IS TALKIN' SOUL WITH DONOVAN MORGAN
I never thought the Eagles were going to let Cullen Jenkins go, and sure enough, the team announced today a restructuring of Jenkins' contract that will keep Jenkins here through 2012, at least.
Even though Jenkins is 31 and might not be a long-term starter, his return, along with the return from injury of Antonio Dixon, might mean the Eagles don't target a defensive tackle with the 15th overall selection in the April entry draft. If they re-sign pending free agent Derek Landri, that will become even less likely.
Last week, NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock identified d-tackle as the deepest position at the top of this draft. There's a good chance a solid one will still be there if the Birds choose to use one of their two second-round picks at that spot. The Eagles have other pressing needs, such as linebacker, and wideout, if they don't franchise and keep DeSean Jackson.
Attempts to contact Jenkins' agent, Cary Fabrikant, about the restructuring have so far been unsuccessful. Jenkins' deal was announced as five years last summer, but given the $7.5 million cap number included for this season, it seems it was intended for either release or restructuring after 2011 all along. The team's release confirming the restructuring gave no details.
There had been speculation in Green Bay that the Packers might have been interested in bringing Jenkins back to the place where he played his first seven NFL seasons, if the Eagles didn't retain him.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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