Why Sheldon might have to stay
Why the Eagles might not be able to get rid of Sheldon Brown.
Why Sheldon might have to stay
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
Sitting over in the NovaCare Complex on Sunday when the Eagles traded two fifth-round picks for Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs, two questions immediately hit me:
1) What does this mean for disgruntled corner Sheldon Brown?
2) Why did it only take two fifth-rounders to acquire a starting corner?
We're going to take these in reverse order. Why fifth-rounders for a guy who has started for the better part of four years? You do have to wonder a little bit. You do have to wonder about why the Patriots have spent the off-season acquiring new secondary talent, making Hobbs expendable. The price was pretty reasonable, especially for a player at such an important position. So let's not go too crazy about what they got here. They got a professional player, and a guy who is young enough that he might still be getting better. Don't say much more than that, though, until we see more.
Then there is the Brown question. This isn't about him anymore -- it's about other people. Two of them are Andy Reid and Joe Banner, and they are not likely to acquiesce quickly to Brown's demand for a new contract and/or a trade -- because that's not what they do. Even more important than them, though, is the unspellable Jack Ikegwuonu (and, to a lesser degree, just-drafted Victor Harris). One of them has to be able to play or the Eagles cannot move Brown.
Remember: Lito Sheppard is gone now, and the Eagles play four cornerbacks a decent percentage of the time. And if the fourth guy can't play, opposing offenses will make the Eagles play four cornerbacks an even higher percentage of the time. And it's not even that: they play three corners a ton of the time, and if somebody sprains an ankle, the fourth has to play in place of one of the first three, and the other teams will find him on the field every damn time if he can't play.
When I listen to Reid talk about this stuff, I try to hear the truth beneath the words. And when Reid talked Sunday about Ikegwuonu, who missed his rookie season injured, he said, “Jack is coming off the major knee [surgery]. He has been doing the offseason program and it looks like he has a chance. He is a little bit rusty right now but he is working his tail off so we will add him into the mix.”
That does not sound like a ringing endorsement. This is going to have to play out. Brown has no chance to be moved until the Eagles are convinced Ikegwuonu or Harris (or somebody) can get on the field.
Brown can play special teams.— maximus- yescadog, just bc your life is miserable and you wouldn't sniff $7 million in 7 lifetimes, don't wish ill upon another human being by hoping "he blows out his knee and gets cut"... what a disgusting statement... Sheldon Brown is a hard-hitting CB with above average cover skills and is not afraid to step into the box to play the run... sure, he gets beat on occasion but so did lito sheppard when he was making pro bowls... Brown is a great compliment to samuel who has world class cover skills but is not a physical player... i hope he is a starter next year bc w/out dawk we are going to need someone who is not afraid to hit and intimidate— GoPhils09
- Interesting points, Rich. But to play devil's advocate here, why didn't the Eagles have this problem in previous years? They didn't have Hobb before this weekend and the 2 CB's you mentioned were drafted so were not on the team until this weekend. Why wasn't having 4 solid CB's on the team an issue before this weekend? Again, not disagreeing with you, just playing advocate. If it's an issue of Brown not being injured, well Hobb also played all games the last 2 years. I think the reason why the Pats traded Hobb for two 5's is because they were planning on letting him walk after this year so they at least got something out of it. So I guess both teams benefitted.— awl
- while i agree that hobbs being let go for 2 5th rounders is questionable, I think that his talent and ability may have less to do with it than one might think. He is in his contract year and the pats did not want to pay him star money which is what he prob was going to ask for. They figured they'd get younger and prob have someone ready to step in until the other guys develop (shawn springs?) Remember say what you want about this guy, but he was a starting corner on an 18-1 team. he did get beat by plax for the final score, but so have ALL corners who have worn an eagle uniform and played against the giants with plax. I believe they will dangle Brown this year and trade him next year, UNLESS some is willing to part with a 1st day pick.— ag
Comment removed.- Players want to get current market value. Long-term contracts are cost-effective and owners understand this very well. In the long run, keeping proven performers happy is a better strategy than saying the player should've negotiated better. Reddgie, I understand earning your pay. I just favor receiving it as the performance is delivered, not in arrears. Owners only give up-front bonuses as a negotiating tactic. They pay only what they have to unless, via a long-term deal, they can pay less. This strategy is becoming very expensive. It will cost the Eagles a good player, two draft picks, and an adjustment period on defense. Brown will not be the exception, he and Lito will be the rule. Pay them what they earn when they earn it and they will make Lurie's $1.1 BILLION team a $2 BILLION team before he can cry foul. Just pay the players as they deliver. The players have only a very few years to share in the unbelievable wealth they helped to build. Ever hear the term "playing for a contract?" What if you could get that performance every year? Offer up-front monies and an optional 3-year renegotiation which nets out any up-front monies paid. Why wait 5 years to renegotiate if waiting costs you a good player, or two, or more? You pay Brown market rate or his replacement market rate. I'd rather pay the guy we have rather than risk performance from a new guy. Long-term contracts may seem dollar-wise but they are less motivational than intermediate-term contracts after two years. Of course, there's a cost to dealing fairly: you won't get to be millions of dollars under the salary cap each year.— Scoop
- All I hear is hatin'. First of all, Sheldon is a solid corner and if I were him, I would try and get as much money as possible. He has been the better corner between him and Sheppard for years. As far as the signing bonus he got in '04, he deserved every dollar. You philly fans are quick to forget that he has been a solid corner for you guys for a long time. Show the man some respect.— eglassiter
- Scoop, I absolutely agree with you. These people who post here think just because they can't make the kind of money Sheldon is making that he should just be satisfied with whatever he is getting. This is a business and the Eagles go out of their way to marginalize even their good players. I say get the best deal you can get Sheldon. Don't show them any loyalty because you best believe that the Eagles brass won't show you any.— eglassiter
- The compensation for Hobbs was low because Hobbs has only 1 year left on his contract and the Pats were going to let him walk. Now they have some picks in hand in exchange for letting him walk earlier. Simple as that.— jtj06
- Rich, you are absolutely right. I didn't understand why people were saying that the arrival of Hobbs meant Sheldon would get traded. Think about it. They have three corners who have played in the Eagles system -- Samuel, Brown, and Hanson. Lito is gone. Hobbs was signed to take Lito's place. Lito was the fourth corner. When you think about it that way, two fifth round picks sounds about right. And even if Macho Harris or Jack Ikegwuonu can play, they are not going to release Sheldon until at least next year so they can ease one of those young corners into the system. I think Sheldon should have an opportunity to get paid. That's all anybody in any profession wants. Unfortunately, I think Sheldon is going to have to wait at least a year to get that opportunity.— kingsolomonsmind
- I don't think they'll be able to trade Brown because I don't think anybody really wants him. If you trade for Brown, you'll have to redo that contract and pay him more money. Is any team going to trade a decent draft pick and pay additional money to Brown? A 30-year-old corner who doesn't get picks, has never sniffed a pro bowl, and whose best days are behind him? No way.— Vituperator
- It's pretty obvious why Hobbs only cost us two 5th round picks. The Patriots weren't going to re-sign him. You want to talk about cheap organizations. The Pats lead in that category. They've let a ton of guys in their prime (not guys 30-35 years old like the Eagles) walk because they didn't want to pay them...Deion Branch, Asante Samuel, etc. Hobbs is a 26 year old CB with 4 years of starting experience and he's one of the top kick returners in the game. You think a contract extension was going to be cheap? Nope. So Belichek has brought in some young kids and a few older vets to tide them over until the kids are ready to go. So that's why the Pats were willing to give him up. Since he's in the last year of his deal and he may end up being a rent-a-player for one season, the Pats weren't going to command a high price for him. Why would the Eagles or any other team give up a 2nd or 3rd round pick for a guy that they may only have for 1 season unless he's the next coming of Darrell Green or Deion Sanders? The trade made perfect sense for both sides. Sheldon isn't going anywhere. That would leave the Eagles with only 3 CBs with any experience. They were bringing in a vet whether or not Sheldon opened his mouth.— JimG
- Brown is like all other pro players. Pay me now and then pay me again later if someone else gets paid more than me. I'm tired of hearing that the players only play x amount of years and need to get as much as they can. What ever happened to finding a REAL job after their playing days are over like a normal person has to do. Work for a living. I wouldn't redo his contract or trade him. He brought this on himself so let him suffer now.— The Marco Islander
- Scoop. Hint: They did renegotiate Brown's contract. He now has FOUR (4) years remaining on that recently renegotiated contract. As you yourself partly stated, "...typically with one or two years remaining on a contract". Once again, Brown has FOUR (4) years remaining on his contract. Let him honor it.— essell
- Comment removed.
