Patrick Causey, on Twitter @PhillySportsJD
Chip Kelly had a press conference before the Eagles first practice in training camp. The hot topic of the day was the Eagles decision to trade Brandon Boykin to the Pittsburgh Steelers (covered here), and Boykin's comments that suggested Kelly doesn't understand African American culture (covered here).
However, Kelly also addressed the future of Mychal Kendricks, another Andy Reid holdover that was long rumored to be on the trading block.
Kelly definitively closed the door on that trade rumor, by offering the following: "No we haven't had any had any other discussions. Mychal Kendricks is not going anywhere, I can tell you that right now. You can write that down in ink, not pencil."
This was confirmed by BleedingGreenNation.com's Brandon Lee Gowton:
Kendricks says Chip told him he’s not gonna be traded.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) August 2, 2015
While it is still possible that Kendricks gets traded — perhaps a team simply blows the Eagles out of the water with an offer they cannot refuse — it seems highly unlikely at this point.
This is welcomed news for the Eagles, who have no reason to trade away a potential budding superstar at the inside linebacker position. Kendricks and Alonso could form into one of the top inside linebacking duos in the league, and losing that potential opportunity to keep 31 year-old DeMeco Ryans, who is coming off his second achilles tear, makes little sense in the long term.
It will be interesting to see how the Eagles split up the playing time between Alonso, Ryans and Kendricks. Today, at least, it was Alonso and Ryans manning the first team:
Also, Kiko Alonso and DeMeco were 1st team at ILB. Kendricks 2nd team. #Eagles. It's first day, remember.
— Martin Frank (@Mfranknfl) August 2, 2015
However, it is too early to say for sure how this will play out. As mentioned, Ryans is coming off his second achilles rupture, and at age 31, could have lost a step. Kendricks is so dynamic and such a good playmaker that he should eventually force the Eagles coaching staff to get him on the field more.
But while the division of labor among the inside linebackers is unclear, Kelly has made it crystal clear that Kendricks is going nowhere. And that should make Eagles fans happy.
