NFL Free Agency Rumors: Eagles still in play for Nolan Carroll

Despite signing two free agent cornerbacks this week, the Philadelphia Eagles still have interest in re-signing Nolan Carroll. Tim McManus reports the Birds are still in play for Carroll after he seemingly left his visit with the Dallas Cowboys without signing a contract.

Nolan Carroll's visit to Cowboys didn't end in signing contract, sounds like. Source says Eagles and Dolphins two teams in play.

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) March 12, 2016

McManus also notes that Miami, which is where Carroll began his NFL career, is also in the mix.

The Eagles reportedly tried working out a deal with Carroll before the official start of free agency but the two sides weren't close on agreeing to terms. The team clearly wants to avoid overpaying to keep him so they're letting him test the market to decide his value. The risk in this strategy is that they could lose him to another team. The reward in this strategy is that they can potentially drive his value down and keep him on a favorable deal. Players who are sitting on the market for a while typically don't get paid like the ones that multiple teams are eager to scoop up right away. There's less of a competitive bidding process.

It doesn't make sense for the Eagles to overpay for Carroll. He was solid for the team last season but he wasn't overly spectacular. He suffered a broken ankle in late November so he's coming off an injury. With that said, keeping him would solidify Philadelphia's cornerback depth. Right now it would seem Eric Rowe and veteran Leodis McKelvin are the team's starting cornerbacks. Carroll could potentially come back to be a starter alongside with Rowe.