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Cullen Jenkins Stays in Philly!
The Philadelphia Eagles signed ex-Packer defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins last off-season as part of a massive free agency haul, but with the format of Jenkin’s contract, there was no guarantee that he would remain with the team for the upcoming year.
Philadelphia’s original contract with Jenkins was a one-year deal. However, with the way that the Eagles have restructured his contract, Jenkins will reamin in Philadelphia through 2013. While locking down Jenkins for at least one more season, the Eagles also greatly reduced his base salary, clearing up cap space for Philadelphia to re-sign and pursue other free agents. This deal will likely be the first of many restructures as the Eagles try and cut down their roster and free-up cap space for the future.
In Jenkins first season with the Eagles, he registered 40 total tackles, and five and half sacks, despite having almost no support in the middle. With no linebacker talent to back him up, Jenkins still managed to make a huge impact on Philadelphia’s defensive line. The combined effort of Trent Cole, Jason Babin, and Jenkins gave the Eagles one of the most effective pass-rushing defensive lines in the NFL. As next season approaches, that trio should be more effective than ever, and all three will play a huge role in Philadelphia’s defensive success moving forward.
With a full off-season to work and develop as a team, Jenkins should come into 2012 even better than last and hopefully play on the Pro-Bowl level he was at in Green Bay.
Pro Football Weekly talks about the Eagles and upcoming free agency, and also what they should do about CB Asante Samuel.
Outside all the talk about DeSean Jackson’s future in Philadelphia, there also is the matter of what to do with CB Asante Samuel. Our sources close to the team suggest a trade remains a real possibility, with the team wanting to shed some salary at the position and get a better look at some young players who might vie for more playing time there, as well.
Big Al to Philly?
Could Haynesworth Work With the Eagles?
Calm down, Philly.
I know that after last season’s spending spree of free agents, most Eagles fans are throwing their hands in the air about brining in more outside players. I understand. There was no doubt that it was a frustrating transition, and the Eagles as a team actually managed to regress, even with all the talent they brought to Philadelphia. Things didn’t work like Andy Reid and Howie Roseman planned. The team busted.
Most people are thinking the last thing the Eagles need is to bring in more free agents this off-season, but there needs to be a few exceptions. The Eagles have several glaring needs, and aside from the draft, free agency is going to be the best way to bring in veteran talent to fill those holes. With that in mind, Philadelphia needs to target defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.
The Eagles were one of the weakest teams up the middle last season, and aside from Cullen Jenkins, Philadelphia is incredibly thin at defensive tackle. The issue was compounded by Philadelphia running the wide-nine, which is geared more towards an effective pass-rush than stopping the run. Jenkins had a good season, given the circumstances, but when he was contained, opposing running backs usually had free-range on a group of mediocre linebackers.
Philadelphia’s lack of depth is such a concern that in Mel Kiper’s most recent mock draft, he has the Eagles selecting a defensive tackle in the first round. The logic is that there will be no linebackers remaining worth the value of that pick, and getting help up the middle is the Eagles’ second biggest need. To an extent, I agree with this, but anyone who watched Philadelphia football knows that the team’s biggest need is linebacker. The Eagles shouldn’t care if drafting a linebacker in the first round at their pick is poor value, because it’s a need that must be addressed.
To avoid the horror situation of Philadelphia not drafting a linebacker in the first, the team could fill the nose tackle need by pursuing Haynesworth. Would he be better than a first-round pick? No way. However, he is going to be dirt-cheap after being released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He bounced from the Washington Redskins, to the New England Patriots, and then to the Bucs’ throughout last season. His value to other teams is going to be incredibly low and it won’t take much to snag him out of free agency.
Last season, Haynesworth was largely ineffective in the limited playing time that he had. But keep in mind that Haynesworth really hasn’t done anything since leaving the Tennessee Titans, a time when he was one of the top defensive tackles in the game, and his game has failed to improve. This of course, would be a cause for concern, but the Eagles have a huge connection to Haynesworth on the team.
Philadelphia’s defensive line coach, Jim Washburn, was the same man who coached Haynesworth into the monster that he was in Tennessee. There is no doubt that Washburn’s wide-nine system draws heavy criticism, but his methods can turn average defensive lineman into Pro-Bowlers. A great example — Haynesworth’s former teammate, Jason Babin. Washburn could work his magic again, and if he could even turn Haynesworth into half of what he was with the Titans, he’d be huge for the Eagles.
With Haynesworth’s diminished value in the NFL, he could be an incredibly low risk-high reward acquisition for the Eagles. He has the connection in Philadelphia, and no one knows better what he’s capable of than Washburn. He’ll be a totally cheap free-agent signing. The absolute worst case scenario for Philly signing Haynesworth — he takes up a roster spot and doesn’t do anything.
I’m not saying that Haynesworth will be an instant Pro-Bowler if the Eagles sign him, but what does Philadelphia have to lose?
Photo: Zimbio.com
With a source claiming that the Philadelphia Eagles plan on using a franchise tag on wide receiver DeSean Jackson, the team has opened a series of doors that would have never been there if they decided to let him walk in free agency.
Here are the options the Eagles and Jackson can pursue moving forward:
Keep Him For The Season and Then Allow Him to Leave in Free Agency -
Guaranteed, if the Eagles use the franchise tag as the source claimed, Jackson is locked into Philadelphia for this upcoming season. Jackson’s performance last season suffered amid a heavy-bout contract battle that he ended up losing. The former Pro-Bowler was nothing more than a shadow of himself on the field, and was totally and completely ineffective for the Eagles.
This upcoming season, he will be making quadruple the amount of money he did this last year. Hopefully, now that he will be locked into $9 million plus, he will actually show effort and initiative on the field. When Jackson is making the impact plays he did two-years ago, he becomes one of the best deep threat receivers in the game. Michael Vick and Jackson have an excellent chemistry, and can rip defenses when they’re rolling.
If Jackson shows up to win games next season, the Eagles offense is one of the fastest and deadliest in the NFL.
Sign Him to a Long-Term Extension
I’d say that at this point, this is nearly impossible. The money that Jackson wants is way more than the Eagles are interested in paying, and thus far, he seems rather unbending on his demands. Not to mention, Philadelphia must still be sour about how Jackson totally slacked off last season, and they might have no desire to re-sign a diva receiver long-term. However, Jackson loves the team, city, and the fans, and even issued an apology to the organization, saying that he could have handled the situation with more maturity.
The Eagles could look back at the film from 2010, see his amazing game-changing performance, and reach a median on a long-term deal. Again, I wouldn’t count on it.
Trade Him Away
Ding-ding. This is the most likely option of the three, and the Eagles have probably planned this from the get-go. Philadelphia can apply the franchise tag to Jackson, and then deal him to any team they see fit. Meaning, that instead of letting their ex-star wide receiver walk and get nothing in return, they would be able to score something with a trade. The best part – the Eagles wouldn’t even have to pay Jackson his $9 million, the other team would.
The only issue, Jackson’s value has plummeted after last season’s antics. In 2010, his value would have been through the roof, now, it’s quite low. Judging how much other teams would pay is hard to gauge, but I would assume that in terms of draft picks, the best the Eagles could get is a second-rounder, and that’s being generous. Again, something is better than nothing in this situation.
Conclusion
Regardless of what the Eagles and Jackson end up doing, the decision to franchise him is a good one. It would be useless to let him leave in free agency, and the Eagles could either use him in a trade or for one more season at receiver. What will happen, though? I’d say it’s close to a guarantee that Jackson will be traded, and more than likely, it will be for a draft pick in April.
The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to use the franchise tag on wide receiver DeSean Jackson, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
NFL teams may begin using the franchise one week from today, on February 20. The deadline to use the tag is March 5.
Selected with the 18th pick in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft out of Cal, Jackson signed a four-year contract worth $3.469 million, a deal that included $1.353 million signing bonus. Jackson caught 125 passes for 2,079 yards and 11 touchdowns and demonstrated game-changing ability on special teams in his first two seasons in the league, earning Pro Bowl honors after the 2009 season. Jackson has not been happy with his contract since 2010, but the 30 percent rule governing the uncapped season limited options towards an extension.
Jackson had another Pro Bowl season in 2010 and was a training camp holdout in 2011, but ended up playing for the league minimum, a 2011 CBA enhanced $600,000. Jackson caught 58 passes for 961 yards and four touchdowns and the 25-year-old would certainly receive a mega-contract if he were allowed to hit the open market.
The 2012 franchise tender for a wide receiver is projected to be worth around $9.5 million. Over a 17-week season, Jackson would earn $558,824 per week on a $9.5 million fully guaranteed tender. Last season, Jackson earned $35,294 per week on a non-guaranteed base salary of $600,000.
It’s evident that even after three-seasons in the NFL, America still has not forgiven Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick.
In a recent poll done by Forbes, Vick was voted number one in ‘America’s Most Hated Athletes of 2012′ for the second straight year. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to many Eagles fans, at is seems every time Vick’s name is tossed out around any other fan, it is followed by an immediate frown and negative comment. There is still no almost no respect or love for Vick outside of the city of Philadelphia, and people are struggling in finding any reason to forgive him.
The pubic opinion of Vick, despite making strides to improve it, seems to be about the same as what it was when he first came back into the NFL. For most Philadelphia fans, we have accepted Vick and embraced his mistakes instead of dwelling on them. However, even within Eagle fans, there is still a small group that refuses to like Vick and support him as the starting quarterback.
After an amazing breakout season in 2010, Vick and the entire Eagles team took a huge step back in 2011. Philadelphia missed the playoffs and Vick was sidelined a handful of games with a collection of injuries. There is no question that Vick will be back in 2012, but past that, his future is certainly in question with the organization. With a Super Bowl or bust season on the horizon, the pressure will be higher than ever for Vick to perform.
If it’s any consolation Philadelphia fans, Tiger Woods and Kris Humphries also made the list right behind Vick.
From the Big Apple to the City of Brotherly Love?
New York Jets free-agent wide receiver Plaxico Burress wants to come to the Eagles, according to Howard Eskin of NBC 10 in Philadelphia.
Eskin tweeted: Saw and talked to Plaxico Burress at Super Bowl and told me he wants to play for Eagles. Badly!
“I do believe the Eagles will take a hard look at signing Plaxico Burress,” said Eskin.
With DeSean Jackson possibly on his way out, Plax would be an ideal replacement — considering he caught 45 passes and eight touchdowns last season in New York.
The similarities between Tim Tebow and Michael Vick go beyond their mobility at the QB position–they’re two of the most polarizing players in the NFL. So which of the two players is more overrated?
Alec Too?
After the off-season acquisitions the Philadelphia Eagles made, and the 8-8 season that followed, jokes were abound, and 2012 NFL Honors Show host Alec Baldwin took the opportunity to take a shot at Philly.
Baldwin, who did a lengthy introduction to the first-ever NFL awards show, ripped the Eagles after a disappointing season in which the team missed the playoffs entirely. The crowd as a whole laughed, but the two Eagles that were in attendance, DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy hardly smiled after his rough comments. Here’s what Baldwin said,
“The lockout ended and we then had an accelerated Free Agent signing period. The Philadelphia Eagles made a lot of high-profile acquisitions, which led Vince Young to proclaim them the ‘Dream Team.’ Well he was right, it was a dream season. Unfortunately it was one of those dreams where you show up at school naked, you forget to study for the test and you lose four of your first five games. You know — that dream. Is LeSean McCoy laughing? I’m not looking over there.”
Nice, Alec. I actually enjoyed watching 30 Rock from time to time, but that’s brutal! I know that he more than likely didn’t come up with the jab, and his writers did, but it was still a low-blow for a team that has taken more heat than any other this season in the NFL. It all started with this Young’s comments about a ‘dream team’ and we were constantly reminded of it as fans after every single loss.
It’s all in good fun, right?
Philly.com talks about Brian Dawkins possibly coming back to the Eagles and signing a one-day deal to retire as a member of the team.
Brian Dawkins said yesterday that he hasn’t yet made a decision on whether he wants to play a 17th NFL season.
The 38-year-old, nine-time Pro Bowl safety, who has played the last three seasons in Denver after leaving the Eagles as a free agent in 2009, missed four of the Broncos’ last five games, including both of their playoff games, with a neck injury. He will be a free agent in March.
“The season’s not even over yet; the Super Bowl hasn’t been played,” Dawkins said. “I’ll give it some prayer and we’ll take it from there.”
Dawkins was in town for the NFL Players Association’s annual Super Bowl week news conference. He is a longtime member of the union’s executive board.
Last summer, Dawkins agreed to restructure the contract he signed with the Broncos in 2009. His 2011 salary was reduced from $6 million to $2 million.
If Dawkins decides to retire, which is a good bet at this point given his age and the neck injury, there’s a good chance the future Hall of Famer would sign a 1-day contract with the Eagles so that he could officially retire with the club that selected him in the second round of the 1996 draft.
If the Eagles are going to use the franchise tag in 2012, Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network says he thinks it will be on sometimes mouthy WR DeSean Jackson.
“He’s someone that you don’t just let walk,” said LaCanfora on NFL Network’s XLVI Live. “Whether he’s going to be there long-term remains to be seen, but you franchise him, then entertain trade possibilities.”
Head coach Andy Reid said that he was impressed by the way Jackson performed during the final stretch of the season. Whether or not you agree with Reid statement regarding Jackson’s performance, it’s a good indication that he trying his best to make things work with him in Philadelphia.
Getty Images
Following an amazing 1,309 yard, 20 touchdown season, Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy has won the annual Fedex Ground Player of The Year award.
Shady McCoy beat-out the Jacksonville Jaguars Maurice Jones-Drew, and the Baltimore Ravens Ray Rice, who both had excellent seasons respectively, for the award. This is a great consolation price for McCoy and the Eagles, who missed the playoffs and finished the season with a disappointing (8-8) record. McCoy’s season was highlighted with several 100+ rushing yard and multiple touchdown performances against a series of tough defenses.
Along with winning the Fedex Ground Player of The Year, McCoy also was nominated to his first Pro-Bowl in his career, and was named the starter for the NFC. His nomination comes as no surprise, as McCoy shattered several long-standing Eagles rushing and total touchdown records this season. McCoy also lead the league in total touchdowns with 20, 17 rushing, and 3 receiving.
This entire season, with the instability at the quarterback position, McCoy was relied on heavily to carry the Eagles offense. Despite being used heavily throughout games, McCoy still exploded late and finished off teams, earning him the nickname of the ‘closer.’ On every hand-off, Philadelphia fans would hold their breath knowing that Shady could bust a huge run.
The Eagles will head into 2012 with more than doubts than ever surrounding the future of their receiving corps, offensive line, and quarterback, but Philadelphia can rely entirely on McCoy to be a deadly rusher out of the backfield. Whether it be his heroic cut-backs or nasty juke moves, Philadelphia fans will get to enjoy Shady McCoy tearing up opposing defenses for a long time.
Eagles coach Andy Reid said he offered Steve Spagnuolo a coaching position before the former Rams coach chose to be the defensive coordinator in New Orleans.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday for the first time since the regular-season finale on Jan. 1, Reid said he didn’t specify a job title in his conversations with Spagnuolo, who was fired after going 10-38 in three seasons with the Rams.
Spagnuolo previously worked under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson in Philadelphia, and was the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants when they beat New England in Super Bowl XLII.
He joined the Saints two weeks ago after defensive coordinator Gregg Williams left for the same position with the Rams. Reid also said he planned to retain defensive coordinator Juan Castillo all along. Castillo was heavily criticized in his first season at a new position after coaching the offensive line for 13 years.
Former Dolphins assistant coach Todd Bowles has turned down an offer from the Raiders and has taken the Eagles defensive backs coach job.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Bowles will be in charge of cornerbacks and that Juan Castillo will remain the team’s defensive coordinator.
An assistant head coach/secondary coach with the Dolphins, the 48-year-old Bowles became the interim head coach after the firing of Tony Sparano and led the Dolphins to a 2-1 record to finish the season. Bowles had been with the Dolphins since following Bill Parcells, Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano to South Florida from the Dallas Cowboys, where he had coached the secondary.
Bowles has aspirations to be a head coach in the NFL and was a candidate for the Dolphins job as well as vacancies with the Raiders and St. Louis Rams.
Eagles announced the promotion of Anthony Patch to Director of College Scouting.
Patch has been with the Eagles for the last 10 seasons, scouting the west region before his 2010 promotion to Assistant Director of College Scouting. Patch previously worked in the Miami Dolphins’ player personnel department.
In addition to Patch, the Eagles have also added Rick Mueller as a pro personnel executive. Mueller worked as a scout and Director of College Scouting with the Jaguars (1994-2000) and as the Director of Player Personnel with the Saints from 2000-08.
Mueller spent the last three seasons with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League.
Mueller’s brother Rick is a longtime executive with the Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins who currently works in the San Diego Chargers front office.
Mornhinweg Will Be Returning in 2012!
After every head coaching position had been filled, it is a lock that long-time offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg will be returning to the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2012 season.
Mornhinweg was a name being tossed around for nearly every head coaching vacancy, and he actually did interview with the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders. However, both organizations went in another direction and hired another coach, leaving Mornhinweg to stay with the Eagles. There is almost no chance that Mornhinweg would consider leaving, or would be fired, as he and head coach Andy Reid built around each other and are key to each other’s success.
This is excellent news for Philadelphia, as now Mornhinweg will have a full off-season to work with quarterback Michael Vick. This year, due to the NFL Lockout, training camps and OTA’s never happened, and Mornhinweg didn’t have any chance to work individually with Vick. Even though the 2010 season was a huge success for Vick and Mornhinweg without any prior practice, this season proved that it was not going to happen without the two working together more.
The Eagles offense, even if the team is struggling as a whole, is generally Philadelphia’s biggest strength. Philly has some of the best weapons on offense in the entire NFL with Vick and running back LeSean McCoy, and possibly wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who may or may not be with the Eagles next season depending on contract negotiations. The entire offense is very young and only has room to grow and develop.
Mornhinweg is key to Vick and the offense’s progress moving forward, especially with the possible departure of Jackson. Philadelphia will either draft or sign free agents to fill the voids that will be left on offense, and it will be on Mornhinweg to piece everything together.
More than likely, just like Reid, unless the Eagles go to the Super Bowl or have a deep playoff run, Mornhinweg will likely be replaced at the end of next season. The entire coaching staff in Philadelphia has one more shot to do something big, or the Eagles will totally clean shop.
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Brent Celek was a passenger in an early Thursday morning car accident that has resulted in the arrest of the driver for driving under the influence of alcohol.
No injuries were reported in the accident, which occurred at 2:30am ET on a highway off-ramp near Lincoln Financial Field.
“Thankfully, no one was injured and, to our knowledge, Brent is not facing any legal charges,” an Eagles spokesman said in an email to the Philadelphia Daily News.
Celek turned 27 on Wednesday and is coming off a season where he caught 62 passes for 811 yards and five touchdowns. In 80 career games with the Eagles, the 2007 fifth-round pick out of Cincinnati has 223 receptions for 2,789 yards and 19 touchdowns and signed a six-year, $29.25 million contract extension in December of 2009.
Philly OC Marty Mornhinweg is on his way to Oakland to get an interview with the Raiders about their head coach opening. The spot became open after new GM Reggie McKenzie canned coach Hue Jackson late last week.
The former Lions head coach has spent the last nine seasons with the Eagles following a two-year stint in Detroit, where he was pretty awful, going 5-27.
Prior to the Lions’ job, Mornhinweg was the 49ers offensive coordinator from 1997-2000 and worked with the Packers from 1995-96. Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie was the Packers’ Director of Operations when Mornhinweg was in Green Bay.
The future of WR DeSean Jackson is up in the air in terms of coming back to the Eagles in 2012. He had a nightmare season (as did a lot of the team), but that is not stopping some of his teammates from supporting him and hoping he will return.
“Since he’s been an Eagle, he’s been great,” all-pro RB LeSean McCoy said on NFL Network’s NFL Total Access on Thursday night. “That’s something (Jackson’s contract) that he has to deal with with the team. “His teammates will back him 100%. I think lately here, he’s kind of put that stuff (off to the side) and has started playing ball. I think that’s the Desean Jackson that we all remember from the previous years.”
The team had to sit Jackson for one game for missing a special teams meeting this season, and with just 58 catches, he failed to make the Pro Bowl and wasn’t the impact player he had been in the past.
McCoy thinks that Jackson turned the corner with a strong final past two games, but it will be up to the club to decide if he’s done enough to return for 2012 and beyond.
“I think his head’s on straight,” said McCoy. “Something like that, man — when it’s your job, your livelihood — so it’s hard to really tell a guy he’s doing things the wrong way or the right way when he’s dealing with his life. This is how he makes his living, so it’s hard to really judge him. But he’s a good teammate, a good player, and we’re happy that we had him for the last couple games — the other DeSean Jackson we remember.”
