Eagles Rumors

Donovan may very well be playing for someone else next year, but we implore you… do not get too worked up about anything you read on PFT about McNabb.

Over the years they have consistently printed any piece-of-garbage rumor about McNabb.  In September of ‘06, they predicted McNabb would be traded by “the end of the month”.

Florio loves the push McNabb non-stories because of the Philly/East-Coast hype it generates, and pageviews are his business.

Today’s latest should be taken with a HUGE grain of salt.

March 5th is the deadline to place a tender on restricted free agents, of which the Eagles have several.  Here’s what we’ve been hearing:

Gone will be TE Alex Smith, CB Ellis Hobbs, and S Sean Jones.  These guys are veterans and weren’t big factors for the Eagles this year.

It looks like Leonard Weaver may have a new contract in place before the deadline.  Weaver, 28, was an important addition at fullback to the Eagles’ offense.

Guys you should expect to be tendered:  G Nick Cole, WR Jason Avant, LB Omar Gaither, LB Chris Gocong, P Sav Rocca, and LB Akeem Jordan.

With every day that passes, it becomes less likely the Eagles will be able to trade Michael Vick before they are forced to pay him the $1.5 million roster bonus on March 5.  By all accounts, the Birds’ front office seems resigned to this notion, but will still look to move him after Friday.

Holy crap.  More to come.

Press conference at 3 pm.

Westbrook was owed $7.5 million this season.

Westbrook played 8 seasons with the Eagles, amassing nearly 6000 yards rushing, 3790 yards receiving, and 66 offensive touchdowns.

“Brian is one of the greatest Eagles of all-time.”  — Reid, today

According to Jason LaConfora, that is exactly the case.

Sources from two teams who would be in the market for a quarterback said they don’t expect Vick to be dealt until the preseason. That’s when his value could be enhanced by strong preseason performances, a full offseason of work with his team and injuries/uncertainty at quarterback on other teams.

We’re not necessarily buying it.  Sure, the $1.5 mil the Eagles would need to pay Vick to stay around till then isn’t that much money.  But the crux of this argument is that the Eagles would be able to get something more valuable to them in July than before the draft.

If teams are as hot on Vick as some would have you believe, then the time to strike is now, before those teams move forward with other plans for their quarterback position.

In a surprising and welcome move, Stacy Andrews told Jeff McLane that he would be willing to restructure his deal if the Eagles need him to.

“I would do a minor restructuring of my contract,” Andrews said by telephone. “They want to do an adjustment and we’re willing. Hopefully, we can come to an agreement.”

Andrews said he would be willing to restructure his base salary, but would not “mess with the roster bonus” (over $4 million due to him in a matter of weeks).

This seems like genuine good will from Andrews, but it could also be posturing — not wanting to appear to be inflexible and brutish in public.  We’ll see how this shakes out.

[Inquirer]  Andrews Would Restructure Deal

Today we get word that the Eagles will not be retaining the very-well-paid Stacy Andrews unless the lineman is willing to restructure his deal.

Andrews is due over $7 million this season, over $4 million comes only if he’s still on the roster on April 4th.

We are of the belief that Shawn Andrews is almost certainly done in the Eagles organization.  It’s not that he’s especially expensive, it’s that his injury issues are so extensive the Birds will simply say he’s not worth even the small risk.

Now, perhaps Stacy believes differently, but since playing with his brother was a big incentive to come to the Birds (yeah, the huge contract didn’t hurt).  If the choice is to move elsewhere (in a year with limited free agents available) or stay on in Philly, he may force the Birds to release him.

Or by it’s alternate definition:  You better have a big offer.

According to Sal Paolantonio, the Eagles have told several inquiring teams that neither quarterback is available for trade.

Meanwhile, if you want to see some coverage of the Birds’ quarterbacks from another city’s perspective, there is all sorts of Donovan talk in Denver right now.

As the hangover from the Super Bowl wears off in New Orleans, the rest of the league is bracing for an uncertain start to the off-season.

Eagles rumors have been quiet, as is usually the case up through the Super Bowl.  But things will start to get moving now.

Why?  Well, for one, Michael Vick is due his roster bonus on March 5th.  It would surprise us (and virtually everyone else) if he stays with the Eagles.  So the organization will try and move him before that day.

The Rams reportedly have interest, so things could be heating up on that front very soon.

The Eagles have announced the hiring of Dick Jauron, recently fired by the Bills (as was Bobby April).

Jauron is a veteran coach in this league, having been the head coach or on the staff of the Bills, Lions, Bears, Jaguars, and Packers (we may have missed one as well).

According to Jason LaConfora, his immediate role will be coaching the secondary.

Donovan sat down for a one-on-one interview with the Inquirer late this week and said that even before Reid’s end-of-year press conference, he had told #5 personally that he would be back.

“I heard it when he said it to you guys, but I heard it before anyways.”

Take that for what you will, but it sure seems like Donovan is sure he’s going to be back. If Andy actually promised him that personally, we’d tend to believe Reid means it as well.

[Philly.com]   McNabb Says He’s Staying with the Eagles