Rosenhaus: Eagles have shown interest in Bell
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Rosenhaus: Eagles have shown interest in Bell
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Drew Rosenhaus says the Eagles are one of three teams that have shown interest in his client, veteran safety Yeremiah Bell.
According to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald, Rosenhaus appeared on a weekly TV segment on WSVN Ch. 7 and said the Eagles, Jets and Patriots have expressed some level of interest in Bell.
Bell, 34, started 63 of 64 games for the Dolphins from 2008-2011. A sixth-round pick out of Eastern Kentucky in 2003, he went from the practice squad to the starting lineup (75 games in eight seasons) to the Pro Bowl in 2009.
Considered more of an in-the-box safety, Bell led the Dolphins in tackles in each of the past four seasons. He was third among all NFL safeties last year with 107 tackles.
According to Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post, Bell, a team captain, was a trusted veteran in the locker room.
So why did the Dolphins let him go?
The primary reason appears to be for cap space. But Salguero writes that Miami wants its safeties to be interchangeable, and Bell has limitations in coverage. The Eagles, of course, should be familiar with Bell's strengths and weaknesses. New secondary coach Todd Bowles directed the Dolphins' defensive backs from 2008-2011 before becoming Miami's interim head coach.
As for the safeties currently on the roster, Nate Allen finished strong in 2011 and will likely be penciled in at one safety spot. If the price is right, Bell could be brought in to compete with Jaiquawn Jarrett and Kurt Coleman at the other spot. After seeing limited action as a rookie, Jarrett faces an important offseason, but has to be considered a question mark at this point.
The Eagles have not made any moves at safety so far in free agency. Some mock drafts have them taking Alabama's Mark Barron in the first round, although I consider that unlikely. A better option, from my perspective, would be to add a veteran (like Bell) as insurance for Jarrett.
As always, take Rosenhaus' comments with a grain of salt. It's his job to stir up interest for his client. But in this case, it makes sense for the Eagles to at least look into Bell.
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Please stop saying Nate Allen finished up strong. He can't tackle, gets spun around in coverage and has no playmaking ability. If we are counting his garbage time INT against the Skins then yeah I guess he did finish "strong".— guyguy4- So grabbing a 34 year old Safety over Mark Barron. Yup, nothing has changed. Eagles whiffed in not taking Earl Thomas, please don't make that same mistake again.— ESFjellin
- Adding a Vet Makes the most sense.
I would Like Barron for sure, but you cannot guarantee he will be there @ 15.
Earl Thomas, time to get over that one.— dmanphilly - Barron is no Earl Thomas. Barron is the best of a bad crop of safeties.
— ej610 - btw - I think Roseman regrets not taking Thomas. I think that's why he's changed his drafting philosophy to "taking the best player available" -- which would have been Thomas. — ej610
- I agree with you on the fact that the Eagles need to look at Mark Barron, a young talentd safety coming from the SEC cant pass that up. Dont want to miss out again like we did with Earl Thomas. — bernie27
- Leave him.— Lb 54 wide 9
- Yes, it makes sense. Need more options than Jarrett and Coleman.— P Even
- Bell = Coleman— tpizza
- Yea, Nate Allen is awful. He looked real promising before all the injuries but he is clearly not the same player. The sooner the Eagles realize this and move on, the better off they will be.— Nicknm
- Totally agree with the commenters above. There's not a scintilla of evidence Allen is any good. Not sure what he does well. If he made it through a game without getting completely torched, he's said to be coming on. I'll give Jarret another year (though it would've been nice for him to make a single play last year) but Allen stinks.— figgypop
Comment removed.- yeah not a scintella.theres also not a schmiggellyboo of proof or a scwatchznezzlix of evidence.im smart in case u didnt pick that up.— Sean s.
- "Scintilla" is an actual word and really not all that uncommon. Maybe if Sean S. read something other than "Jugs" magazine and the back of the Lucky Charms box, it wouldn't seem so scary to him. — phillyl0
- He's a definite upgrade over Coleman, who is about the slowest player on the roster that's not a lineman. Allen did come back and play pretty well at the end of last season. With safeties, it's really about the pair as opposed to the singular safety as a talent. Put a decent guy next to Allen, they'll be fine.— beegal99
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