Posted: Saturday, February 6, 2010, 9:50 AM | 23 comments |
 

Report: Jags to release Tra Thomas
options
 
Tra Thomas spent 11 seasons as the Eagles' starting left tackle. (File photo)

A year after the Eagles bid farewell to their longtime bookend tackles, one is making a run at political office, and the other will soon be looking for a job.

According to Vito Stellino of the Florida Times Union, the Jaguars will release Tra Thomas next week. Per the report, Thomas was given advance notice because he wants to continue his career, and the Jaguars wanted to give him time to find a new team.

Since I know this will dominate the comments, I'll address it right away: Is there room on the Eagles' roster for Thomas?

Let's start with his performance this past season. I can't say that I was a constant viewer of the Jaguars, but per the report, Thomas did not see the field in the final seven games. He is 35 years old.

Thomas was the Eagles' starting tackle for 11 seasons, starting all but 11 regular-season games during that span. He signed a three-year deal with Jacksonville in 2009.

As for the Birds, they moved on, trading for and extending Jason Peters, who had an up and down first year in Philadelphia.

When Peters was sidelined during the season, the team opted to slide Todd Herremans over to left tackle, rather than insert King Dunlap. The reasons were simple. They had more depth at guard than tackle, meaning they could afford to push Herremans over. And Dunlap would have been a liability had they needed to rely on him.

So could the Eagles use an upgrade with their depth at tackle? Sure. But who knows what kind of role Thomas is looking for, or if he has anything left.

A few other links:

* A woman filed a civil suit againt Michael Irvin, alleging he raped her in 2007. On Friday, Irvin reportedly countersued her for $100 million. He was fired by ESPN Radio in Dallas yesterday. Per the Dallas Morning News, Irvin was going to be fired anyway because of disappointing ratings. This news just sped up the process.

* Roger Goodell announced yesterday the Donte Stallworth will be reinstated. Tony Grossi of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reports that the Browns will release Stallworth.

* And on a lighter note, Jimmy Johnson will appear in commercials for ExtenZe, the male enhancement product. Can't wait to see these. The comedy on those ads is already through the roof. I'm not sure I'm prepared to see where it goes with Johnson involved.
Posted by Sheil Kapadia @ 9:50 AM  Permalink | 23 comments
23
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:12 AM, 02/06/2010
    how many people will admit the birds made the right call letting thomas go?
    — birdfannnj
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:49 AM, 02/06/2010
    Eagles do a tremendous job of not hanging onto people too long. Under Reid, it's rare any long-term Eagle has much of a career after leaving the Birds. I just hope they don't continue to have blinders on when it comes to McNabb. I think Reid is smarter than that. They didn't make the Kolb pick and bring him along just to ride the pine. It's exactly the Aaron Rodgers model, and a trade with a team like the Rams, Browns or Niners seems like almost a certainty. Going to be a great year with Stew Bradley and Cornelius Ingram coming back and Kolb leading this team. Pretty exciting to think they've turned over the entire roster, including McNabb and Westbrook, and will still be a playoff-caliber team for the forseeable future.
    — djack10
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:00 AM, 02/06/2010
    "Is there room on the Eagles' roster for Thomas?" The Eagles released him and no other team in the NFL wanted him except Jacksonville and they immediately drafted a LT and made him a bench player and are now releasing him after 1 season as mostly a back-up. Doesn't that tell you something about the erosion of his skills at this point in his career? We don't need him. We could sign him in August if we needed him. Nobody else wants him.
    — JimG
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:14 AM, 02/06/2010
    Exactly djack10 - they don't hang on to players too long. That is probably one of the reason they always have so much cap space compared to other teams.
    — borntosuffer
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:27 AM, 02/06/2010
    they are great at letting guys go on time. no arguments there. they are really awful at accomplishing their goal each year: winning a super bowl. maybe we can make rings for being the champions at letting guys go on time. raise that banner.
    — jb99
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:27 AM, 02/06/2010
    great post by djackl0! The extenz commercial should be funny(should have Bradshaw in it also). ESPN just wised up on bozo Irvin(can't stand him) as I hope Eagles do the same with our prime clown.
    — jwatson
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:10 PM, 02/06/2010
    Going to be a great year...with Cornelius Ingram? Lets not pin our hopes to a 5th round TE, coming off two major knee surgeries, who hasn't seen a down of NFL action. OK? Eagles not in the elite right now. Going to take one hell of an off season to get there.
    — dragoon6
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:15 PM, 02/06/2010
    The offense of line played well except for the Dallas game when they ran the ball the protection was there.
    — PAPOOSE
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:39 PM, 02/06/2010
    they are great at letting guys go at the right time, but they aren't always great at replacing right away. when we let hugh go, we didn't have a DE who could put consistent pressure on a QB until trent cole developed a few years later. we didn't replace dawkins either. when we cut trot the 1st time, we replaced him with levon kirkland. terrible. so yeah, they're good at letting guys go at the right time, but need to do a better job grooming their replacelement or getting better FA's to fill in without a drop-off.
    — The Boston Strangler
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:13 PM, 02/06/2010
    Word, Boston Strangler. Word.
    — Zee77
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:18 PM, 02/06/2010
    Can he play in the interior instead? Could be a strong backup and provide leadership and valuable assistance to the young guys.
    — psuwelsh
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:23 PM, 02/06/2010
    BRING HIM BACK...A LEADER AND COULD BE A BACK UP/STARTER
    — komplex2005
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:02 PM, 02/06/2010
    Is it too late to get him back? And get rid of the Andrews Sisters?
    — citysims
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:08 PM, 02/06/2010
    Nice conversation point Sheil. But it looks like Thomas is done, just like Runyon.
    — Bob1
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:10 PM, 02/06/2010
    Real good point, strangler. And it seems as though they have made improvements in that area. It seems as though Lito was on his way out and replaced before his time was up. Same for Tra.
    — Murrayman


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About Sheil Kapadia
Sheil Kapadia is in his fourth season writing about the Eagles and the NFL for philly.com. His earliest memories as a sports fan include several trips to Veterans Stadium with his Dad. He's not a beat writer or an Insider, but is here to discuss the NFL 365 days a year. E-mail him at skapadia@philly.com or by clicking here

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