Eagles cut Curtis and Howard
The Eagles continue to release aging players with expensive contracts.
Eagles cut Curtis and Howard
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Eagles continue to release aging players with expensive contracts.
To no surprise, the team announced today that it has cut wide receiver Kevin Curtis and defensive end Darren Howard.
Curtis, 31, was due to earn a $1.1 million roster bonus in early June. The 33-year-old Howard was slated to earn a $1 million bonus today. Curtis' 2010 base salary was to be $3.4 million; Howard's $3.5 million. Curtis was signed through 2012. Howard had a contract that expired in 2011. Of course, contracts aren't guaranteed in the NFL.
Both players were once highly-touted free agent signings, but in the end were mild disappointments.
"Darren Howard has been one of our most productive and versatile members of our defense in the last couple of years,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “He is nothing but a solid player, leader and person on and off the field."
Howard recorded 6.5 sacks last season and 10 the year before. Curtis was hurt most of last season and for a good part of the 2008 season.
"Kevin is one of the classiest players I have ever been around," Reid said. "He's the type of player and person we like to build our team with. We just feel good about the young core of receivers we have on our team at this point."
Howard joined the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent in 2006 and played in all 64 regular season games and six postseason contests. During his four-year tenure in Philadelphia, he registered 22.5 sacks among his 122 tackles.
Curtis signed with Philadelphia as an unrestricted free agent in 2007 and caught 116 passes for 1,577 yards and eight touchdowns in 28 games.
In his first season with the Eagles he was the team's leading receiver with 77 receptions for 1,110 yards.
Since the last week of February, the team has released or traded running back Brian Westbrook, linebacker Will Witherspoon, wide receiver Reggie Brown, defensive end Chris Clemons, guard Shawn Andrews, Curtis and Howard.
With the uncapped year and the potential for a lockout next season, the Eagles are obviously ridding themselves of unproductive players with long-term escalating deals.
Comments (73)
People seem to think these are necessary moves, the Eagles have consistantly been millions under the cap, letting go of players is ok if your willing to spend money to get better players. So far the Eagles upgrades are like going from a C- to a C. Bold moves. Oops, sorry my mistake replacing Curtis with Baskett was actually downgrade.— Fat-Andy- When can they cut Moyer and sign Cliff Lee?— Skena
- I heard on the radio today that all their recent cuts this off season is estimated to be like $94 million in savings. I said before that Joe and Jeff could not have been happy with the amount of money Big Red was paying out for non productive players recently. And when they flopped at the end of the year, not having a home playoff game for the 2nd straight year, that must have gotten the accountants working overtime. Yes they are still making money, but I bet that bottom line is a little less than they like when they do an overview of whats taken place the last 2 years.— watsonmr
- With releasing these contracts and free'ing up that cash for money-baggins Lurie is exactly why they will keep McNabb one more year. They told him when they guaranteed and upped the money on his contract that he had two years, and this is the second year. If he doesn't earn a re-signing, he's gone or they franchise him and trade. They'll save this year in case the league is locked out in 2011, and if a new CBA gets signed and they play, Birds will be capable of signing some ufa's next year with KK at the helm. The complete team overhaul would be complete in two years, and Reid knows he'll have two years left on his contract to win with new talent.— Bleue
He is better than Basket, Avant and probably even Maclin when healthy. A shame to see him go now that he's healed up.— Mr. Underhill- Great moves along with cutting Andrews and Westy and Spoon. Cleans the cap completely for 2011 for the best free agent class ever and allows the team to put upwards of 28 million towards resigning Djax, KObb, Maclin and McCoy. Overspend? You don't see Colts, steelers, cowboys, pats, saints spending a dime on the junk washed up free agents this offseason. Only the dregs of the league. Wake up philadelphia, the eagles basically rebuilt themselves in two years, w two playoff appearances and will be good again for another 10 years. Love it.— phillydopes
- I don't have any problems with these moves. Curtis has lost it and Howard was just adequate. Neither really lived up to expectations. Hoping for bigger things though as we approach draft day. McNabb to Cleveland, Arizona, Detroit,Jacksonville or anywhere.— naplesfan
- More money for Jeffie! Yay!— Gigs1777
- Bring back TO and sign a good DT this time. Both Curtis and Howard were rubbish!— Big Ragu
It's two guys on the downside that would've made big money. I have no problem with this. Just use that money to shore up the weak areas of the team.- scrapplejoe: "Another" 8-8, 9-7 season? The Eagles were 11-5 last year, and have been better than 9-7 for most of the past decade.— p-diddy
- scrapplejoe: "Another" 8-8, 9-7 season? The Eagles were 11-5 last year, and have been better than 9-7 for most of the past decade.— p-diddy
Super Bowl here we come! The Super Bowl party in Banner's basement, that is.
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thier knees were too healthy, they had to go...just as soon as curits knee got a bit better he gets the ax. They are gonna draft more guys with blown ACL's to replace them. (guys with bad knees are cheaper)- phillydopes must be Dave Spadaro's user name!— dankil13
- bobf - other teams also spend money on addressing their weaknesses. If you want to win in the NFL, you have to overspend. And in an uncapped year, there is no reason not to overspend when you state things such as this Organization is always gonna put the "petal to the medal" to try to win the Super Bowl. In essence, you replaced Curtis with Baskett, and Howard with Tapp (who thr f is Tapp?) The millions saved in payroll with these cuts will be going right to Lurie's pocket. And so many people on here crucified the Phillies for trading Lee - at least you could somewhat see a baseball reason (along with the financial one) behind the trade.— dankil13
- I am shocked, just shocked— notch44
- How much more salary is going to be cut before some of our crack reporters start to realize that the best thing to happen to the Eagles was no salary cap. Not only did it to away with the max you could spend, more importantly to the Eagles, it did away with the fixed amount you had to spend. Now they can cut cut cut. Extra money for nice christmas bonus for Banner, Howie, and Andy.— Pat c
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- LET'S GO PHILLIES!!!
- Why'd they cut Howard?— steverawthar
- Not surprised, but Howard was a good player or the last few years, wish him the best. Too many good young receivers for Curtis to hang around. Good to see Eagles cutting who they have, makes way for fresh blood.— dansdigs
- Man if you look back now Reid has done a terrible job at signing FA's.— Joey0210
- McNabb is next!! I really dont see them getting rid of all the older players and still have McNabb at QB.— Joey0210
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- So who are we going to get instead????? We have picks, but not THAT many...— goeagles87
- Pheagles is right..McNabb to the Bills is the next newspaper i will frame...— crohnkiller
- The season end meeting must have been meaningful, Reid is wielding the axe and removing expensive and aging players. Can't help but wonder if same measure should be given McNabb: produce or you're yesterdays news. Best Wishes to Howard and Curtis.— Smashmouth
- These are definetly cost cutting moves,in an uncapped year, Yes, I know it is a business but is there a real plan behind these moves or just salary dumps. All these dumps are Reids personnel mistakes. I have no confidence in him selecting players. If we are going with a much younger team than McNabb needs to go and give Kolb a chance. At 24 they are not going to get a stud player. The best FA's are gone now and the draft leaves you with unproven players in the NFL. If Reid fails to pick 3 starters who make an impact right out of the box it is going to be a long season. Does anyone know what the plan is to replace all these guys? Who holds Reid responsible for all these guys he selected that he has to let go? I'm being realistic.— The Marco Islander
- this organization is a JOKE. they are saving so much money. If you dopes are still buying season tickets, you should have SUCKER tattooed on your forehead!!!— ArtieLange
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- They are freeing up money for multiple reasons. If they want to blow away a restricted free agent, trading mcnabb and need to sign a high 1st round pick and most importantly next year will be the biggest free agent pool in nfl history.— fman727
- here we go again the eagles are doing just what got them into the jam last season bieng cheap they would rather go out and get players that have been in the league since the clock was invented instead of what buddy ryun did run the team and keep the brass in the office where they belong i hope mcnabb goes to seattle and maybe we can win a super bowl with the help of the young players they have ditto andy please use what god gave you manhood !— redfastlanelover
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- Getting younger and younger. Is there another aging expensive contract the Eagles might be looking to extract?????? Not saying who, but his initials might be Donavon McNabb.— Dan Bernstein
- The youth movement continues....Mc Nabb is next— jss31
- funny, i saw a poster (or was it an imposter?) yesterday hoping for these very two moves.— bigsteve
- Andy does know he needs to put 11 guys out the on defense, right? Maybe they think they can't do any worse if they only play 9 guys on defense.— jimmyeagles
- Now if they would only release or cut McBOZO (&) KILLER everything would be heaven in eagle land!— jwatson
- Still more bull_ _ _ _ comments from Andy Reid!!!!!!!!!!— southphilly42
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- Today's moves were prudent. The Eagles are shedding injury prone,30 something expensive players. Who's gonna want Curtis with his injury history at age 31? Certainly no one will offer him more than a one year low salary spot to be a 4th or 5th receiver. We only have 6 draft picks this year.. so look for a few more free agents to find their way here.— bradco
Wow. KK are you suuuure you want to start? DM, are you suuuure you want to stay?— tpizza- Everyone knew Curtis might be gone. He doesn't offer much for special teams, and you can't say he's better than Jackson, Maclin, or Avant. Howard is a little surprising. Though not a star, he has played anywhere they put him. I'd call that cheap. He's not old yet, and experience is a good thing.— tacklinjoe
- Youth movement. This team is in rebuilding mode big time. Good news is unlike most teams when they rebuild the Eagles still have a legit shot to make the playoffs.— Phillyphan26
- Man Eagles are really saving money this year.— ChrisM
- Love it, love it, love it. Birds understand the implications of the un-capped year more than any other team. Cut the dead weight. Again, don't see Pats, eagles, colts, cowboys, steelers signing a bunch of old veteran free agents like the Bears, Lions, Skins, Browns, Jags, etc. Restock with young guys when there is no free agent market. Studs!— phillydopes
- I have no problem with either of these moves. At this point they are obviously going young to get better. I bet McNabb is dealt prior to the draft. They are going to need some players. I like McNabb, but I don't see why they would not deal him for a 2 and another if someone is offering. Has Garcia signed somewhere yet? Have compensatory picks been given out yet? What did they get for Dawk?
- I think McNabb makes close to 15million next year, that would be a huge number off the books. They are anticipating a big contract from Lil Desean and Maclin. We know how much the Fat Man loves to lock em up young.
- "Curtis was a disappointment" ? Everybody here is clueless including the writer of this story, Curtis was a good receiver until he got hurt last year, a hell of a lot better than "Baskett case" This is all about purging higher price players, not about making the team better.— Fat-Andy
Bad luck for Curtis with all the injuries. The total opposite of "The Big Kid", he will be missed.— Richard Saunders- it's not like the eagles were going to make a run for the super bowl this year...but will be interesting to see just how low the payroll goes...but yes, you better have gotten your season ticket money in by mid march for a season that doesnt start until september!— jim715
- 4 offensive and 3 defensive; keeps you wondering about draft. I say offensive in the 1st round, defense with both #2's unless they make a trade.— flyerdup
- "Is it awful if they take advantage of the non-capped year to rid themselves of some mistake contracts?" Exactly! A lot of teams are doing this. There is no cap-hit for releasing these guys. That's the only reason Brown stayed last year instead of Baskett...because of the cap-hit they would have received for releasing Brown. There weren't many appealing free-agents this season anyway. Without a new CBA, guys have to have more time played to become unrestricted free-agents so this is the least amount of unrestricted free-agents that there's been in a long time.— JimG
- I have no problem with releasing Curtis. We've got three excellent young WRs and a solid 4th WR. Curtis was superfluous. I do question the release of Howard. He's still a pretty good inside pass rusher. They might be counting on Abiamiri becoming the same type of player as Howard. I bet JParker will be the next old guy released.— soulman386
Looks like it is time (if not past time) to change the ol' user name. Can anyone give me quick tutorial as to how to change it? This site is not user friendly in this regard.- Comment removed.
- Very sorry to see White Lightning get the boot. I hope his injuries are behind him and perhaps he will be part of the Iggles plans at a reduced pay schedule.— TBear
- The Eagles are really cleaning house. Curtis has been a non-contributor for a while now but Howard was fairly productive as an extra DE and nickel D tackle. After losing Babin and cutting Howard we will need to well in this years draft to replenish the depth along the D line.— PhillyTru
I'm glad they are getting rid of dead weight. One more Andrews to go!- mcNabb's the next one out. Im gonna frame that newspaper that day.— Pheagles
- This is just business . . . cutting payroll . . in preparation for a lock out in 2011 . . this is the exact time to cut . . no cap means no cap hit for many . . Banner must be doing the irish jig over at novacare— ingy9
- more money going into Lurie's pocket, he was really right about "gold standard".... too bad that doesn't mean the product on the field— fthebirds
- petergou... get a clue it's called business. Every team does this.— bobf876
- Offensive lineman and another safety perhaps????— dr.elektrika
- Can't wait to read Peter Pan Spadaro's spin on this. "Pedal to the Metal". The little puke...— wolves
- Is it awful if they take advantage of the non-capped year to rid themselves of some mistake contracts? I don't see the sense in overspending on guys "just to make a splash." They're not going to be un-capped forever
- Cole at RDE, Bunk & Patt at DT's, Dixon backup, newguy at LDE, Parker backing up, Abiramiri somewhere, maybe Gocong stays to play joker, special teams and depth at SAM....Birds are cutting vets though, Curtis gone too...looks like Lurie is taking advantage of having no minimum salary this year. Who's next? If you're dead money, you're gone; Brown, Curtis, Howard, Westbrook, Andrews...thats probably 15 mill saved right?— Bleue
- How are we going to replace 6.5 sacks?— ajcash
- So where is all this money going to be spent? Discounts on season tickets? :-)— petergou
- and no one cares....
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Birds' Eye View is the Inquirer's blog covering all things Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL.
Jeff McLane
Inquirer Staff Writer
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