiaEagles.com (on Twitter), that he didn’t think that he needed to control the team’s personnel and said that it was a decision that the team’s owner had made. Of course, Kelly got control over the roster this offseason in a front office reshuffling that saw former GM Howie Roseman change roles. Kelly feels that the biggest difference in the draft this year will be having the final say over matters, something that he didn’t have over the last two years (link).
  • The Eagles coach dispelled the notion that the Eagles will try and trade up for Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota (link). The Eagles have been heavily connected to Mariota for months now and speculation has only intensified as Kelly appears more driven than ever to fill the Eagles’ roster with Oregon alum. Kelly feels that Mariota is the best QB in the draft, but he’s unwilling to mortgage the future to land him and the team has too many other needs to address (link).
  • Kelly considered the trade of LeSean McCoy for linebacker Kiko Alonso to be important because it allowed the team to go after cornerback Byron Maxwell (link).
  • The coach claimed that the Bills leaked the news of the McCoy trade before he could call the running back to notify him, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Kelly said it was “essential” to get Mark Sanchez back (link) and added that he never would have been able to acquire a quarterback of Sam Bradford‘s caliber had he not torn his ACL. The team has yet to have extension talks with Bradford (link). That’s not a big concern to Kelly, however, who said that everyone is essentially playing year-to-year and believes that Bradford has tremendous upside (link).
  • The Eagles coach/exec claims that the Eagles were offered a first-round pick for Bradford on Wednesday morning (link). However, Bradford wasn’t brought in to be a trade chip, Kelly said, according to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (on Twitter).
  • There were other teams involved in the Bradford sweepstakes, Kelly says (link). Meanwhile, the Eagles only spoke with the Rams about Nick Foles.

Eagles Interested In Bringing Back Mark Sanchez

March 7th, 2015 at 10:57am CST by Ben Levine

Despite Nick Foles return from injury and the Eagles reported interest in prospect Marcus Mariota, the organization is apparently exhausting all of their options at the quarterback position. According to Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com, the Eagles and free agent Mark Sanchez have a mutual interest in a reunion, and Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com reports that the team has also discussed bringing in signal callers Tarvaris Jackson and Jake Locker.

Sanchez elevated his stock considerably following his performance in 2014, and the 28-year-old is arguably the best quarterback available via free agency. Filling in for the injured Foles, Sanchez passed for 2,418 yards and 14 touchdowns against only 11 interceptions, but his statistics weren’t necessarily reflected in his record, as he finished 5-4 as a starter. Shorr-Parks indicates that Sanchez would likely return to the team in a backup role, whether he’s playing behind Foles or someone else.

If Sanchez wants to compete for a starting job, he may bolt for another organization, leading the Eagles to pursue one of the alternatives mentioned above. Jackson has served as Russell Wilson‘s backup over the past two seasons, compiling only 14 attempts, 151 yards and one touchdown. The Eagles potential pursuit of the 31-year-old would make sense for multiple reasons. The veteran can run the ball well for a quarterback (4.0 average yards per carry throughout his career), which appears to be an important attribute to coach Chip Kelly. Furthermore, Jackson is clearly content with a backup role, and the former Seahawks player could provide his new squad with some insight on how to stop the conference foe.

Meanwhile, Locker would be a buy-low candidate similar to Sanchez last offseason. The former first-round pick has shown some flashes of talent throughout his brief career, and the 26-year-old is still young enough for a team to take a chance. However, the former Titans playcaller never played more than 11 games in a season for Tennessee, and his career-highs in passing yards (2,176) and touchdowns (10) don’t come close to matching Sanchez’s career-highs during his tenure with the Jets.

Eagles’ Front Office Creating Confusion

January 25th, 2015 at 11:54am CST by Rory Parks

When the Eagles announced new roles for head coach Chip Kelly and GM Howie Roseman earlier this month, with Roseman elevated to the role of executive vice president of football operations and Kelly appointed to oversee the player personnel department, there were bound to be some growing pains as Philadelphia’s front office adapted to its new structure and other teams figured out how to interact with that structure.

However, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer says there may be more to this situation than the expected transitional hurdles. Roseman was conspicuous only by his absence at the Senior Bowl, which has led some league insiders to wonder about Roseman’s true role with the club. After Kelly was granted complete control over personnel, Roseman was expected to be in charge of the salary cap and contracts. But a number of agents who represent Eagles with possible contract situations have said they were unsure who would be handling negotiations, while others said they still expected to work with Roseman.

Meanwhile, director of football administration Jake Rosenberg met with agents representing players both on and off of the Eagles roster last week, and he is currently conducting contract talks with impending free agent Jeremy Maclin. At the same time, Kelly gave his phone number to two agents with Eagles players, which represents “another indicator of his increasing say over all facets of football operations.”

The fact that Roseman was vacationing with his family while Kelly was scouting college all-star practices has created the perception that the front office restructure was not as peaceful as initially thought, and that Philadelphia is currently a hostile, divided organization.

Citing ESPN’s Adam Caplan, Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com writes that at least two people turned down the chance to interview for the Eagles’ vacant GM post, with one of the candidates saying he wanted to work for an organization in which the coach, GM, and owner were on the same page. This is not to say, of course, that the team will be unable to hire a quality GM, or that the key players in Philadelphia’s front office cannot overcome whatever turmoil there might be. But it does make one wonder if the organization’s internal dynamics will detract from its ability to navigate through the offseason as smoothly as it would like.

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