TRENT Cole stays an Eagle for 2014, but when his contract balloons to 11 million in 2015, I’m thinking he gets cut. With 8 sacks last year, and 3 the year before, the handwriting is on the wall.
To be ready, I think we should go after Jason Worilds this year to have Cole’s replacement here already for 2015. It would give Worilds time to learn the system and be eased in, instead of being rushed in, crashing and burning, and quickly being seen as a FA bust. Once you’re wearing that tag it’s a pretty hard one to lose.
For those who are asking “Why Worilds?” it’s simple.
All the top OLB prospects in the Draft look to be gone by the time the Eagles draft 22nd. We can wait for a guy like [Jeremiah Attaochu] in the 2nd or 3rd, but by then with as valuable as pass rushers are, we aren’t even guaranteed that he’d be there by the time we were up again.
Now if we go the Free Agency route, we can just straight up buy the guy. Easy peasy. Better than that, we can do it knowing that his 2015 price tag will still be dramatically cheaper than the 11 million Coles would be (or would have been), due in 2015.
Everything else at OLB in FA this year looks like this. If you didn’t click that link, trust me it was bad. For those of you who did click it, I’m sorry. I was the only way to show you. Worilds isn’t the best option there, Worilds is THE option there. It’s either him or save your money.
While the Draft includes an element of chance, FA is something you can control. It’s just a matter of will you or won’t you make that commitment. This one is easy. Let’s not blow it.
UPDATE:
Worild’s signed a 1-year $9.7 million tender with the Steelers. Unless another pass rusher becomes a cap casualty (yeah right), it looks like the draft (or a trade) is the way we’re going.
Shit.
Do it!