Adrian Fedkiw
A lot of Eagles content gets published each day, so here’s a recap of your Eagles news from this past week.
Some people actually disliked the Fletcher Cox contract. Seriously, I’m not kidding, I didn’t know it was possible. It’s unknown what type of drugs were consumed before they took to Twitter and blog posts with their frustrations.
I understand the dangers, but this entire offseason has been filled with them. Howie Roseman has been carrying his balls in a wheelbarrow the past few months. He’s spent $280 million of guaranteed money since January 1st, by far the most in the NFL and doubling up the New York Giants, who are in second. He traded up twice in the NFL Draft and landed a potential franchise quarterback in Carson Wentz. And lastly, he handed Cox the most guaranteed money to a non-quarterback in NFL history.
The people who disliked the deal all referenced the guaranteed money and how it’s scary to give it to a player who isn’t a quarterback. Ok, so what would you rather do? Trade him? Let him walk when he’s a free agent? That’s ludicrous. So you’re alright with parting ways with the Eagles’ best player and leaving a huge void in the middle of the defense? That’s as dumb as trying to save money by trading your franchise’s leading rusher for a guy who wears belly shirts.
Oh wait …
The money Cox received now might actually be less than he would’ve received next offseason. Cox has been playing out of position as a 3-4 defensive end, he’s a natural 4-3 defensive tackle. He’s also still only 25 and hasn’t even reached his prime yet. Just wait until he reaches his full potential in Jim Schwartz’s defense and is recording double-digit sack totals during his peak years. Another thing to keep in mind, the salary cap can be circumvented in the NFL. If Cox were to not live up to his contract or was a victim of the injury bug, the Eagles can release him in 2021 with two years remaining on the deal and basically no penalty. Money in the NFL can sometimes be overblown.
I was ecstatic this deal got done and you should be too.
On to the links:
As expected, there were a few posts on Cox this week. There was the actual story of the Cox deal, the math of the contract and the press conference from Thursday. Roseman believes that Cox could be one of the greatest Eagles ever and I agree.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson commented on the Nelson Agholor situation during Ron Jaworski’s annual Celebrity Golf Challenge on Monday. He also wants the Eagles to hit in training camp, something Chip Kelly didn’t like to do.
Zach Ertz has been on the cusp of being an elite tight end in the NFL, but still hasn’t broken through yet. He’s been a breakout candidate seemingly every year, but 2016 is the year he finally takes the next step.
Ron Jaworski and Donovan McNabb shared their thoughts on the Eagles quarterback situation and Adam Schefter had a few things to say about Wentz.
Each week I’ve been grading Pederson’s play calling from last year. Here’s how he fared in Week 15 against the Baltimore Ravens.