Eagles deal for defensive end
The Eagles have sent defensive end Chris Clemons and a fourth-round pick to Seattle for defensive end Darryl Tapp, a source close to the situation confirmed to the Daily News. The Eagles have two fourth-rounders; the deal involves the later pick.
Eagles deal for defensive end
Daily News staff and Les Bowen
UPDATED: The Eagles have confirmed the trade and issued a press release. Darryl Tapp has spoken to reporters in a conference call. And a league source says the Eagles and Tapp have agreed to a three-year contract, pending Wednesday's physical.
Tapp, 25, who signed his restricted free agent tender Monday, said he was "really shocked" and that the deal came together over "the last couple of days." A source close to the situation confirmed the Birds and Tapp's agent, Fletcher Smith, were working out a contract extension. (Just think, a day or so, "Eagles working on extension with Fletcher Smith" would have been a huge scoop. Smith's other Eagles client is Donovan McNabb.)
"I think I'm an athletic end," Tapp said. "A lot stronger and quicker than people think I am."
Said Eagles coach Andy Reid: “Darryl is a very intense football player and we’re happy to acquire him. He plays very hard every snap. He’s smart, he’s a good person and he’ll fit very well into our defensive scheme.”
Said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, “Darryl is an up-and-coming player in this league, in my opinion. He’s a good player and a good person, and we liked him very much coming out of Virginia Tech. We believe he’ll be a good addition to our defensive line.”
EARLIER: The Eagles have sent defensive end Chris Clemons and a fourth-round pick to Seattle for defensive end Darryl Tapp, a source close to the situation confirmed to the Daily News. The Eagles have two fourth-rounders; the deal involves the later pick, which originally belonged to the New York Jets.
The deal was originally reported by Fox Sports' Jay Glazer via Twitter.
Tapp, 6-1, 270, was dealt a day after he signed his restricted free agent tender. Tapp signed a 1-year, $1.76 million contract with the Seahawks. Coach Pete Caroll has repeatedly mentioned Tapp's possible role as a roving pass rusher.
The Eagles have been searching for a defensive end to play opposite Trent Cole. It is unclear whether the Eagles intend for Tapp to be that guy.
Tapp, a second-round pick out of Virginia Tech in 2006, has played in all 16 games in each of his four NFL seasons. Tapp's best year was 2007, when he started all 16 games and had seven sacks. He started 11 games and had 5.5 sacks in 2008 and started five games with 2.5 sacks last season.
In his career, he has appeared in 64 games (32 starts) in his four-year career, posting 177 tackles, 18 sacks, eight forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
The Eagles signed Clemons to a 5-year deal as a free agent from Oakland before the 2008 season. Clemons played in all 16 games last season, with three sacks and two hurries. He also had a sack in the Eagles' NFC wild-card loss against Dallas.
"We had a big group of defensive ends, six defensive ends, last season, and I knew it was going to be hard to keep that many," Clemons said last night. Asked if he minded being traded, Clemons said: "If it was going to get me more opportunities to get on the field, I didn't have a problem with it."
He said he learned a lot in his two years with the Birds, especially from late defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.
After the trade, the Eagles now own six picks in the 2010 draft.
They have their own picks in rounds 1-4 and have an extra pick in round 3 (from Seattle in 2009 trade) and round 6 (from Indianapolis in 2009 trade).
Their sixth and seventh round draft picks were traded to Buffalo and New England, respectively. A fiftth round pick acquired from New Orleans in a 2009 trade was sent to St. Louis in exchange for LB Will Witherspoon. A fourth-round pick acquired from NY Jets for cornerback Lito Sheppard was sent to Seattle in exchange for Tapp.
More to come.
vafan: stop drinking the koolaid. Eagles front office is run by win-on-the-cheap by signing only players coming off injury. Spikes, Andrews, etc. The drafted McNabbs replacement FAR TOO EARLY, after trading away their #1 for magic beans. REID HAS TO GO— Nezhy
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"Love all the fans that think a "splashy" move wins games in December. If that were the case, the Redskins would be perennial contenders. They're not. We are. Shut your pie hole and let people that know what they're doing run the team." Like how you copy and paste the same comment in all the comments sections. Dave Spadaro, is that you?- chrism...trent cole is 6'3" 270...2 inches isn't anything, pretty much identical...— crohnkiller
- Same old, same old. A bunch of whiners and complainers. If you hate the Eagles so much, then go root for the Raiders...I'm sure they could use some more fans.— JimG
- VaFan, your real cool taking shots at people dude. Take a look at a real class organization, the Phillies.— Fightins85
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- Clemons didn't do jack with his playing time........Lets give Tapp a chance........There are lots of good defensive players in this draft.......Don't expect rookies to make an immediate impact....it takes time.— rtaylor1220
- Well I do understand how everybody feel about this the front office is a pathetic weak front office but its' a start I do think he can do the job he young and strong time will tell and mike bell that was good he very strong runner this was a good move by the eagles but I need more we need a big trade to happen lets go eagles.....— ajones2321
- @ Bill - 3 identical articles, 3 identical groups of crybaby, entitled whiners slamming the front office for not signing every overpriced, underachieving free agent. So, yeah, copy and paste my same comment just to make sure everyone knows how I feel.— vafan
- @ Nezhy - no kool aid here. That's clever, though. I've never heard that one before. Win on the cheap? You obviously forget Kearse, TO, Samuel, Stacy Andrews and dozens of other free agent signings or trades. Kolb has been sitting for awhile but if McNabb had gone down without a capable backup you'd be saying the FO was stupid for not having decent depth. Nice to be able to see into the future like you but not many of the rest of us can. My point is that alot of people come here to blast the organization no matter what happens. I appreciate the Eagles success.— vafan
- yo, fightins - just a loyal fan defending the Eagles. Didn't mean to offend you but the Eagles are a class organization that has not won the Super Bowl. I thought the Phillies World Championship would settle some of the fan angst in Philadelphia but it turned up the heat on the other teams even more. The Phillies will be the first organization to tell you that the Eagles are doing it right. Sometimes you can do ever everything right and still not win. Not saying the Eagles do everything right just saying it's hard to win it all.— vafan
P H I L L I E S.... Phillies!!!!— Mr. Underhill
