Eagles quiet on eve of NFL free agency
IF THE EAGLES have any plans for huge moves when NFL free agency officially begins Thursday at 4 p.m., they've done an amazing job of keeping them quiet.
IF THE EAGLES have any plans for huge moves when NFL free agency officially begins Thursday at 4 p.m., they've done an amazing job of keeping them quiet.
Eagles de facto general manager Howie Roseman hinted at a subdued approach to the market when he spoke to reporters last week in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine, so this isn't a huge shock. It is mildly surprising that the Birds, down to $6,251,224 worth of cap space according to the NFL Players Association, after tendering restricted free agent Trey Burton, have so far done nothing to create more room.
They are believed to be trying to trade players - Connor Barwin, Allen Barbre, Mychal Kendricks - whose departures would free up another $11.65 million in space. Presumably, those players will be released if they can't be traded, but if you aren't going to use the cap room right away, there is no hurry. (Except that you'd be doing the player a courtesy by letting him hit the market right away, instead of after teams have signed free agents. And actually, there is a bit of a hurry on Kendricks, since $4 million of his salary is guaranteed if he's on the roster Saturday.)
The biggest name attached to the Eagles in a credible report Wednesday was that of Houston cornerback A.J. Bouye, when ESPN's Ed Werder tweeted that the Texans, who are trying to keep Bouye, were concerned about an Eagles offer.
This makes sense in that the Eagles desperately need cornerback help, and Bouye, 25, is the top corner on the market. He would not be the kind of "Band-Aid" free agent Roseman has decried. It makes less sense in that the upcoming draft is awash in cornerback talent. If the Eagles were going to spend $12 million a year or so on a free agent, you'd think it would be a wide receiver. And then there's the fact that right now, they don't have the cap space to do that sort of deal.
Eagles fans entered the week hoping their team was going to trade for a top-flight receiver, New Orleans' Brandin Cooks. The Saints are said to want a mid-first-round pick for Cooks, 23, a player the Eagles wanted to draft in the first round three years ago, only to see New Orleans jump in front of them. Cooks still hasn't been traded. (Technically, nobody can be traded until 4 p.m. Thursday, but there has been no word of any sort of pending Cooks trade agreement.)
The Birds are believed to be still in the running for pending free-agent wideout Kenny Britt, from Tennessee, but the other Kenny, wide receiver Kenny Stills, was reported to have agreed to stay with the Dolphins Wednesday night for what the NFL Network said was four years and $32 million, with $20 million guaranteed.
Brandon Marshall signed Wednesday with the Giants - he could do that because he was released by the Jets, and didn't have to wait until Thursday to become a free agent - and Pierre Garcon was said to have agreed to terms with the 49ers. The Eagles were never linked to either player.
@LesBowen
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