Shunning the Eagles is bad karma...

Two little tidbits surfaced this week about two guys that were reportedly on the verge if signing with the Eagles only to sign elsewhere at the last minute. Neither players' career has went well since.

First, the unfortunate one. LeCharles Bentley was released by the Browns today . In the 2 years after signing a 6 year $36 million deal with the Browns, Bentley has not played one down for the team. A knee injury in his first minicamp kept him out of 2006 and a staph infection held him out of 2007. You may remember Mark Eckel's infamous claim "By the time you read this, Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley already will be an Eagle." By all reports Bentley was very close to a deal with the Eagles and shocked them by signing a deal with his hometown Browns. As it turned out, Bentley was basically using the Eagles to pump up his value while he always intended to sign with Cleveland.

For what it's worth, Bentley has passed a physical and plans to play this year.

Then, comes the stupid one. Ryan Fowler was a backup linebacker/special teams guy for the Cowboys who became a restricted free agent last year. The Eagles saw him as a possible successor to Trotter at MLB and signed him to an offer sheet. .. or so they thought. He had verbally agreed to a deal with the Eagles, but then changed his mind and decided he wanted to sign with the Titans. He then had to ask the Eagles to "release" him from the deal they agreed to so he could sign with Tennessee. They did and he did. Fowler went on to have an okay year with the Titans... but this offseason things went way south for Fowler.

Tennessee Titans middle linebacker Ryan Fowler has been notified by the NFL that he faces suspension for being in violation of the league's policy for performance-enhancing drugs, his attorney confirmed Monday.

In a letter sent to Fowler on Friday, the NFL told the Titans player that it had "credible information" Fowler "purchased, used or supplied" performance-enhancing drugs, sources told ESPN.

Coincidence? Karma? You decide.