As ESPN’s Adam Caplan reported today, the Eagles plan to
release guard Todd Herremans. The
consensus opinion on Twitter today was that this was a move made to free up
some extra cap space. The move is
expected to save the Eagles 2.8 million dollars, which brought the team’s cap
space up to 27 million dollars.
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| Clem Murray/Philly.com Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie choose Chip Kelly over Howie Roseman in the Eagles front office shakeup that took place in early January. |
While it’s stating the obvious, this move sets up Chip Kelly
to have a huge offseason after winning the power struggle with Howie Roseman in
January. For a 10-6 team, the Eagles
have quite a few holes to fill, so it helps to have money to spend. The most
glaring deficiencies are in the secondary.
Cornerback Bradley Fletcher and safety Nate Allen are both expected to
hit free agency and it’s highly unlikely either one comes back. Seattle corner Byron Maxwell, New England
safety Devin McCourty, and Denver safety Rahim Moore are three names the Eagles
should give hard looks to in free agency.
With Herremans gone, offensive line becomes a question mark
for the Eagles. San Francisco guard Mike
Iupati is slated to become a free agent in a couple weeks and is someone else
that could easily be on Chip Kelly’s radar.
Iupati turns 28 in May and going from a 32-year-old Herremans to Iupati
would help the Eagles get younger on the offensive line despite still expecting
to have 33-year-olds Jason Peters and Evan Mathis starting in 2015. Additionally, the Eagles should look at
offensive line in the later rounds of the draft and develop them from
within. They got Herremans in the fourth
round in 2005 and more recently Jason Kelce in the sixth round in 2011.
Next is inside linebacker.
Mychal Kendricks isn’t going anywhere and will soon need an extension as
his rookie deal is set to expire after the 2015 season. The upcoming season will be the last one on
Demeco Ryans four-year contract with the Eagles. Ryans will turn 31 in July and is coming off
an Achilles injury. If he can rehab and
get healthy for training camp, Ryans could still be a productive player in
2015, but the Eagles will probably look for another inside linebacker to pair
next to Kendricks down the road.
However, the crop of free agent inside linebackers isn’t the strongest
this year so the Eagles may look long and hard at inside linebacker in the
draft as well.
Outside linebacker could get interesting. Brandon Graham will become an unrestricted
free agent and I don’t expect him back.
Since being drafted by the Eagles in 2010, Graham has been significantly
underused and I expect him to bolt.
Trent Cole’s cap hit is over 11 million for 2015 and he’s signed through
2017 so the Eagles will likely need to restructure Cole’s contract. If this can’t happen then they may decide to
part ways with Cole and pursue Pittsburgh’s Jason Worilds in free agency whom
many thought they could pursue last year before the Steelers franchised
him. Who knows how 2014 first round pick
Marcus Smith fits into the equation after what was essentially a redshirt rookie
season failing to get on the field much at all.
Then there’s wide receiver.
First and foremost, the Eagles must ensure Jeremy Maclin is on the
roster in 2015. Whether they franchise
him, or get an extension done, he had a career year in 2014 and the Eagles
don’t have enough depth at the position to afford to lose him. However, even if they are able to bring
Maclin back, Riley Cooper started opposite Maclin last season. That can’t happen again. After releasing DeSean Jackson around this
time last year, the Eagles have yet to find a deep-threat playmaker in the
vertical passing game. Jordan Matthews
was a good find in the second round in last year’s draft but he’s better suited
as a slot receiver and was used as such last season. Torrey Smith is someone who intrigues me in
free agency as does Auburn’s Sammie Coates if the draft is where the Eagles
choose to bring in another wide receiver.
Then comes the question that’s been all over the Internet
since Chip Kelly gained full control over personnel decisions. Will Kelly trade up in the draft for “his
guy” Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota?
After an outstanding 2013 season, Nick Foles certainly regressed in 2014
before his collarbone injury. Foles has
one year left on his rookie contract and if the Eagles have another
double-digit win season but are unwilling to commit to Foles long term then
what happens at the quarterback position?
Do the Eagles have too many holes to be able to afford a trade up for
Mariota involving several draft picks going to a team picking in the top 10?
With their 27 million dollars of cap space it’s certainly
feasible for the Eagles to make a run on defensive backs like Maxwell,
McCourty, and Moore. I think secondary
should be the top priority in free agency and then it gets hairy. Maybe Kelly
believes Demeco Ryans can get healthy and give the Eagles a solid 2015 and they
don’t need to look at an inside linebacker in the first couple rounds. Maybe the Eagles have enough money to sign
Torrey Smith and Iupati as well. Or
maybe they have faith they can draft and develop offensive lineman in the later
rounds of the draft like they did with Herremans and Kelce. Perhaps Cole restructures his deal or maybe
Worilds comes for the right price in free agency. If all or most of these maybes come to
fruition then I think Chip Kelly should try and move up for Mariota as he’ll
have addressed most of the team’s bigger needs in free agency. Chip Kelly is headed into his third season as
Eagles head coach and for an offensive-minded coach to not have the ideal fit
at quarterback would seem weird especially if they stick with Foles and he
leaves a lot to be desired in 2015.
Buckle up Eagles fans. The next
two months are going to be interesting.
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