I think we've beaten to death here that RG is probably the biggest gaping hole among the Eagles' 22 starters, with RCB not too far behind. News came out of Oakland yesterday that Robert Gallery will no longer be a part of the Oakland Raiders. Vittorio Tafur of the SF Chronicle reports that Gallery was seeking $8 million per year, while the Raiders were offering something in the ballpark of $2.5 million. That's what you would call a wide margin, although I have to say I can't blame Gallery for trying, seeing as the Raiders just doled out the following ridiculous contracts:
- Stanford Routt, 3 years, $31.5 million.
- Kamerion Wimbley, Franchise tag, 1 years, approx. $11.3 million.
- Richard Seymour, 2 years, $30 million.
And yet, they're letting Nnamdi Asomugha walk. But whatever - the point of this isn't to bash a Raiders team that I don't really care a lot about, it's to determine if Gallery would be a good fit in Philly.
In case you aren't aware of who Robert Gallery is, he was the star prospect of the 2004 class. You know, the one where Eli Manning said (and I'm paraphrasing), "I no yike the Chargers. Pease don't draft me. Dada says they stinky." Gallery was viewed as an absolute can't-miss 10-year star at left tackle in the NFL, but it didn't quite pan out that way. He played his first 2 seasons at RT, moved to LT his third year, and eventually moved inside to LG, where he has carved out a solid but certainly not spectacular NFL career.
The Pro's and Con's after the jump:
The Pro's:
- The Eagles like their guards to come from an offensive tackle background. Gallery obviously fits that description.
- As noted above, OG is a gaping need.
Neither a Pro nor Con:
- The hole on the Eagles line is at RG, not LG, where Gallery has played the past 4 seasons. I personally don't think that's an issue. If you can play, you can play. The more important question is, can Gallery play?
The Con's:
- He turns 31 years old in July.
- As the 2nd pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, his rookie contract was outrageous. It was a seven-year contract worth a potential $60,000,000 with a $18,000,000 signing bonus. This is a man that is used to making a lot of money. As noted above, he thinks he's worth $8 million per season, and I'm not sure ANY guard in the NFL is worth that much. Would he humble himself to make significantly less? And if he does take less than what he's used to, are you going to get maximum effort?
- Missed 10 games in 2009, 4 games in 2010.
I think in Gallery's case, the Cons, or rather the enormous Con (the money) far outweigh the Pros. Keep shopping.