We are now a week into the free agency period. Last Saturday, the “legal tampering” period began. What followed was a historically rare & frantic week of transactions the likes of which the NFL has never seen. Jimmy Graham is now a Seahawk. Ndomakung Suh signed a $60M guaranteed-contract in Miami. Darelle Revis got the band back together in New York. New England—yes, the Patriots!—even spent big money to retain a player. If that is indicative of the kind of rare movement we’ve seen in the last seven days, then nothing is.
The Eagles—led by new head of personnel Chip Kelly—made headlines of their own and were, arguably, the most active franchise in the first week of the new NFL year. Here’s a quick recap of the (player related) moves made thus far this offseason, per PhiladelphiaEagles.com:
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03/12/2015 |
Agreed to terms with RB DeMarco Murray on a five-year contract |
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03/12/2015 |
Signed RB Ryan Mathews to a three-year contract |
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03/11/2015 |
Agreed to terms with CB Walter Thurmond on a one-year contract |
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03/11/2015 |
Signed QB Mark Sanchez to a two-year contract |
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03/10/2015 |
Agreed to terms with CB Byron Maxwell on a six-year deal |
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03/10/2015 |
Eagles acquired QB Sam Bradford and a 2015 fifth-round pick from the St. Louis Rams in exchange for QB Nick Foles , a 2015 fourth-round pick and a 2016 second-round pick |
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03/10/2015 |
Eagles acquired LB Kiko Alonso from the Buffalo Bills in exhange for RB LeSean McCoy |
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03/09/2015 |
Agreed to terms with LB Brandon Graham on a four-year deal |
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03/04/2015 |
Released LB Trent Cole . |
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03/03/2015 |
Released CB Cary Williams . |
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03/02/2015 |
Signed LB Brad Jones to a two-year contract. |
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02/27/2015 |
Released G Todd Herremans . |
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02/19/2015 |
Released TE James Casey . |
This doesn’t include losing Jeremy Maclin & Nate Allen to free agency. As it stands now the Eagles will move into 2015 without eight of their opening day starters from last season. That’s an awful lot of turnover for any one team in any one offseason. Have the Eagles gotten better? Let’s analyze:
Offense:
Quarterback: The Eagles retained the services of Mark Sanchez so it comes down to comparing Bradford to Foles. Bradford had the better pedigree coming out of college: winning the Heisman Trophy in his final season at Oklahoma. Foles, as we know, started his college career in East Lansing before losing the job & finishing his college career at Arizona. Foles was a third round pick who eventually managed a 14-4 record in 18 NFL starts. Bradford suffered the reality of being the #1 pick in any draft: going to a terrible Rams organization and trying to develop a career when surrounded by a dearth of talent. In reality, Bradford & Foles aren’t terribly different. At best, the Eagles manage to resurrect a career that was once thought to be potentially very bright. At worst, it’s a wash. However, when you consider the money being paid out to Sanchez & Bradford and the picks given up to move Foles, it is safe to say the Eagles are worse off at this position than they were.
Running Back: Jettisoning LeSean McCoy to Buffalo cause quite the uproar in the Delaware Valley. Initially thought a financially based decision, the Eagles now have roughly $13M in cap space designated to four rushers: DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, and Chris Polk. It’s hard to argue that these are bad moves if Chip feels as though Murray & Mathews fit what he wants out of a back later. It is enticing to think what Chip can do with talent like that. Here’s the counter argument: only one of those guys can get the ball on any given play. What kind of packages can Chip come up with to create mismatches & out-maneuver the defense? This is a position where—assuming everyone can stay healthy—the Eagles managed to get better. Hard to imagine given the guy you lost rushed for nearly 3,000 yards the last two seasons.
Wide Receiver: There is really no way to slice this in the Eagles favor. They made a big bid on Randall Cobb—who opted to stay in Green Bay—and were not willing to go up & retain Maclin. The Eagles—as it stands—have the following wideouts on the roster: Riley Cooper, Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff, Jeff Maehl, Quron Pratt, and Will Murphy. There is work to be done in this position group. Don’t be surprised if the Eagles make a draft day play for one of the better WRs in the draft because, otherwise, they’re in trouble here.
Offensive Line: The Eagles got worse on the outside and worse on the inside. The scary thing here is that the Eagles may not be done losing guys. The Eagles released Herremans & are allegedly looking to move Mathis in a trade. What they have on the roster—headlined by Matt Tobin, Andrew Gardner, and Allen Barbre—is potentially disastrous. The Eagles didn’t draft an OL last year &, if they don’t land a quality prospect in this year’s draft, they’ll be looking grim on the OL for years to come with Jason Peters moving closer to retirement by the year. Work to be done here.
Defense:
Linebackers: The Eagles brought in a talented, former defensive rookie of the year in Kiko Alonso. They released Trent Cole after 10 years of solid service in Midnight Green & resigned Brandon Graham: likely after they learned that Jason Worilds was considering early retirement at the healthy age of 27 years old. Brad Jones is an underrated signing that will improve an already stout special teams unit. This crew got younger, more athletic, and more complete this offseason. This is a unit that should produce at least 20 sacks next year behind a solid defensive front.
Secondary: This is another unit where the Eagles got vastly more competitive. Byron Maxwell is better than Cary Williams & Bradley Fletcher combined. Walter Thurmond will come in & compete with Boykin & Carroll for the other outside starting spot. All three are no worse than Fletcher was last season. The only remaining question mark is at safety: where the Eagles have little to lineup next to Malcolm Jenkins. They reportedly made a significant offer to Devin McCourty but lost out as he ultimately stayed in New England. This is a position where the Eagles need to make a move & the expectation is that they will take a long hard look at Landon Collins in the draft. Don’t be surprised if they maneuver to make that draft pick happen.
To sum it up: the defense got better and the offense got question marks. How much those two things even out to produce quality, winning football remains to be seen. There are obvious holes on this roster that need to be filled before those discussions can be had. The following positions are in particular need of help: guard, wide receiver, and safety. Below is a list of the remaining available free agents that could come in & contribute:
- Michael Crabtree (WR, SF)
- Dwayne Bowe (WR, KC)
- Cecil Shorts (WR, JAX)
- Greg Jennings (WR, MIN)
- Reggie Wayne (WR, IND)
- Hakeem Nicks (WR, IND
- Stefen Wisniewski (C, OAK)
- Gabe Carimi (G, ATL)
- Tashaun Gipson (S, CLE)*
- Will Hill (S, BAL)*
- Rodney Mcleod (S, STL)*
- Darian Stewart (S, BAL)
*denotes Restricted Free Agents. Offering to these players will result in losing draft picks if they are released by their current teams. Signing Gipson & McLeod would sacrifice a second round pick should the original teams release them to the Eagles. Will Hill was tendered at his original draft level. As an undrafted free agent, the Eagles would not sacrifice a draft pick should he be signed away from Baltimore.
