Eagles acquire linebacker Witherspoon for wide receiver Gibson
Up to the minute Philadelphia sports news, Phillies, 76ers, Eagles, Flyers, college sports and more from Philly.com
Eagles acquire linebacker Witherspoon for wide receiver Gibson
Bob Brookover
The Eagles have acquired St. Louis Rams veteran linebacker Will Witherspoon in exchange for rookie wide receiver Brandon Gibson and a fifth-round draft pick in 2010.
Witherspoon, 29, will inherit the role played by Omar Gaither so far this season. Eagles coach Andy Reid said that Gaither is scheduled to visit a foot specialist and is unlikely to be able to play Monday night against the Washington Redskins.
"We'll put him at the (middle linebacker) spot to start with," Reid said during a conference call with reporters. "It doesn't look like OMar is going to be able to go for a little bit here. He's going to see a foot specialist in a day or so."
Witherspoon left the Rams' overtime loss to Jacksonville Sunday with a bruised tailbone, but Reid said he would be able to play. He had been playing weakside linebacker this season with the Rams, but he has experience at middle linebacker as well. Reid said the fact that he's been playing in coach Steve Spagnuolo's defense with St. Louis should allow Witherspoon to make a smooth and quick transition to defensive coordinator Sean McDermott's system.
The Eagles had also expressed some interest in Witherspoon when he was with the Carolina Panthers, but he opted to sign with the Rams as a free agent in 2006. His best season in St. Louis was 2007 when he had seven sacks and 110 tackles.
One of Witherspoon's strengths in the past has been pass coverage. He had six interceptions and 20 passes defended in his final two seasons with the Panthers, which are both high numbers for a linebacker. He had one interception and one sack last season with the Rams, but does not have a sack or an interception this season.
"He's a three-down linebacker," Reid said. "He came play both (middle and weakside linebacker) and he's very good at both of them. He's a good cover linebacker. He can cover tight ends and running backs, which is a plus."
Gibson, a sixth-round pick by the Eagles in this year's draft, was inactive for four of the team's first five games, but he had impressed the team at training camp and during the preseason. He had also made some incredible catches in practice while playing with the scout team.
"Listen, I kept him on, which I normally don’t keep that many wide receivers," Reid said. "I think that speaks for itself. I think he's going to have a great career in the NFL."
HERREMANS UPDATE
Reid said he expects guard Todd Herremans to be able to practice when the team returns to the field Thursday at the NovaCare Complex.
"There’s a good chance he’ll be out there," Reid said. "I'm not going to say he's 100 percent, but he's pretty close."
Comments (49)
Well, yeah, maybe he can catch up to Oakland's fullback.— RunUpTheScore- Wrong WR.— Raggamonkey
- Wrong WR.— Raggamonkey
- anyone know much about Witherspoon? I think we all thought Gibson was a future starter perhaps, looked decent.— peteike
- Is there an injury I don't know about? Who is Witherspoon better than? I don't see the improvement.— dlscholt
- future starter? with Maclin and Jackson, i don't think so.— palmyra21
- Love the move. Clearly we needed an upgrade and more depth. I'd think he'd fit right in. RAGGAMONKEY...if you were the Rams would you have wanted Reggie Pinkston or a banged up, overpaid Kevin Curtis?
- When I made that post, I only saw first sentence and no comments. Now I have some background. Also have to agree with a post I saw yesterday, this auto play on the videos is really annoying. Get loud audio every time you open a page. lame philly.com lame— peteike
- Witherspoon is better than Trotter, And his knees are 30 years younger— youpeoplehaveissues
- Witherspoon, if he has anything left in the tank, is a good one. This is not a "Matt Wilhelm."— CarpGuy
- Of course its the wrong WR, but if the Rams had to choose, they would pick up a rookie WR making probably league minimum over a disgruntled guy whose contract is in the million.— trungy
Comment removed.- Yeah, he is pretty decent and he should be able to pick up the defense since he has been playing under Spags in St. Louis. Love Trott but he is as fast as a tree. Plus he is good in coverage which will definitely help.— oharabri
Witherspoon was pretty darn good in Carolina, particularly because the Panthers brought alot of pressure up front, similar to the Eagles...haven't seen him in STL, which I don't know if his skills eroded or that the other 10 guys on D there are horrible...— kjuggs77- No funkin' way! We got Will Witherspoon? Theee Will Witherspoon! It's on now, Super Bowl here we come!!— He had high apple pie in the sky hopes.
- best roster in the NFL! Gold Standard! Super Bowl here we come!— Fire Andy Reid
Will Witherspoon, super bowl here we come...lol— primo- Comment removed.
- Hey Guys DO ME A FAVOR! STOP THE COMPLAINING AND REFER TO NFL.COM and just look at all the Rams fans cry their hearts out for spoooonn. I really think that this might actually be a good one.... Lets wait and see before we dismiss this trade. The guy hasnt missed a game btw since 2002 which was when he didnt start since then he has played every game with his two teams (panthers,St. louis.) His transition will be quick and he should have an immediate impact.— entourageorg
- I stil think we gave too much for him - if so good why did they let him go???— Tom Man
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- Bad move - Gibson really showed flashes of excellence. He has great hands. I thnk we are going to look back on this and be sorry we let him go.— Bobphxville
- A LINEBACKER is not going to helpAndy and Donavan score TD's from the 20 yard line.— tulsaphil
- Comment removed.
- How about signing a big RB and get yourself a POWER RUNNING GAME.....Your pass happy ways are irritating the sh*t out of me and 10 Million other people..— MJPD345
- Sundays game is on the o-line..they only scored 13 points. The secondary seems to try and make all tackles with a big hit instead of wrapping up. Is it just me?— menelos
- I cant believe people are like this guy was good when he was on Carolina when they beat us to go to the Super Bowl!!! Well, Trotter was also good then but, he's not anymore meaningless signing wake up people!!!! It's a stop gap to fill a hole!! that is it!!!!— fly4philly
- Comment removed.
Witherspoon is better than any LB we have other than Bradley so I am happy about the trade.- can anyone explain why on earth the eagles would be discussing an extension with mcpig? him and mcvomit have had a nice little run over the past decade, but seriously, they ain't gonna get it done. too many raider like games against inferior opponents throughout their tenure.— thingfish
- Great move, Witherspoon is a beast! He was the best LB in Carolina before going to a terrible team and getting forgotten about. Great pickup, and you could move him outside next year when Bradley comes back. We don't need Gibson. Jackson, Maclin and Avant are young.— woogie
- Comment removed.
- Why is Reggie Brown on this team?— Government Checks and Cheese
- todd pratt hit it on the head - witherspoon is a proven player who can step him and help them win... NOW. Let's hope he can stay healthy and stop the bleeding in the middle. Who would've thought losing Stew would be so bad. Cooley, Witten, Gonzalez...all were going to smoke whoever was in there - Witherspoon gives them a fightin chance. Love the SPOOOOOON idea as well - they want to win now, all we can ask for - now if they can only figure out the minute offense... well lets not get greedy now— sore richard
- Comment removed.
- Witherspoon is a good LB, he's got speed and he's good in coverage which will help on covering TEs, which has been our obvious weak spot on defense. Anyone who doesn't think this is a good pick-up is a moron. Gibson has some talent but with Jackson, Maclin and Avant not going anywhere then Gibson wasn't going to be any more than a 4th WR here and he has been inactive all season. The guy was a later round draft pick and a nice pick but you give that guy up for a starting MLB, without a doubt. Nice move by the Eagles. Now we need to get the offensive line healthy and pick up some depth at T.— JimG
- So now the Eagles have Will Witherspoon in the middle and a secondary that hits like Reese Witherspoon.— dasher
- Why would the Rams trade a good linebacker for a nobody wideout and a fifth round pick.... ah, cause he is 29 and not the player he was. MLB is looking alot like 06... where's simoneau and kirkland... maybe we can trade for Dhani or McCoy... wheres the talent.. all trash.— TimeforChange
fix the O'line now....— azguz- Good move— ec420de
Signing Trotter was a huge mistake that can be fully rectified by releasing him for a decent offensive lineman. If we can release Brian Dawkins we can cut Trotter. Some of you folks think the Rams front office people are as stupid as the Eagles front office. No way they were going to take Reggie Brown or that cripple Kevin Curtis.— bigcityballer- Comment removed.
- Gibson is gonna be a top 20 receiver— talktoya
- Witherspoon will add more to the team on the field than Gibson would have.— CoolRunnings
- Overall, one of the worst linebacking corps in football. Last good LB was Trotter the first time, or william Thomas. Shcoking trade really, because Reid has always assumed he could put any special teamer on the field as an LB. Loss of Dawkins really exposes poor LB play more than in years past1— jimmyj
Anyone who truly thought Gibson was going to start over jackson or Maclin was delusional. He wasn't going take Avant's job away either. This is a great move. Not only is 'Spoon an upgrade over whoever was going to be playing MLB this season, he is also a better OLB than anyone on the roster right now. When Bradley gets healthy and returns this will be one good set of LBs.- We need the old sixers PA announcer to yell "THE SPOOOOOON" whenever he makes a tackle.— LAEagle
- Sorry Philly Floppers, Your team is going nowhere. With or without Spoon. Look at your team? How many years do you get to the NFC Championship game and get slapped back? So now Spoon is your savior? I don't think so. No Super Bowl team goes to the west coast and stinks like your team did last week! Go Phillys!— Purple64
1
Classifieds:
Site Services:
Partners:
Powered By:
