free agents

LANDING COLLINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/03/05
Posted in: Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

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CAP space is limited. However, there are a bunch of you who hope that (GM) Howie Roseman can pull off a miracle, and make it so we can afford either RB Le’Veon Bell, or WR Antonio Brown. Well, my hope would be for SS Landon Collins.

SS Malcolm Jenkins is 31, and FS Rodney McLeod is coming off of an injury. Thinking of the future and building depth are not issues to be taken lightly. Also there is the idea of line-up flexibility. Three proven playmakers in a Nickel or Dime package, minimizes any falloff from us not being in our base defense.

The knock on Collins is that he’s more of an “in the box” Safety than a cover Safety. So what? He can cover, he’s just better near the line and in zones. No harm in that. Given how much we ask our LB’s to cover, that just makes him a better version of what we have in LB Kamu Grugier-Hill. For that matter, we could make the Nickel our base. Shit, half the time we do that anyway! (As you can see by KGH and former Eagle OLB Mychal Kendricks number of starts.)

Considering how good Collins has been for four years on a bad giants defense, it stands to reason that he’d be a force magnifier on a good unit. The Eagles defensive line can actually force QB’s into making errors, and plays the run well enough to allow him to play Safety, instead of Mr. Do-It-All.

It shouldn’t take a miracle to convince him to come to a team that just won Super Bowl two years ago, and still has a strong enough nucleus to do it again soon. Not a miracle, but he will want a lot of money. Deservedly so.

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Adding him here would do two important things. It would add depth and talent to our roster,, and keep him out of Dallas or Washington, while stealing him from New York. Particularly in the case of Dallas, as they may soon add FS Earl Thomas. Adding both Thomas and Collins, is an immediate and massive upgrade over current Safeties Jeff Heath and Xavier Woods.

Eagles fans, we don’t need that kind of headache in our lives.

Instead of trading for and then breaking the bank, on a WR who will only cry when TE Zach Ertz sees more targets than he does. Instead of breaking the bank, on a RB who has a penchant for missing games that have nothing to do with injuries. Instead of doing these things, why not add a player who shifts the balance of power in the division, just by signing?

Note: For those keeping score, so far my Free Agent Wish List consists of Latatvius Murray, LeGarrette Blount,

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and Landon Collins. That’s not my whole list, but I want to see who else hits the cutting room floor, before I just jump on the first few names. These guys all fit what we do, so they’re easy to add early.

FREE AGENT: NICK FOLES

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/02/28
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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LETTING QB Nick Foles become a Free Agent isn’t a good thing. It’s a great thing. This is the only smart move the Eagles could have made, and as a fan, I’m stoked that they saw that. Besides, this just made it easier for us to bring Foles back, at a price we can live with, for years.

Six days ago I said we should let him become a FA, then make him an offer of 50M over 5 years, with 30 guaranteed over 3. (Here’s that article) I still say we should float that out to him. If he bites, awesome. As I said, we’d have him at an affordable price until he retires. If he doesn’t, then he goes to a team that he can lead for a couple of years.

Either way, we don’t get saddled with a tag we can’t afford, on a QB we then couldn’t trade.

Foles was due 20M that we were never going to pay him in 2019. So he “bought his freedom” (yikes) for 2M, which allowed him to become a FA if he wished. This left the Eagles with the option to tag him for around 25M. That sets up a tag and trade situation, right? Right?! Wrong.

If the Eagles had already indicated that we wouldn’t shell out 20M, then why would we shell out 25? Every GM in the NFL with two brain cells to rub together, would realize that it’s just a matter of time before we had to cut Foles, at which point they could go after him for free, without having to give us anything in a trade. They could just wait us out.

In my sickest fantasy, we would have packaged our 1st rounder and Foles, in a trade to Jacksonville to move up from 25th to 7th , and get maybe a 4th or 5th rounder to boot. However, after the trade of QB Joe Flacco from Baltimore to Denver, it seemed that the market for trades had been set, and that it was a buyer’s, not a seller’s market.

That meant the Eagles would have no leverage in trying to move Foles. This is why I wrote last week, about just keeping him. Foles is more valuable as an Eagles player, than as an Eagles bargaining chip. Also, for a man of faith who says that where he plays matters, the Eagles are more valuable to Foles as well.

But…Let’s play Devil’s Advocate. Despite him being 30 already, let’s look at where Foles could get a shot to be “The Man”:

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1) Jacksonville: They’re a team that’s built to win now. The question is whether or not Foles fits in, with what can be an very up and down locker room, that isn’t known for handling adversity well. If they don’t get off to a good start, Foles might wish he never left Philly.

2) Washington: The organization is a shit show from top to bottom. The owner is an idiot. The head coach was 21 – 26 – 1 and he was given a two year extension in 2017. Since then, he’s 14 – 18, which brings him to 35 – 44 – 1 (.444) for his career. The weapons are mediocre. There is no standard for excellence there. Foles would be a fool to sign there. At least without a Kirk Cousins type deal. Which would be so ironic, it might kill me from laughter.

3) Arizona: Rumor has the Cardinals trading away their young QB, which means they’d need a signal caller. Foles played college ball out there in Arizona and most of his family is still in Texas, where he was born and raised. He’d get to play with RB David Johnson, and whatever is left of WR Larry Fitzgerald. Aside from that, he’d have to live with water drought, playoff drought, scoring drought, an offensive line that’s allowed 104 sacks over the last two years… Arizona is in rebuild mode. Foles would need a concussion to decide to sign here.

Basically comes down to if Foles is serious about being part of great team, or whether or not he wants to make a final cash grab. Is he willing to tarnish his legacy by starting for a mediocre team? We shall soon find out.

WHY NOT KEEP NICK FOLES?

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/02/21
Posted in: Conversations, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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FRANCHISE Tag? Transition Tag? Tag him and trade him? Tag you’re it? Chatter right now is about whether or not the Eagles will tag and trade, QB Nick Foles.

There’s growing speculation that they Eagles won’t, because if they can’t trade him, we’re stuck paying him roughly 25M$ to be a back-up, due to the tag. Growing speculation is that the Eagles can’t afford that gamble, and so may have to let Foles walk as a Free Agent, free and clear.

That means all interested teams have to do, is sit and wait us out.

The problem is in the form of trade partners. There are teams who have established QB, who aren’t going anywhere in 2019:

PHI – Carson Wentz

NYG – Eli Manning

DAL – Dak Prescott

MIN – Kirk Cousins

GB – Aaron Rogers

DET – Matt Stafford

CHI – Mitch Trubisky

NO – Drew Brees

ATL – Matt Ryan

CAR – Cam Newton

TB – Jameis Winston

SF – Jimmy Garafolo

SEA – Russell Wilson

LAR – Jared Goff

NE – Tom Brady

PIT – Ben Roethlisberger

BAL – Lamar Jackson

CLE – Baker Mayfield (I got halfway through typing Johnny Manziel)

CIN – Andy Dalton

IND – Andrew Luck

TEN – Marcus Mariota

HOU – Deshaun Watson

KC – Pat Mahomes

LAC – Phillip Rivers

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That’s 24 of 32 teams that wouldn’t gamble what they have for a shot a Foles. The remaining eight:

WAS – Is still waiting for an updated timetable for Alex Smith’s rehab.

ARI – Drafted Josh Rosen last year. Speculation is that Rosen could end up in NE, which would open up a possible landing spot for Foles near the place where he played college ball.

NYJ – Are content to let Sam Darnold continue his on the job training.

BUF – Josh Allen had a bad rookie year, but he was last year’s #7 overall pick, so the Bills can’t give up on him this soon.

MIA – Does Ryan Tannehill get another year? Do they draft a QB? No one has a clue what’s going on with the Fins.

JAC – Blake Bortles bags are packed and sitting by the door. While this team could draft a passer, they’re built to win now, and so would best be served by an experienced hand with playoff pedigree.

OAK – Derek Carr is the guy. The only reason he’s in this group and not the other, is the unpredictability of the Raiders Front Office.

DEN – Just traded for what’s left of Joe Flacco.

Of that group, only Washington, Arizona, and Jacksonville really seem to be in the market for a QB. Which poses a problem for the Eagles, when it comes to trying to trade Foles. Fewer possible trade partners, means we have less leverage to uh…incentivize teams to give us something juicy for Foles.

However, a choked market also means it will be harder for Foles as a FA. If few spots want to add a starter, he could just end up a back-up elsewhere. That is unless he wants to start for Washington or Arizona, two programs currently in turmoil. Dysfunction almost made him retire once. Jacksonville seems like the best fit, but we shouldn’t just let them grab him. Right?

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Hey! Here’s a crazy thought. What if we kept him? He’s frequently said that he loves it here. He’s also said that who he plays with, and the environment he plays in, matters to him. So why not put that to the test? He wants to play FA, okay. Offer him 50M$ over 5 years, with 3 of those years guaranteed. 

Aside from the current Joe Flacco (18M) / Case Keenum (21M) situation in Denver, there is no back-up in football approaching 10M per year. None. Done this way, Foles gets to stay in a place he loves, in a system that plays to his strengths, as he soaks up crazy bench fees, while staying pretty healthy to boot. And if we do need him to step in here or there, his coaches, teammates, and even he himself, has no jitters about what to expect.

He is the ultimate insurance policy for THIS CITY, and he should, and could be paid like it.

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This literally settles everything, and makes a deep strike at making sure that Nick Foles never wears another teams colors, ever again.

DEAR HOWIE ROSEMAN,

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/02/20
Posted in: free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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DEAR Howie Roseman, could you please pass on WR Antonio Brown. We don’t need the headaches or drama he drags with him. Brown is talented, but in a figurative sense, adding him would be the equivalent of deliberately giving our team cancer.

He has a great contract that he’s unhappy with. He is anything but a team leader. He has been a malcontent that argues with coaches, and throws tantrums during games. His concept of accountability to his teammates does not gel with the current culture of the Eagles locker room. He embodies all the faults that people point out in star players.

And the BEST part? We can’t get him without trading for him. We would have to give away something that the Pittsburgh Steelers want from our roster or list of draft picks. So we have to help them, in order to start hurting us.

Similarly, could you pass on Le’Veon Bell, too? QB Carson Wentz needs a top-flight RB, and Bell would be nice to have, but not at the expense of not being able to land a LT, or DE. Bell is talented, but he wants too much money. Too much guaranteed money. Especially with Wentz’s contract coming up. This offseason we’re already hoping that you have a miracle or two up your sleeve, but this is simply too much to reasonably ask for.

In fact, at RB, adding either Free Agent Tevin Coleman

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or Latavius Murray

before the 2019 Draft, would save a lot of money, solve a lot of problems, and set a clear tone. It would also make signing other players cheaper, when they saw us as legitimately re-arming for another Super Bowl run. Then we could smuggle RB LeGarrette Blount back onto the roster during OTA’s. (If we add him before the Draft, we’ll spook the better FA RB’s and won’t land one.)

A backfield of Murray, Blount and Corey Clement sounds REALLY good actually! If we don’t break the bank on Murray, we might even be able to squeeze RB Darren Sproles back in under the cap.

Sometimes you get addition by subtraction, but other times you get subtraction by addition. Let’s not let the latter happen to us, as Pittsburgh attempts the former.