Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 5/8/24.
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …
Takeaways: Odell Beckham Jr.’s Dolphins Deal Reflects His New Reality – SI
Looking at that outsized figure made me wonder how much of this the Eagles have done. I knew they’d done at least some of it. Turns out, every big Philly deal has void years: Jalen Hurts ($97.55 million), DeVonta Smith ($35.78 million), Jordan Mailata ($35.6 million), Landon Dickerson ($35.09 million), Darius Slay ($24.94 million), Dallas Goedert ($23.83 million), Lane Johnson ($22.48 million), James Bradberry ($21.39 million), Josh Sweat ($16.39 million), Chauncey Gardner-Johnson ($13.76 million), Brandon Graham ($10.27 million), Jake Elliott ($8.61 million) and, of course, Brown. By my math, those 13 contracts have more than $399 million in cap dollars moved into years that void at the end of those deals—and there’s more of that on shorter-term deals such as those the Eagles gave to Devin White and Zack Baun. That’s a staggering figure, and it explains why Philly seems to have so much flexibility each year. So, in practical terms, what does it mean? First and foremost, and similar to New Orleans, it shows a very real commitment from ownership to winning, because all of that money being accounted for three and four and five years from now is matched with cash going out the door during the actual life of the deal. Indeed, last year, against a $224.8 million cap, the Eagles spent $257.2 million in cash, third league-wide behind only the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens. This year, Philly is one of two teams set to spend more than $300 million in cash (Cleveland is the other one). All told, Philly could approach $600 million in player spending over a two-year span through which the cap is at $480.6 million. Again, it’s a tribute to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, because a lot of owners would not be willing to do that.
Eagles Film Review: Where is Cooper DeJean’s best fit in the secondary? – BGN
After watching him some more since the Eagles drafted him, I feel pretty good about his chances at outside cornerback. I think he can do it. My only worry with DeJean is that his versatility is to his detriment. Sometimes teams can use players like DeJean to plug holes in their defense when they pop up due to injuries throughout the season. Whilst I understand this for the sake of the team, I think it can harm a player’s development. Vic Fangio’s system isn’t easy to learn for a rookie, and I would rather give DeJean a specific role to focus on and learn this year, before moving him onto other responsibilities. Personally, I would use DeJean as an outside corner in year 1, and I think he’s ahead of James Bradberry and should start as the Eagles’ outside CB3 behind Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Slay. However, if the Eagles decided that he could immediately start as a nickel corner then I would be fine with them starting him there this year. I love Avonte Maddox, but I think DeJean could keep him out of the starting lineup as a rookie because I really believe in this player’s talent. I wouldn’t look to move DeJean to safety unless he consistently struggles as a corner.
NFC East 2024 buzz on Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Commanders – ESPN
Assess the Eagles’ QB situation. Hurts took a step back last season after a near-MVP campaign in 2022. The trio of Sirianni, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson and Hurts struggled to sync up for much of the season — a disconnect that came to light during the team’s 1-6 slide to end the campaign. Johnson was replaced by Kellen Moore in an effort to revitalize the offense. Hurts will have to learn the revamped scheme and overcome the loss of Kelce, who was instrumental in setting protections and problem-solving up front. But Hurts is surrounded by a ton of talent and has shown that he can play at a high level.
Spadaro: From size to speed, this WR corps has it all – PE.com
On the top-end side, there is rookie Johnny Wilson, all stretched out at 6-6 and 228 pounds. On the, uh, more compact side, there is Britain Covey at 5-8 and 173 pounds along with rookie draft pick Ainias Smith at 5-9 and 176 pounds. In between, the Eagles could field a basketball team with Smith running the point guard position at 6-feet, 170 pounds and Brown the off guard at 6-1 and a burly 226 pounds. DeVante Parker is a small forward candidate at 6-2, 215 pounds. Jacob Harris (6-5, 211) and Shaquan Davis (6-5, 215) are young receivers hoping to make an impact in Training Camp. There is a lot of everything in this group – size, speed, shiftiness, and the ability to win 50/50 balls, whether it’s Brown muscling his way open against tight coverage, Smith contorting his body to make a sensational catch, or Parker going up high make a grab.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman’s latest roster trick: Stockpiling other teams’ draft picks – NBCSP
The Eagles have added 23 draft picks this offseason. Draft picks they didn’t draft. One of Howie Roseman’s go-to moves this offseason has been to stock up on former draft picks – a lot of them pretty high draft picks – most of whom didn’t work out with their original team or found themselves out of work. Including six 1st-round picks and 15 in the first three rounds. Now, a few of them were big-ticket free agents. Saquon Barkley got a huge contract, Devin White has been a Pro Bowler, C.J. Gardner-Johnson was just here two years ago. Everybody knows those guys. But most of these are players trying to revive their careers, who were once considered good enough to be drafted on Day 1 or Day 2 but didn’t have the career they hoped for. Roseman and Nick Sirianni have emphasized that they want increased competition at training camp and what better way to generate that than by bringing in a ton of guys who were once considered top prospects and are trying to revive their careers?
AFC North teams face toughest strength of schedule in 2024 NFL season; NFC South has easiest slate – NFL.com
Let’s first acknowledge that since SOS is based solely on how a club’s opponents finished the previous season, it’s a flawed metric. It doesn’t consider how teams wound up where they finished a year ago (i.e., injuries), nor does it factor in offseason improvements. It also says little about how a team’s future season will go. For instance, the Eagles had the hardest strength of schedule entering 2023 yet became the second such club to make the playoffs since 2017. Philadelphia’s collapse down the stretch had more to do with injuries and inconsistent play than its opponents’ previous records.
One last offseason move for all 16 NFC teams – PFF
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Add defensive line depth. Fletcher Cox‘s retirement means the interior of the Eagles’ defensive line lacks the depth we usually rave about. Cox played 721 snaps in 2023, and while it’s reasonable to expect some of those vacated snaps to be largely shared with Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams, none of whom played more than 600 snaps last year, it means that reserves like Moro Ojomo and Marlon Tuipulotu will likely be called upon for bigger roles. An extra signing at this spot would be a smart move.
Saquon Barkley has even odds to top 1,000 yards for the Eagles – PFT
Will Saquon Barkley rush for more than 1,000 yards in his first season as an Eagle? The betting odds say he’s even money to do so. Barkley’s over/under for rushing yards in 2024 has been set at 1000.5, and the odds for both over and under are -112 at FanDuel. Barkley signed with the Eagles this offseason after spending six years with the Giants. He topped 1,000 rushing yards in three of his six seasons. Last year he fell short, with 962 rushing yards. His median NFL season is 983 rushing yards, so 1,000 is right about what should be expected.
Patriots reportedly interview first candidate for lead personnel job – Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots interviewed Philadelphia Eagles’ director of scouting Brandon Hunt for their lead personnel job, according to multiple reports. […] Since the departure of Bill Belichick, Patriots’ director of scouting Eliot Wolf has ran New England’s front office through free agency and the draft. While it’s the expectation that Wolf will remain in charge (likely still without the General Manager title), a promotion may only come after the team fulfills the Rooney Rule, which states the organization must interview two external minority candidates for the position. If Wolf does remain in charge, it also remains a possibility that New England adds someone to their front office to work in collaboration with Wolf.
Cowboys bringing in veteran free agent WR Zay Jones for a visit – Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys are visiting with Jones today in the first real move we’ve seen this offseason around adding competition at WR3. The Cowboys did draft Ryan Flournoy in the sixth round of the recent draft, but he is considered more of a project with incredible athletic skills. Zay Jones is a veteran with production at the NFL level. Jones has been in the league since 2017, initially with the Buffalo Bills and most recently with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The most productive year of his career was 2022 when he amassed 823 yards on 82 receptions and five touchdowns.
Giants roster move: QB Nathan Rourke claimed off waivers – Big Blue View
The New York Giants on Tuesday were awarded quarterback Nathan Rourke off waivers from the New England Patriots, per NFL insider Tom Pelissero. With Daniel Jones rehabbing his torn ACL and unlikely to participate in many on-field activities until at least the beginning of training camp, the Giants had a need to add a quarterback along with Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito. They have now done so. Rourke, who turns 26 later this month, is a former Canadian Football League star. He played for the BC Lions in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, he threw for 3,349 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing a Canadian Football League record 78.7% of his passes while starting nine games.
What We Learned About Adam Peters in the 2024 Draft – Part I – Hogs Haven
My takeaway from these draft decisions is that Peters is going to take the highest rated players on his board who fit the direction his coaches wants to take the team. That might result in taking players well ahead of where the media experts project them for the average team. It might result in passing over players who are at the top of the media consensus boards when he makes his pick. And his scouting department might reach completely different opinions about a particular player than the media experts. Peters selected 6 All-Pro players and Pro Bowl QB Brock Purdy in 7 drafts with the 49ers, so it might be worth cutting him a little slack when his rating on a player is very different from the media consensus. Other Hogs Haven authors have noticed that the 49ers’ draft operation tended to chart its own course during his tenure there. I will be writing more about that when this three part miniseries is concluded.
3 NFL teams who deserve more primetime games on 2024 schedule, and 2 who don’t – SB Nation
The NFL is releasing the schedules of all 32 teams for the 2024 season thi week, and we can assume the usual teams will have the large majority of primetime games. The Chiefs, 49ers, Eagles, Bills, Bengals, and Cowboys will probably be all over your primetime schedule most of this year. However, there are more teams outside of that crew, some that haven’t been on multiple primetime games very much. As we turn a new leaf into the 2024 season, these are the teams we want to see more of on primetime television and some teams that might want to stay away from the limelight.
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