Eagles Rumors

Yesterday the Cardinals announced they were cutting cornerback Rod Hood.  Hood left the Eagles after the 2006 season to get a chance to start.  The Eagles did make an effort to keep him, but would not guarantee him a starting position.

Hood was replaced as a starter midway through the season this year.

Many fans thought it was a mistake for the Eagles to let Hood leave.  Two years later the decision appears to be validated.

A few notes:

This week’s camp is mandatory, and Sheldon Brown says he’ll be there.  It’s not hard to understand why, with the potential to be fined $15,000 a day for unexcused absense.

Brandon Gibson sure is a polite fellow.

Despite some rumblings, the Eagles are unlikely to be interested in recently made UFA Leroy Hill.  Hill is a very good young outside linebacker who will likely get much more than the Eagles would be willing to invest, all things considered.

Ellis Hobbs made it known that he is unhappy with current contract, which will earn him $2.5 million this season (the last on the deal).

It’s definitely frustrating when you see guys making certain amounts of money that you think you should get.”

The Eagles are unlikely to care.  Hobbs seems like a one-year guy for the Eagles, who may choose to try to hang on to him if he performs well in his walk year.

We didn’t get a winner in the draft contest.  In fact, we didn’t even get a single entry that included Jeremy Maclin.

But to make up for it we’ll run another (much easier to win) contest very soon.  And as always, thanks for stopping by.

Even the most negative Eagles fan would have a hard time complaining about what happened in day 1 of the draft.  Maclin is a burner with decent size, a guy who should play right away who is potentially a huge weapon for this offense.  McCoy is a do-everything type running back who will fill the role of Correll Buckhalter and should eventually be a full-time replacement for Brian Westbrook.  The conventional wisdom on both guys had them going much earlier than the Eagles time to pick.

Now, the Eagles don’t have Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards — but neither does anyone else.  Perhaps the Browns and Cardinals stuck to their demands and no one was willing to bite.  We’ll be ecstatic to see Steve Smith on top of the Giants WR depth chart.

Jeremy Maclin never even worked out or came to visit Philly.  Reid never expected him to be there.  McCoy did visit Philadelphia.

Sal Paolantonio just reported on ESPN that the Cardinals are now willing to accept something less than a first round pick for Anquan Boldin — perhaps evidence that, while things have been quiet in Arizona, Rosenhaus and Boldin have made it clear they will make things difficult for the Cardinals in 2010 if they don’t acquiesce to Boldin’s trade demands.

Paolantonio goes on to say that the Giants and Eagles are front runners for the receiver.  It should be noted however, that ESPN is and continues to be very Northeast focused in virtually all professional sports (see Yankees/Red Sox/Mets coverage).  So the same issue is likely applying here, as most of the other talk out of Arizona revolves around a trio of AFC teams — the Jets, Ravens, and Titans.

Rumor Value: 

UPDATE:  3/30 ~11 AM EST — Added Schantz, Britton, and Chung per KFFL.
UPDATE:  3/30 ~9 PM EST — Added Williams, Pressley, Derenthal, Ayers, and Wood
UPDATE:  3/31 ~1 PM EST — Added Sidbury
UPDATE: 4/1 ~8 AM EST — Added Smith
UPDATE: 4/1 ~3:30 PM EST — Added Moreno
UPDATE: 4/3 ~8 AM EST — Added Parish, Smith
UPDATE: 4/3 ~1 PM EST — Added Huber
UPDATE:  4/5 ~6 PM EST — Added Johnson
UPDATE: 4/8 ~10 AM EST — Added White
UPDATE:  4/8 ~5 PM EST — Added Davis
UPDATE: 4/9 ~4 PM EST — Added Scott, Heygood
UPDATE:  4/10 ~4 PM EST — Added Coffman
UPDATE:  4/14 ~6 PM EST — Added Fletcher
UPDATE:  4/15 ~8:30 AM EST — Added Nicks
UPDATE:  4/15 ~9:30 PM EST — Added Sheets
UPDATE:  4/16 ~2 PM EST — Added Smith
UPDATE:  4/16 ~10:30 PM EST — Added Crabtree, Harvin per PhillyBurbs
UPDATE:  4/18 ~8 PM EST — Added Pettigrew
UPDATE:  4/24  ~2 PM EST — Added Butler, Kemp

As the calendar turns to April, teams are in draft preparation overdrive.  We’ve heard a little about who the Eagles have been peaking at, and now seems like a good time to start a compilation of players whom the Eagles are rumored to have worked out privately (or who they are scheduled to look at).

Quarterback:
Pat White (WVU)

Running Back:
Donald Brown (UConn)
LeSean McCoy (Pitt)
Rashad Jennings (Liberty)
Knowshon Moreno (Georgia)
Kory Sheets (Purdue)

Fullback:
Chris Pressley (Wisconsin)

Wide Receiver:
Darius Heyward-Bey (Maryland)
DJ Boldin (Wake Forest)
Johnnie Knox (Abilene Christian)
Derrick Williams (Penn St)
Hakeem Nicks (North Carolina)
Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech)
Percy Harvin (Florida)
Deon Butler (Penn St)

OT:
Eugene Monroe (Virginia)
Ebon Britton (Arizona)
Andre Smith (Alabama)
Gus Parrish (Kent St)
Jason Smith (Baylor)

Guard:
Rich Ohrnberger (Penn St)
Andy Kemp (Wisconsin)

Center:
Eric Wood (Louisville)
Alex Derenthal (Temple)

Tight End:
Cornelius Ingram (Florida)
John Nalbone (Monmouth)
Chase Coffman (Missouri)
Brandon Pettigrew (Oklahoma St)

Defensive Tackle:
Sammie Lee (Stillman)
Dorrell Scott (Clemson)

Defensive End:
Robert Ayers (Tennessee)
Lawrence Sidbury (Richmond)

Linebacker:
Andy Schantz (Portland St)
Anthony Heygood (Purdue)

Cornerback:
Kevin Barnes (Maryland)
DeAngelo Willingham (Tennessee)
Mike Mickens (Cinci)
Reggie Jones (Portland St)
Sean Smith (Utah)
Vontae Davis (Illinois)
Bradley Fletcher (Iowa)

Safety:
Louis Delmas (Western Michigan)
Patrick Chung (Oregon)
Rashad Johnson (Alabama)

Punter:
Kevin Huber (Cinci)

If we missed anyone please let us know in the comments.  We’ll be updating this post as new information comes in.

Information from:
Florida Times Union
Baltimore Sun
http://www.profootballtalk.com
Bleeding Green Nation
KFFL
NFL.com
Philly.com

Just a couple of days now until the NFL draft, and we’d like to have a bit of fun around here while in a small way saying “thanks” for the incredibly positive response this site has received in its first couple of months.

So, we’re going to run a pretty simple draft contest.  In a comment on this post, you’ll need to leave the names of the first two draft picks the Eagles will acquire this weekend.  Round and order of the picks are irrelevant.  We just want the names of the first two guys.

And just in case we need a tiebreaker, please answer the following:
1)  Will the first Eagles pick of the draft be an offensive or defensive player?
2)  Will the last Eagles pick of the entire draft be an offensive or defensive player?

If we get a winner, that person will get the t-shirt you see here from the Eagles shop (yep, it’s one that’s one sale — do you actually think we make any money off of this little venture?).

So thanks again for stopping by, and have fun this weekend.

Update II (3:13 PM ET) — Bowen talks to a “source close to the situation” who calls the report “baseless”.  Additionally, Bob Brookover reports the following re: Andrews’ contract.

“He just wants to play ball,” Andrews’ agent Rich Moran said in a text today. “No contract issue that I know of Bob.”

Update (2:07 PM ET) — Les Bowen confirms with his own (presumably different) source.

From PFT:

A league source tells us that the Eagles have contacted at least one team about moving the enigmatic Pro Bowl guard.

This only makes sense if the Eagles feel uncomfortable about the Big Kid’s health (physical or mental) or if he’s REALLY griping about his contract (which we doubt).

We’re skeptical of this one, but obviously we’ll need to keep an eye on this.

Rumor Value: 

From SI’s Don Banks:

The buzz about the Chiefs resuming their attempts to trade veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez has re-started, and it sounds as if the Eagles might have nosed ahead of the Falcons as the most likely trade partner. Philly is thought to be willing to give up a third-rounder for Gonzalez. But Kansas City is seeking at least a second-round pick for a player it considers a future Hall of Famer, and may not be willing to bear the brunt of any criticism that could come if it’s perceived to have given away Gonzalez too cheaply.

Well, that might make you forget about Sheldon for a couple of minutes, right?

We could never see the Eagles giving up a second round pick for a 33 year old, even if it is Gonzalez.  Doesn’t mean we’d be upset if they did, though.

Rumor Value: