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Eagles' cap space; Rodgers-Cromartie

All offseason, we've seen story after story about how the Eagles plan to be aggressive once trades and free-agent signings are allowed.

ESPN.com's John Clayton moved the story forward a little bit in a recent column that focuses on which teams will be in the best position to spend from a salary cap perspective.

One of the key issues in CBA discussions has focused on the salary cap floor and how much cash teams actually will have to spend on players going forward. Clayton lists five teams that he expects to benefit from the new salary cap proposal, and the Eagles are one of them:

Among last year's playoff teams, the Eagles may have one of the best chances to upgrade their roster and bring in stars. They have $13 million of cap room, and their payroll is a modest $95 million. They could try to bring in defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, wide receiver Plaxico Burress and maybe running back Reggie Bush if the price were right. They would have enough cap flexibility to even go for Nnamdi Asomugha or a top cornerback, if they like.

It's worth noting that the Redskins and Cardinals are also grouped with the Eagles. Washington could be in position to compete with the Birds for free agents, and Arizona could be in position to work out a new contract for a certain quarterback that is on the trading block.

Clayton also listed five teams that will be affected negatively, including the Cowboys.

THE RODGERS-CROMARTIE POSSIBILITY

One name that I've been asked about a few times is Cardinals cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

Ever since the 2011 draft came and went without a new CBA, the argument that the Birds would be looking for a veteran on defense (plus a pick or some combination of picks) in exchange for Kolb has made sense.

Some have looked at the Eagles' glaring need for a right cornerback and connected the dots with Rodgers-Cromartie.

I plan on watching some Cardinals games in the next week or so to gain a better understanding of what he brings to the table. Rodgers-Cromartie (6-2, 182) was a first-round pick in 2008 (16th overall) and made the Pro Bowl in 2009.

Last season, Rodgers-Cromartie was one of the worst tackling defensive backs in the NFL, according to Football Outsiders. Per their metrics, he allowed a broken tackle on 18.9 percent of his attempts, the worst mark among defensive backs that had at least 40 tackles.

Kent Somers covers the Cardinals for The Arizona Republic  and isn't so sure the team would be willing to part ways with Rodgers-Cromartie:

I doubt if DRC is on the block. He's been inconsistent in Arizona, and there's no question coaches' patience will run out if DRC doesn't mature and put in the necessary study time. But great cover corners -- and DRC has the potential to be great -- are hard to find.And it's not as if the Cardinals are deep at the position.

SIXTEEN THURSDAY NIGHT GAMES?

Last week, when details of a new CBA proposal were revealed, one of the key notes was that the league would be looking to move to a 16-game Thursday night schedule, beginning as soon as 2012.

But John Ourand and Daniel Kaplan of the SportsBusiness Journal report that the move could be made as soon as next season.

Per the article, the final eight Thursday night games would be shown on NFL Network, but the first eight would be broadcast elsewhere. The eight-game package could be worth around $700 million, providing the league with a new source of revenue.

Turner and Comcast are among the bidders for the eight Thursday night games. Comcast wants to broadcast games on Versus, and Turner would like to put games on TBS, TNT or TruTV, according to the article.

If the move is made for 2011, it would of course mean tweaks to the existing schedule. As things currently stand, the Eagles have five prime-time games: three Sunday night matchups, one Monday night game and a Thursday nighter.

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