The transcript of Eagles web site director Dave Spadaro's interview with head coach Andy Reid has been up all morning on philadelphiaeagles.com. Now, the video from that interview has also been posted.
If you don't have time to watch it, here's the best part: Spadaro previews his interview by saying the first line of questioning focuses on the safety position in general and Brian Dawkins' departure in particular.
With the anticipation of seeing Reid building, we first get a promotional advertisement with video of the cheerleader tryouts. Apparently there aren't many seats left for the final round of cheerleader tryouts at the Prince Theater, but you can get some without buying a personal seat license. The cheerleaders appeared to be in midseason form even though it's only March and the final draft hasn't taken place.
"They did a nice job with that," Reid might have said.
Anyway, here's some other information you won't find on the Eagles' web site.
It has been reported in several places, including by our fierce blog competitor Eagleterian, that the Eagles signed cornerback Joselio Hanson to a five-year, $21 million deal.
That's quite an exaggeration unless you believe he's going to earn $6 million in playing-time incentives during the final four years of his contract. That's not to say that Hanson, who is projected as the Eagles' third cornerback for next season, didn't get a nice deal from the Eagles. He did.
According to a league source, he received a signing bonus of $2.275 million and a roster bonus of $2.725 million for this season and an additional $600,000 roster bonus for next season, giving him $5.6 million in bonus money. His base salaries are $620,000 in 2009, $800,000 in 2010, $1.68 million in 2011, $2.7 million in 2012 and $3.1 million in 2013. Add in $100,000 workout bonuses for each year of the deal and even if he doesn't earn a dime of the incentive money, the deal is still worth $15 million.
There's a pretty good chance that Sheldon Brown has looked at that deal and feels as if the Eagles should rework his contract in the same manner they restructured running back Brian Westbrook's contract before last season. Brown, who turned 30 today, has four years left on a six-year, $27.655 million he signed in 2004. He is scheduled to make $14 million over the final four seasons of his contract.
The league source said that safety Sean Jones' one-year deal is worth slightly more than $2.375 million if he makes $375,000 in incentive money. Jones' base salary is $1.5 million and the deal also includes a $250,000 signing bonus and a $210,000 workout bonus.
Safety Rashad Baker, the Camden native recently signed by the Eagles, received a one-year deal worth $900,000. His base salary is $750,000. He also received a $100,000 roster bonus, plus a $25,000 signing bonus and a $25,000 workout bonus.
Tackle Tra Thomas received a three-year deal worth $6.95 million from the Jacksonville Jaguars. His deal included a $50,000 workout bonus and a $300,000 Pro Bowl incentive. Thomas can earn an additional $2 million each year of his deal based on playing time and he is guaranteed $1.45 million of his base salary in the first year of the deal. The Jaguars, however, can reduce his salary to $1.95 million if he plays less than 50 percent of the team's offensive plays in 2010 and 2011.
IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
