IS BUYING CROSS-COUNTRY SKIS
New Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver clearly wanted to remain with Seattle, but he says the Seahawks did not want him, at least not for what he is worth. He said no one from the organization contacted him in the offseason to discuss a potential role and did not make him a fair offer.
That, he said, forced him to "resort to this, where I have to make a secondary choice, which I did."
“I’ve connected with so many people on a personal level,” Weaver said in a wide-ranging interview with the Tacoma News-Tribune. “And it’s just been a hard deal knowing that I want to be here and I made that clear to the organization a number of times, and here it is we still can’t get nothing done.
“And now it resorts to this where I have to make a secondary choice, which I did. So it makes it very tough."
Weaver signed a 1-year, $1.75 million deal that could escalate to $2.25 million. He was introduced last Friday. He chose the Birds over Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Houston or returning to Seattle.
"No, I don’t think it was fair," he said of what Seattle offered. "I don’t think I was worth that. Of course, that’s my opinion. And I believe I bring a lot to the game. And I wasn’t trying to seek anything that I thought was unreasonable. But at the same I have to also respect that they have a new system coming in. They’ve got new coaching and a new way they’re doing things, and I respect that. Of course I wanted to be there, but obviously you can’t change that aspect of the business."
Weaver said he chose the Eagles because he thought the offense presented the best opportunity for him to fit in quickly and showcase his skills in a system that he was familiar with, especially since he could be out on the free-agent market again at this time next year.
"It’s a good opportunity to show what I can do to not only Philly but other teams out there," he said. "And then if Philly offers a long-term deal, that would be great. But if not, hey man it was a great time and we move on."
He also expressed excitement at playing for a winning team and on an offense with Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook.
"No. 1, that’s one of things I looked at – they’re winning quite a bit," he said. "And that’s not to say the Seahawks haven’t been winning. We had one bad year. I think the Seahawks are going to do great next year, and I believe that they are going to the playoffs. But with the Philadelphia Eagles that played a big role. I mean what two guys would be better to be around than someone like Brian Westrbook – to be able to block for him that would be an honor. And also to play behind McNabb, who can make plays with his arm and his feet. That makes my job a lot easier."
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones addressed the release of Terrell Owens with our Paul Domowitch. Among the things Jones said is that Tony Romo will be a better QB without Owens. "Since we want to do everything we can to have Romo play his best, and since I made the decision to release Terrell, I must've thought it gives Tony a better chance to play to the optimum for the Cowboys."
To read more of Domo's report from the NFL owners meetings, click here.
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.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at 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 came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
