Free agent tackle Bell leaves without deal
UPDATE: Free agent left tackle Demetrius Bell has left Philadelphia after his weekend visit with the Eagles without a deal, according to a source close to the situation.
Free agent tackle Bell leaves without deal
Daily News staff
UPDATE: Free agent left tackle Demetrius Bell has left Philadelphia after his weekend visit with the Eagles without a deal, according to a source close to the situation.
More to come ...
From EARLIER:
Free agent left tackle Demetrius Bell arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday and met with the Eagles and remains in town today.
The question is whether he will leave town without a contract. Bell visited with the Steelers on Friday and also has met with the Cardinals and Packers.
The Eagles are moving quickly in an effort to replace Jason Peters, who tore an Achilles while working out last week in Texas. Peters is scheduled to have surgery this week.
Upon arrival, Bell was met at the airport by a camera from 6ABC. Here is some of what Bell has to say:
On arriving: "I'm real excited. Hopefully, we can get something worked out. I'm eager to meet the coaching staff and GM."
On replacing Jason Peters: "He's their franchise left tackle. Those are big shoeos to fill. i'm sure I can handle it, though. I'm not worried about it."
On the irony of replacing Peters with the Eagles after replacing him in Buffalo when Peters was traded to the Eagles: "It's not ironic. Things happen in this league. People get hurt. It's a great opportunity."
On whether he has talked to Peters and what he told him about Philly: "I talked to him a couple of time. He's doing great. I'm not allowed to say, but he's doing all right ... He said it's a great city, brotherly love, man. Great city."
On the challenge of protecting Michael Vick: "I don't think it's a challenge. I think it's my job to keep him standing up straight. That what they pay for me. I have to do that to the best of my abilities."
On what he could bring to the Eagles: "Hopefully, we can bring a championship to this team. I haven't signed with them, but hopefully we can get something worked out and bring a championship here."
Get er done.— bearsfriend- Cursed Franchise- for real!— friedmozzarela
- Fast!— guitarman
6ABC: Can we jam any more generic sports cliches into this interview?
Bell: Sure. I'm looking forward to getting out there on the field and showing what I can do.- I just read online that he is the son of Karl Malone. Who would've known?— bigguy34
- Karl Malone knew...child support payments. — Romus
- His Mom is one of the Andrews sisters— Blue Hens Rule
- @bigguy34:
At first I thought you were joking and I wasn't getting the joke. Then I read up on it and as it turns out he is Malone's son. The story certainly doesn't paint Malone in a very good light. I always thought Malone was a pretty good guy, but now I'm not so sure.— Penfold18 - Yeah, that Wikipedia article sure makes Malone look like a triple creep: when he's 20, he impregnates a 13-year-old, and then he refuses to acknowledge paternity even though everyone in town knows it (quote: "Karl Malone has lots of brothers"), and then he refuses to have any relationship with the kid.— HolidayinCambodia
- Seems like acknowledging it invites jail time. 13? Really...sheez.— tpizza
- We need this guy.— rubicon24
- Sign him up NOWWWWWW!— flyers Groupie
- Andy wants to use his first round pick on a tackle— eaglessuck@life
- He is the guy...this team shouldnt change its draft plans because of this. Shady and Mudd can make almost any oline look good and this guy is athletic for a big man. He got into college on a basketball scholarship, decided to try out for football and started on the defensive side of the ball for 1 game where he had 11 tackles, 1 for a loss, and then became their offensive leader and best player on the oline over the next year. He is adaptable and smart with a mean streak, plays well in zone blocking and has significantly increased his strength over his pro career. He is also a team first, hard worker. Any other option is either going to be a huge drop off, i.e. Mcneil or a huge long term investment that might not need to be made, i.e. Kalil. If Peters can return to near 100% and Bell does well enough in the system, maybe Bell gets slid over to RT and Herremans goes back to RG, and Watkins can learn and be a servicable back up for any Oline position for a few years, its a win-win— chrisr
- I agree. I was hoping that the Eagles would go DLine with their number one pick. Possibly DT or LB ( 6-foot-5, 322-pounder Brockers or Kuechly?) They ought to be able to get by for one year with a stopgap like Bell for awhile. It's the LEFT side for Pete's sake. The Dline is starting to get a little long in the tooth. They're going to need to start grooming replacements ASAP. Brockers is only 21 so there's plenty of potential there and they can spare a year or two grooming him and Kuechly is NFL ready now but I'd prefer DLine. — essell
