Vick not first Eagle to arrive with baggage

While the Eagles never have added a player who ignited the kind of public firestorm Michael Vick's signing has, historically the team has taken personnel risks.

The most infamous, of course, was Terrell Owens. T.O. hadn't committed any felonies when the Eagles acquired him in 2004, but he did carry more baggage than US Airways.

Cris Carter, Irving Fryar, and Kevin Allen also caused second thoughts among management.

Owens already had ignited plenty of controversies with his "look-at-me" stunts, including the occasion when he pulled a Sharpie out of his sock and autographed the football following a touchdown on national TV.

Eventually, he griped and complained his way out of San Francisco, but only after suggesting in a Playboy interview that quarterback Jeff Garcia was gay.

The Eagles initially shied away from acquiring the widemouthed wideout, but when a Niners deal with Baltimore fell through, their interest heightened. They got him for a fifth-round pick and defensive lineman Brandon Whiting.

After two years, though, Owens again wore out his welcome. He wanted his contract renegotiated, and, when his relationship with Donovan McNabb soured and the circus surrounding him and agent Drew Rosenhaus intensified, he was suspended, deactivated, and, finally, released.

Another outstanding receiver, Carter, also created a dilemma for Eagles management.

Rumors about Carter's possible drug use hung over him at Ohio State. When it was discovered that he had signed a deal with notorious agent Norby Walters while still in school, he was not permitted to play as a senior.

Still, in the 1987 draft, Buddy Ryan took him with a fourth-round supplemental pick.

Carter showed flashes of the player he would become in Minnesota, but never flourished. After three seasons, he was released. He later admitted his departure was precipitated by his alcohol and drug abuse.

Allen, a physically imposing offensive lineman, was one of the franchise's many first-round busts. In selecting the Indiana behemoth with the ninth overall pick in 1985, the Eagles ignored widespread criticism that he was lazy and unmotivated.

Turned out those were the least of his problems.

At training camp in 1986, Allen tested positive for cocaine. Shortly after he was accused of rape, a crime for which he eventually was convicted and imprisoned. He never played again.

"Kevin Allen was a good player," said Ryan, "if you needed someone to stand around and kill the grass."

Irving Fryar, a South Jersey native, was originally chosen by the New England Patriots in 1984. Two years later, he was the focus of an NFL betting investigation. That same year the Patriots also confirmed that he was one of six Patriots known to have used drugs.

None of that deterred Norman Braman from signing the wideout in 1996. This time, the team's faith was rewarded. He played three seasons here without incident.