Too little money, too much drama for Eagles
Fresh off a 4-11-1 season, the team can’t even get a decent backup quarterback, columnist Bob Grotz writes.
The Eagles used to be a preferred destination for veteran free agents. The money they offered was competitive, and so were their teams.
As it is, they have been to the playoffs in 15 of owner Jeffrey Lurie’s 20 seasons. Super Bowl hangover? Not this organization. The Eagles are among four teams to make the playoffs in three straight seasons after winning the Lombardi Trophy.
Since the new league year began Wednesday, the Eagles are out of money because the salary cap declined almost $16 million per team due to revenue losses attributable to the coronavirus pandemic, and because of their gross mismanagement of the salary cap.
After five seasons of being the face of the franchise, Carson Wentz couldn’t stand the club he worked for and demanded a trade. The Eagles will be feeling the salary cap implications of the megabucks deal they handed him well into the 2022 season, as they are on the hook for $34 million in dead money. They dealt him to the Indianapolis Colts for a third-round pick in this draft and a conditional second-round selection in 2022.
Fresh off a 4-11-1 season, their worst in eight years, a head coaching firing and a quarterback controversy, the Eagles can’t even get a decent backup quarterback.
Canning Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Pederson, overhauling the coaching staff and letting go of highpriced veterans who couldn’t stay healthy make the Birds less desirable. So, too, is the report of Lurie telling management to build around second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts, the second-round draft pick out of Oklahoma.
Incredibly, veteran backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett chose the Miami Dolphins over the Eagles and head coach Nick Sirianni, who coached him in Indianapolis the last three years.
Veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick,
who would have been a solid selection, was a little pricey as he signed a oneyear, $10 million deal with the Washington Football Team. Tyrod Taylor, another good option, agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $12.5 million with the Houston Texans.
Heck, even Andy Dalton would have helped Hurts get ready, particularly against the Dallas Cowboys and the rest of the NFC East. The Chicago Bears signed Dalton.
Brissett would have been perfect for the Eagles. He knows the schemes Sirianni likes and could spoon feed them to Hurts. Brissett is 12-20 as a starter with the Colts and the New England Patriots, so he could win a few games should something happen to Hurts.
Brissett reportedly got a one-year deal worth up to $7.5 million with the Dolphins. If the money was a big deal, the Eagles should have made salary cap room to sweeten the pot by getting rid of disgruntled tight end Zach Ertz. Which leads to another question ... why is Ertz still around?
“For us to trade any player, it’s got to make sense for both sides,” general manager Howie Roseman said. “It’s got to make sense for the Philadelphia Eagles, too, because none of us have had the year that we wanted last year.”
This is no time for the Eagles to be cheap. Putting the right guy in the room with Hurts is paramount in grooming him to be the face of the franchise. That is, unless the Eagles have second thoughts about Hurts’ ability to do that.
You be the judge. Ask yourself if this is a ringing endorsement of Hurts’ ability to make the Eagles winners again.
“I think when people start talking about Jalen, the first thing that they go to is his athleticism and his strength as a runner,” Roseman said. “I don’t know that that’s necessarily fair. This is a guy who completed over 70 percent of his passes at Oklahoma. He’s got a feel for the passing game. He’s got a plus arm. I think he’s going to continue to get better and better. … He’s only got four starts. There’s huge room for him to continue to improve from a player who had four starts.”
Sirianni wouldn’t commit to Hurts being the guy long-term, either. Sounding like a hipster who had consumed too many espressos, he became animated, adding his two cents to the quarterback answer.
“In Indianapolis, we had three different starting quarterbacks each year, right?” Sirianni said. “Those teams had similarities in their offenses but minor differences, just because every quarterback did something a little bit different. That’s no different here. We feel like good offensive football is catering to your players, first and foremost your quarterback.
“Right now, we have one quarterback on our team, so we’re thinking about Jalen and the things he does well; what he did well at Alabama, what he did well at Oklahoma, what he did well last year when he was here. We’re thinking about those things and how we can make him as successful as we possibly can.”
For the record, Sirianni must have forgotten that 39-year-old Philip Rivers started every game last year for the Colts. Sirianni is full of energy, and cannot wait to get to the next thought.
Roseman said the Eagles would sift through what’s left of the free agent market, gauge the trade market “and we’re certainly going to look at the draft to try to strengthen that position.”
You don’t have to Google ‘smart’ to realize how little Brissett thought about the Eagles and their many dysfunctions.
Sure, Brissett growing up in West Palm Beach made the move appealing. What made it more appealing was the lack of drama with the Dolphins, who finished 9-7 last season but didn’t reach the playoffs and are trending upward.
Brissett thought it would be much more enjoyable backing up Tua Tagovailoa than Hurts. And that’s on the Eagles’ bosses, not their lone quarterback.