You've been waiting all offseason for news on the Eagles plan at LB. Here it is. They've reportedly traded for 2X pro bowler DeMeco Ryans from the Texans. In return, the Texans will get what Jay Glazer reported only as a "mid rounder."
[Note by JasonB, 03/20/12 7:29 PM EDT ] The deal was for a fourth round pick and the teams have swapped third rounders. Eagles go from the 77th pick in the 3rd to the 89th. All 2012 picks.
Ryans broke out early in his career as a MIKE in a 4-3, but has struggled since being moved to the weakside in the Texans 3-4. He's an ideal fit for what the Eagles need, plus he was a team captain for the Texans. So he'll provide much needed veteran leadership as well as a much higher level of play at the position.
He's making a lot of money over the next four years (between 5.9 to 6.8 million), but none of it is guaranteed.
Anyway you slice it, this seems to be a very good deal for the Eagles. Going from Casey Matthews/Jamar Chaney etc in the middle to a two time pro bowler is the most dramatic upgrade they'll make all offseason. And once again, like the Nnamdi deal last year, not a peep was heard about this until the minute they came down.
This not only dramatically upgrades the LB unit, but also completely opens up the draft. At this point, there's really not a glaringly obvious position the team needs help at (well, the other 2 LB spots, but I'm not sure that there's top 15 worthy guys in this draft at those spots). They can be free to truly go best player available.