Posted: Monday, March 8, 2010, 9:16 AM | 49 comments |
 

Eagles sign Avant to 5-year deal
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The Eagles and restricted free agent wide receiver Jason Avant agreed to terms on a five-year contract, the team announced today.

The signing comes just days after the Eagles inked another of their restricted free agents, fullback Leonard Weaver, to a multi-year contract.

The exact numbers on Avant's deal were not immediately known.

Getting Avant locked into an extension was expected. On Friday, coach Andy Reid said a deal was imminent.

While other NFL teams have made splashes in free agency by swiping players from other teams, the Eagles have gone about securing some of their own guys.

The 26-year-old Avant is coming off a productive season as the Eagles' slot receiver. He caught 41 passes for 587 yards and three touchdowns. He's considered one of the hardest workers on the team and he's another of the Eagles' high-character guys in the locker room.

In each of his first four seasons in the NFL, Avant has increased his offensive numbers. With DeSean Jackson (23) and Jeremy Maclin (21) as the two flankers, the Eagles have themselves a young and formidable trio of receivers.

The Eagles tendered Avant at a second-round level on Friday.

He will meet with the media today at 2 p.m. at the NovaCare complex.

 
Posted by Jeff McLane @ 9:16 AM  Permalink | 49 comments
49
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:23 AM, 03/08/2010
    Good to luck him up. Now they need to address areas of need, like defense.
    — P Even
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:45 AM, 03/08/2010
    We'll take him ...
    — Gringo4
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:49 AM, 03/08/2010
    I love it -- Avant really is quite an underrated receiver. Easily the best hands on the team, and he takes quite a beating across the middle. The Eagles def. have their best WR corps in the Andy Reid era with Jackson, Maclin, and Avant.
    — grales
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:05 AM, 03/08/2010
    Avant is a steady performer with great hands, it will be interesting to see the value of his contract...
    — jss31
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:08 AM, 03/08/2010
    Nice ' lock up ' Well deserved for Avant . . He's gotten better every year . Like to see eagles get a pick / 3rd or 4th / for Vick because i don't think they'll have any luck trading McNabb . . Eagles would want a high 2nd / maybe a 4th also . . no one is going to give that for a QB . . . who possibily won't resign . . .
    — ingy9
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:12 AM, 03/08/2010
    Skins fan chiming in, since I don't really have much to watch in DC for the time being. Avant = Art Monk, does his talking on the field. Just catches the ball and moves the chains. No headaches outside of the game, it's what you would like from all your players.
    — Koko Beware
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:28 AM, 03/08/2010
    nice to see them lock up weaver and avant..i was hoping they were...but when is the defense going to get an upgrade> instead of releasing players on defense sign someone of need like a safety or DL...hope they dont think their defense is fine..cause those dallas games proved they aren't
    — bigjay215
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:32 AM, 03/08/2010
    well signing weaver and avant are good starting points, but they better come up big around the draft... normally i dont worry about them trading stuff until the draft, but some teams have already made moves to steady their QB situations, making the eagles extra qbs not as valuable.
    — sasquatches
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:33 AM, 03/08/2010
    Sign Avant is good, but why these clowns not make a move for Boldin?
    — GrownMan86
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:35 AM, 03/08/2010
    Too bad for all the losers who gave up the Eagles in the last thread.
    — ahab
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:43 AM, 03/08/2010
    Great to have Avant and Weaver back in the fold, but they are not additions to improve this team. Get people to add to the team and improve it.
    — The Marco Islander
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:48 AM, 03/08/2010
    GrownMan86, because that would cost you 2 players in a very deep draft plus you have to pay Boldin >$7mil/year. We needed Boldin a few years ago, but not now. We just need to upgrade Brown and Curtis and we are fine at WR.
    — kcruel
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:00 AM, 03/08/2010
    Lather rinse repeat, Banners patting hemself on the back today. And if or when Avant outperforms this deal (as Eagles should hope he does) he'll be rattling his sabre in 2 years for another deal claiming he's underpaid.
    — storebrandmayonnaise


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About Jeff McLane and Jonathan Tamari






Jeff McLane (left) began covering the Eagles in April 2009 after covering college sports and Penn State football in particular. Before that he wrote about high school sports and before that he worked in the mailroom (not quite). Find Jeff on Facebook and follow him on Twitter for instant updates on the Eagles.

Jonathan Tamari (right) began covering the Eagles in April 2010. He previously covered New Jersey state government and politics, reporting and writing about elections, policy debates and the many personalities that drive the Garden State, from three recent governors to the many musicians bidding to write the state song. He has been at the Inquirer since June 2008. Follow him on Twitter at @JonathanTamari.

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