Tony Cutillo
By now, we have all heard the news and are sitting at the Monopoly board just waiting to see if Howie Roseman is going to bid on Park Place or Boardwalk. We knew this off-season was going to be an interesting one, but weren’t exactly sure to what extent. The first shoe that dropped was the Michael Bennett trade, and now the second shoe has dropped as Torrey Smith has said his goodbyes. I think everyone knew this move was inevitable, but not many had foreseen a trade. But, with another stroke of creativity, Roseman left us all scratching our heads. Here are the details:
The Eagles traded Torrey Smith to the Panthers in exchange for cornerback Daryl Worley, a move that saves the Eagles $4 million in salary cap space. Worley is a 23-year-old corner who has shown flashes of potential and Smith is a receiver who was getting paid to make plays. Neither had much luck making their coaching staff happy last year, but looking at the financials makes this a win for the Eagles.
Can someone please tell me what the Panthers are thinking? Last year they traded away their No. 1 receiver in Kelvin Benjamin and this year they trade a young, affordable corner for a high-priced receiver who doesn’t posses the speed to go deep anymore. I’ll take “GM Stupidity” for $500, Alex!
As far as the Eagles are concerned, I feel this move just strengthens our depth at the corner position, but also gives the flexibility to make another move. I personally feel this lays the groundwork for either Ronald Darby or Rodney McLeod to be shipped off for a few draft picks. The Eagles aren’t in a position to overpay at the safety position when there are other positions of need. Remember, when McLeod was signed as a free agent it was to bring stability to a coverage group that was in shambles. Now that our corners are a strength, that logic of thinking doesn’t serve the same purpose. In my opinion, Darby could be moved for the right price, but moving Mills to safety and shipping out McLeod seems like the most logical move.
The other part of the equation is Mack Hollins. Is he the right guy to step into the lineup or should we look to sign another speedster? Hollins seemed to be able to run routes and find the open zone, but still lacked the breakaway speed Smith was brought here to instill. For that reason alone, I feel the Eagles should look to sign a playmaker if they can get their cap straightened out.
Looking towards the weeks ahead, Roseman and co. will surely be active as the NFL off-season moves on. As we wait for the next move, here is Daryl Worley’s selection video and what the analysts said about his skills.
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Not exactly sure how our secondary is a “strength”. Given, we had 2 weeks to gameplan, Patriots or not, we allowed 500yds passing! I dont care if we didnt pressure him up-front until late in the game, we got scorched!
With the recent editions and a healthy offseason for Darby and Jones, not to mention more growth from Mills, this is a huge strength on this team…