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Sam Bradford

Eagles Notes: Ertz, Celek, Bradford

January 27th, 2016 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been a busy week so far for the Eagles, who signed a pair of tight ends to new contracts and are still looking to hire a key personnel executive for their front office. Let’s check out the latest out of Philadelphia….

  • Using the contracts signed last winter by Julius Thomas and Charles Clay as points of comparison, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap breaks down Zach Ertz‘s new deal with the Eagles. Fitzgerald also explains why Brent Celek‘s extension has plenty of value for Philadelphia, assuming the team had already decided to carry the veteran tight end on its roster for 2016.
  • The new deals for Ertz and Celek show that – after ceding power to Chip Kelly for a year – Howie Roseman is re-committing to building an atmosphere in which players drafted by the Eagles feel valued by the organization, and stick with the team for the long term, writes Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News. “It’s an important message to your team, that if you play really well and you do the right things and you’re drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, you’ve got a chance to stay for a long time,” Roseman said. “I think it’s important for the organization.”
  • Josh Paunil of PhillyMag.com spoke to former agent Joel Corry about the likely value of potential extensions for players like Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson, and Vinny Curry. Corry also explained why he thinks Sam Bradford may ultimately sign a one-year contract this offseason rather than a long-term deal.
  • If the Eagles know whether they plan re-sign Bradford or let him walk, they’re not tipping their hand yet, as Bowen details in a Daily News piece.
  • Bowen and Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter links) are both hearing rumblings that the personnel executive ultimately hired by the Eagles to work with Roseman will be a retread, rather than an up-and-comer.
  • The Eagles have hired Missouri’s Chris Wilson as their defensive line coach, Doug Pederson said today, per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

NFC Notes: Seahawks, Eagles, Cards, Falcons

January 25th, 2016 at 5:18pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Bellevue, Wash., police arrested Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman in October on investigation of vehicular assault and hit-and-run, but they released the 26-year-old without charges the next day. They’re now recommending the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charge Coleman with felonies for both offenses, Jennifer Sullivan and Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times report. The prosecutor’s office will take the next several weeks to determine whether to file charges against Coleman, who was driving a Dodge pickup at a “high rate of speed,” according to police, and struck a Honda Civic traveling the same direction.

The police report, which was released Monday (per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com), says Coleman’s truck was going 60 in a 35-mph zone, and his foot was on the accelerator at 100 percent for several seconds. That pushed the other vehicle 260 feet off the roadway up a hill. It then flipped over. The driver went to the hospital with a head injury and a fractured left clavicle, while police found a barefoot Coleman two blocks from the scene. Stephen W. Hayne, Coleman’s lawyer, said the accident dislodged Coleman’s hearing aids, which may have left him disoriented and caused him to leave the scene. The report reveals Coleman admitted to smoking “Spice,” synthetic cannabinoids, and showed signs of impairment. Police found multiple bags of synthetic cannabinoids and various drug paraphernalia in Coleman’s truck. However, there were no signs of drug consumption in the blood tests Coleman underwent several hours after the accident. Despite that, Coleman – whom police accused of driving in a manner that was “rash and heedless” and “indifferent to the consequences” – could now be in serious trouble.

The four-year veteran is set to become a restricted free agent.

Some notes on the NFC’s other bird-themed teams:

  • It’s currently unclear who will quarterback the Eagles next season. If newly extended tight end Zach Ertz has his way, the club will re-sign pending free agent Sam Bradford. “I’ve played for five quarterbacks now in three years, which seems like a lot, and I want to play with Sam,” Ertz said, per Bob Ford of Philly.com. Ertz added that Bradford hopes to remain with the Eagles. “He wants to be in Philadelphia. Whether he’s back here or not, that’s none of my business, honestly. He’s going to do what’s best for him and the Eagles are going to do what’s best for us. But at the end of the day, I think he wants to be here.”
  • The Cardinals finished a below-average 20th in the NFL in sacks during the regular season and took down Panthers quarterback Cam Newton just once in their 49-15 NFC title game loss on Sunday. As a result, the Cards’ top offseason priority will be strengthening their pass rush, general manager Steve Keim said Monday (per Darren Urban of the team’s website).
  • Despite playing his entire rookie year with a torn right labrum, Falcons pass rusher Vic Beasley will not have offseason surgery, according to head coach Dan Quinn (link via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). As Ledbetter writes, some labrum tears can be treated without surgery. Beasley led the 2015-16 Falcons with four sacks, a franchise record for rookies, and will look to build on that next season without having to deal with a shoulder injury.

Eagles Notes: Bradford, Pederson, Coaches

January 19th, 2016 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Eagles introduced new head coach Doug Pederson today at an afternoon press conference, and announced during that presser that former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz will be Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator for the 2016 season. However, that was hardly the only item of interest from the session. Let’s dive in and round up some of the other highlights….

  • According to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, the team started with a pool of about 25 head coaching candidates, then reduced that total to about 10 (Twitter link Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer). That list included head coaches on other teams, per Lurie, so I’d expect John Harbaugh, Tom Coughlin, and Sean Payton were among the Eagles’ names. Ultimately though, no one besides Pederson was going to be offered the job, Lurie said (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
  • Pederson said today that personnel decisions will be made collaboratively, with Lurie breaking any ties. Pederson and Howie Roseman figure to be involved in those decisions, along with the club’s new head of player personnel — Lurie confirmed today that the Eagles are looking to hire someone for that position (Twitter links via McLane).
  • Asked about Sam Bradford, Pederson said a decision on the free-agent-to-be hasn’t been made, but he praised the QB as one who could fit into his system (Twitter link via Berman).
  • The Eagles haven’t yet decided on an offensive coordinator, Pederson said today (Twitter link via McLane). Frank Reich is reportedly the frontrunner for the job, though the new head coach said he’ll consider incumbent OC Pat Shurmur too (Twitter link via McLane). Still, it’ll be Pederson, rather than the OC, who will call the team’s offensive plays, tweets James Palmer of the NFL Network.
  • Special teams coach Dave Fipp and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland will be retained, tweets McLane. Pederson is still deliberating on the rest of the staff.

King’s Latest: Mularkey, Manziel, Bradford

January 4th, 2016 at 9:52am CST by Luke Adams

Even though Mike Mularkey is technically the Titans‘ interim head coach, rather than the team’s permanent solution, that doesn’t necessarily mean the club will conduct a full-fledged coaching search. According to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, the Titans have yet to reach out to any top outside coaching candidates, even as other teams begin to schedule and conduct interviews.

There has been a little more buzz lately suggesting that the Titans are seriously considering sticking with Mularkey, and in his latest Monday Morning Quarterback column, Peter King of TheMMQB.com suggests that Mularkey looks safer than anticipated. Tennessee has yet to announce any sort of decision yet, but we should find out soon whether the club intends to interview outside candidates or simply move forward with Mularkey.

Here are a few more noteworthy tidbits from King’s latest MMQB:

  • According to King, the Browns don’t want Johnny Manziel anymore, “but won’t say so for fear of eliminating [his] trade value.” While King doesn’t expect Manziel to play another snap for Cleveland, it’s worth noting that a new head coach and general manager may feel differently about the former first-round pick.
  • Sam Bradford won’t be motivated to sign with the Eagles over any other team in free agency, says King. If the Eagles don’t use their franchise tag on Bradford, it sounds like the former first overall pick will reach the open market, since agent Tom Condon likes to maximize his client’s earnings, and Bradford “isn’t crazy about Philadelphia” as a city, according to King.
  • Doug Marrone‘s interview for the Browns‘ head coaching job will take place on Tuesday, per King. The former Bills head coach also reportedly has an interview lined up with the Dolphins.

Eagles Notes: Kelly, Johnson, Bradford

December 30th, 2015 at 6:53pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson had plenty to say Wednesday on the heels of the Chip Kelly firing, per Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com.

Asked if the players were afraid to take any complaints to Kelly, Johnson said, “Yeah, I mean, to be honest, yeah. There’s always talk in the locker room you don’t quite say to the coach. We’ll say it to the position coaches, but I don’t know if it ever leaves that room.”

Johnson does think Kelly “had good intentions,” but he also labeled him as “standoffish” – particularly toward the media.

Further, Johnson says he and the players knew about the power struggle between executive Howie Roseman and Kelly.

“Chip and Howie weren’t happy together, didn’t deal well. Just a lot of tension up there that didn’t need to happen, because when you throw it up there it does trickle down to the team, and the team knows what’s going on. It’s just a negative energy that doesn’t need to exist.”

On whether Kelly’s practice schedule’s was too grueling, Johnson stated, “I definitely think so … It takes a toll on you.”

Johnson added Kelly’s moves last offseason contributed to the offense’s inability to function effectively in his high-tempo attack.

“The tempo’s very effective whenever you’re able to do it well. I think we did well the first two years. Made a lot of changes this offseason and I don’t know if everyone is the best fit for what it was.”

More on the Eagles as the post-Kelly era begins:

  • Quarterback Sam Bradford, whom Kelly traded for last offseason, said Wednesday he was “shocked” about Kelly’s ouster, according to Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com. Bradford, who called his relationship with Kelly “great,” isn’t sure whether he’ll be an Eagle beyond this season. “Obviously, I think a lot of it depends on who they hire as a head coach now and what type of offensive system he wants to run,” said the free agent-to-be.
  • Owner Jeffrey Lurie is making a mistake in handing the reins of the Eagles’ front office to Roseman and Tom Donahoe, opines Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com. Frank cites Roseman’s questionable draft record and inability to coexist with others as reasons for concern. As for Donahoe, he hasn’t been associated with a playoff team since 1997 and had a less-than-stellar run as Buffalo’s general manager from 2001-05. Frank believes the Eagles need a fresh approach, which Roseman and Donahoe won’t provide.
  • Zach Berman of Philly.com took a look at possible Kelly replacements for the Eagles. Seven current NFL assistants, three of whom have head coaching experience in the league, and three college head coaches are listed as potential successors.
  • Bob Brookover, also of Philly.com, writes that the Eagles’ best selection to take over for Kelly is interim head coach Pat Shurmur – who went 9-23 with the Browns from 2011-12.

More Leftovers On Eagles’ Firing Of Chip Kelly

December 30th, 2015 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Chip Kelly‘s dismissal, multiple reports on Tuesday suggested that the Eagles wanted to strip Kelly of his personnel control, and then decided to fire him when he balked. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) has heard that scenario isn’t accurate.

According to both Rapoport and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter links), it doesn’t sound like there was any big event or dramatic moment that led to Kelly’s firing — owner Jeffrey Lurie simply called Kelly in and informed him of his decision.

While the build-up to Kelly’s firing may not have been dramatic, there has certainly been no shortage of reaction and follow-up to the move. We rounded several additional details and reactions to the story last night, but with many more surfacing since then, we’re doing it again. Let’s dive in….

  • Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link) gets the sense that Lurie parted ways with Kelly to get the Eagles’ building back. Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News hears something similar, with a source telling him that Lurie wanted to “take back the team.”
  • According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Kelly still had two years and $12.4MM left on his contract. If Kelly is hired by another team within the next two years, it would save the Eagles some money due to offset language in the deal.
  • One Eagles player tells Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter links) that Kelly is “definitely someone who doesn’t communicate,” adding that he “wouldn’t make a few changes here and there to make the players better.”
  • With Kelly gone, Sam Bradford‘s future in Philadelphia is up in the air, writes Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com.
  • Alex Marvez of FOX Sports identifies interim Eagles coach Pat Shurmur, Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, and Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub as three possible candidates to replace Kelly.
  • What Lurie and the Eagles need more than a head coach is a smart, football-minded general manager who can fix the roster, says ESPN.com’s Ashley Fox. As David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News notes, Kelly may be gone, but the impact he had on the Eagles’ roster will linger.

NFC East Notes: Bradford, Coughlin, Romo

December 29th, 2015 at 2:58pm CST by Zachary Links

Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur anticipates that quarterback Sam Bradford will re-sign with the team this offseason, as Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com writes. Bradford, of course, is eligible for free agency, but the Eagles will have the franchise tag at their disposal if they want – or need – to use it, and the former first overall pick could agree to a new deal with or without being franchised.

“I expect him to [re-sign],” Shurmur said. “He’s all along expressed to us that he enjoys what we’re doing. He likes our offense, he likes the culture here. And so it’s no surprise that that was revealed publicly. But, yeah, I hope he’s here for sure.”

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

  • The Giants will have a tough decision to make if they want to move on from coach Tom Coughlin. However, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com wonders if Coughlin could make things easier on the organization by simply walking away himself.
  • If the Giants make a coaching change, they should go after current Saints coach Sean Payton, Gary Myers of the New York Daily News opines. Furthermore, Myers feels that if Coughlin goes, GM Jerry Reese should also be shown the door based on his disappointing results in recent drafts (with Odell Beckham Jr., of course, standing as an exception).
  • After fracturing his collarbone twice this season, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is considering having a plate inserted in an attempt to prevent further injuries, as Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. Davison also passes along Romo’s comments on his future and on the possibility of the Cowboys drafting a quarterback.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

East Notes: Giants, Harrison, Eagles

December 27th, 2015 at 11:16am CST by Rory Parks

The Giants were officially eliminated from playoff contention last night by virtue of Washington’s victory over the Eagles, which has led ESPN’s Dan Graziano to wonder where Big Blue goes from here. He lays out the three biggest questions facing the team this offseason, including, of course, the fates of head coach Tom Coughlin and former first-round draft picks Prince Amukamara and Jason Pierre-Paul. Although it has been widely reported that Coughlin would be fired if his team failed to reach the playoffs this season, Graziano writes that a decision on Coughlin’s future has not yet been made.

Let’s take a look at a few more links from the league’s east divisions, beginning with more out of New York:

  • Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News suggests that there will be pressure from within the Giants‘ organization to make a coaching change, but Vacchiano says it would be unwise to underestimate how much team president John Mara likes Coughlin, and if Mara wants to stick with the coach that has delivered two Super Bowl titles to his club, Vacchiano lays out five reasons that would justify such a decision.
  • If the Giants do decide to part ways with Coughlin, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is highly thought of within the organization and would become a strong candidate to become the team’s next head coach.
  • If he stays with the Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick could land a contract that will pay him between $10-12MM annually, according to Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (citing a prominent NFL agent).
  • Damon Harrison, one of the unsung heroes of the Jets defensive line, will be a free agent at year’s end, and during a recent Q&A with Steve Serby of The New York Post, Harrison expressed his desire to remain with the Jets for the foreseeable future.
  • Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald looks back at the disastrous 2013 offseason that saw the Dolphins make enormous mistakes in both the draft and free agency, mistakes that will continue to haunt the team in 2016 and beyond.
  • After the Eagles‘ loss to Washington last night, quarterback Sam Bradford said he would like to remain in Philadelphia going forward, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. Although Bradford has had an up-and-down season in his first year with the club, Bob Brookover of The Philadelphia Inquirer believes the impending free agent did enough last night to prove to the Eagles that he is worthy of a new contract.
  • As Les Bowen of The Philadelphia Daily News notes, the question of who will make the decision on Bradford’s future with the Eagles is still very much up in the air. Although Bowen still believes owner Jeffrey Lurie is “in too deep” with Chip Kelly to pull the plug on his embattled head coach so soon after handing him control of the team’s personnel decisions, the Eagles loss last night and the manner in which they lost may force Lurie’s hand.

NFC East Notes: Coughlin, Bradford

December 26th, 2015 at 6:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here’s the latest from the NFC East, whose 2015 champion could be crowned tonight:

  • As the end of the season draws nearer, Giants owner John Mara gets closer to having to make a decision on the future of two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Tom Coughlin. Although the Coughlin-led Giants are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year, their best move might be to give him another shot with a better roster, opines Newsday’s Bob Glauber – who doesn’t believe there are obvious signs that the 69-year-old is past his prime. Glauber doesn’t see any loss of passion from Coughlin or effort issues from his players, a sign they haven’t tuned him out. If the Giants disagree and do elect to fire Coughlin, anyone they hire to replace him wouldn’t be free of warts. They’d either be choosing a first-time head coach – which could work, Glauber concedes, but it’s a risky proposition – or someone who has failed at another stop.
  • In his own piece centering on Coughlin, the New York Daily News’ Ralph Vacchiano offers five reasons why the Giants won’t fire their head coach. Among those reasons: The Giants might not want to force 35-year-old Eli Manning to learn a third new offense in a four-year span, especially given the fact that he was played so well under current coordinator Ben McAdoo. Speaking of which, Mara’s ideal scenario – a source told Vacchiano – is for McAdoo to get further seasoning as an assistant and then have Coughlin pass him the head coaching reins after a more successful season.
  • Eagles quarterback and free agent-to-be Sam Bradford will have a chance over the next two weeks to show he can be a big-game player, Zach Berman of Philly.com writes. Bradford will play his first meaningful late-season game since 2010 tonight when the 6-8 Eagles take on NFC East-leading Washington (7-7). If the Eagles lose, they’re eliminated from playoff contention and Washington clinches the division. That’s likely to happen if Bradford turns in a similar performance to the last time he was in a must-win game at the end of a season. In Bradford’s rookie year, the former No. 1 overall pick and ex-Ram completed just 19 of 36 passes for a paltry 155 yards and an interception in a 16-6 loss to the Seahawks. That Week 17 defeat put the Seahawks in the playoffs and sent Bradford and the Rams home for a long offseason. Bradford is excited about the chance to atone for that showing. “It’s been a long time coming. This is why you play,” he said.

East Notes: Henderson, Fitzpatrick, Bradford

December 17th, 2015 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

Having recently started listing Seantrel Henderson on the injury report with an “illness,” the Bills and head coach Rex Ryan declined to get into specifics on Henderson’s condition. However, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News hears from an NFL source that Henderon has been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition. Per Carucci’s source, the Bills’ right tackle “has experienced severe stomach pain and has lost nearly 20 pounds.”

A seventh-round pick in 2014, Henderson started all 16 games in his rookie season in Buffalo, and had started 10 games for the team this year before he was sidelined. Carucci indicates that the former Miami Hurricane is expected to miss the rest of this season, though it’s not clear how the diagnosis will affect him going forward.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s East divisions:

  • Ryan Fitzpatrick is on track to play in more than 70% of the Jets‘ offensive plays this season, which is good news for the Texans, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. If Fitzpatrick remains above that threshold, Houston will receive a sixth-round pick from New York, rather than a seventh-rounder.
  • While Chip Kelly and the Eagles have expressed interest in having Sam Bradford on the roster in 2016 and beyond, the quarterback himself has been noncommittal, preferring to postpone that conversation until after the season, as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News writes. Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer observes that Bradford’s recovery from his ACL injury has been similar to the path taken by Carson Palmer, so perhaps a Palmer-esque extension would work for Bradford and the Eagles.
  • Former Giants defensive end Damontre Moore is ready for a fresh start with the Dolphins, and spoke to reporters about his departure from New York. James Kratch of NJ.com has the details and the quotes.
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