Eagles News: Philadelphia meets with one of top ranked running back prospects at the NFL Combine

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Eagles meet with Iowa State’s David Montgomery at NFL Combine | How would he fit in the offense? - NJ.com
The Eagles are monitoring the running back draft class at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and have already begun meeting with top prospects at the position. The Eagles formally met with Iowa State running back David Montgomery, a person familiar with the situation told NJ Advance Media.

Giants reportedly “very interested” in Nick Foles - BGN
The New York Giants are “very interested” in impending free agent quarterback Nick Foles, according to a report from Tony Pauline.

At the Podium: NFL Combine Edition - BGN Radio
At the Podium is BACK with fresh press conferences from the NFL Combine! First up, Howie Roseman drops a news bomb regarding Nick Foles followed by Doug Pederson fielding questions about Carson Wentz, Jason Peters, Darren Sproles and others!

Eagles can’t afford to lose Brandon Graham, but can they afford him? - ESPN
It’s not the easiest of calls. Graham, 30, was slowed by injury in 2018 and managed only four sacks, but posted a career-high 9.5 sacks the year prior to help fuel Philly’s title run. Traditional numbers suggest he’s not a top-tier player -- he has averaged five sacks per season over his nine-year career -- but a deeper dive reveals his impact. He has 145 QB pressures over the past three years, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, which ranks 10th among edge rushers in that span. And though he was limited last season, the Eagles got pressure on the quarterback 29 percent of the time with Graham on the field compared with 24 percent with Graham off the field, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Examining the Eagles’ quarterback situation beyond Carson Wentz, after Nick Foles’ exit - PhillyVoice
Expect Sudfeld to be Wentz’s primary backup, with the team adding a third young quarterback either in the draft or by some other means.

NFL combine: Translating GM comments on Odell Beckham, Eli Manning, Nick Foles, Josh Rosen, Derek Carr and more - CBS Sports
Eagles GM Howie Roseman on Nick Foles: “We’ve decided to let Nick become a free agent.” Translation: Besides Jacksonville, we didn’t have much of a trade market, if any, and no teams really bidding. And if we placed that $25 million franchise tag on Foles, he’d sign it ASAP and we might be stuck with a backup making piles more than our starter. Too risky. Once Denver traded for Joe Flacco, we were stuck. Besides, we’ll get a decent comp pick for him, and we can put the money we’ve been paying Foles into someone like Antonio Brown. Heck, he wouldn’t even have to leave Pennsylvania.

Why Jacksonville Is the Best Team for Nick Foles - MMQB
Of course, all three of those options compete in the AFC with the Jaguars (and the Texans share a conference), so they may not be too eager to save Jacksonville from their mistake to make room for the Super Bowl MVP. No matter, Jacksonville has to find a way. Tom Coughlin should know he can’t win with Bortles and a defense with greatness potential is being wasted with every game he goes back under center. With Denver out of the running, Foles and Jacksonville should be a fait accompli.

QB puzzle far from complete after Nick Foles news - PE.com
Roseman said the Eagles don’t assign numbers to the quarterback depth chart, meaning the goal is to develop the entire position and make starters out of all three (or four) players. In other words, the Eagles aren’t looking at a No. 3 quarterback as a thrower who has a low ceiling. They want a starting-caliber quarterback all the way through the depth chart. So, what do the Eagles do here? They’ve got eight draft picks, including three among the first 57 picks. Could the team invest one of those in a quarterback? It would be a bit of a shocker – OK, maybe more than a shocker – but if the Eagles really want to bring a young quarterback on board, they’ll have their chances in the first two days of the draft. If not, maybe the Eagles use a later-round pick on the position. The Eagles can also add another quarterback via the free agent market. There are expected to be some attractive veterans available, notably Teddy Bridgewater, Tyrod Taylor, and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

What Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson said at the NFL combine, and what they really meant - The Athletic
What we think they meant: “Have you seen Jason Peters? You tell him he’s not playing for us in 2019!” Earlier this week, former team president Joe Banner suggested that the most likely scenario with Peters is a contract restructure. His current cap hit if the Eagles exercised the option would be $13.2 million. The Eagles could try to get Peters to restructure his deal and include more incentives tied to in-game roster bonuses. Or they could just let him play on his current deal. Either way, it did not sound like they are preparing to move on and hand the job over to Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Jordan Mailata or Matt Pryor. We’ll see if anything changes in the weeks ahead, but the expectation here is that Peters is the projected starting left tackle. The Eagles have to pick up his option or restructure by March 13, or he will become a free agent.

Combine Team Pressers: Philadelphia Eagles Takeaways - The Draft Network
Honestly, very few questions were got in edgewise about the draft. The primary brunt of them focused around the running back position, where the Eagles have deployed a committee-based approach for multiple seasons with varying degrees of success. Pederson declared that there’s “more than one way to skin a cat,” when it comes to building the RB room -- when he was asked if the Eagles preferred a veteran option or a rookie to add to the stables, he simply said “Yes.” There were also questions around a deep threat, which Doug admitted would open up the offense a little bit more -- though he’s wary of the mouths to feed with targets, as that presented a problem last season.

12 players with something to prove at 2019 NFL Scouting Combine - NBCSP
OT Tytus Howard, Alabama State: Another small school guy, Howard took the first step to proving himself at the Senior Bowl against other top-notch competition. At 6-6, 311 pounds, he has all the physical attributes wanted in a top offensive tackle. If he adds a good combine to his Senior Bowl, Howard could hear his name called in the first few rounds.

Nick Foles will become a free agent - Big Cat Country
Now that Foles will be an unrestricted free agent however, I would expect the Jaguars to have a non-zero sum of interest in the quarterback. It is likely the Jaguars will have a certain price point they don’t want to go past and the good news is it would seem the market for Foles is steadily deflating after teams like the Denver Broncos traded for Joe Flacco and the New York Giants kind of pseudo-committed to Eli Manning in 2019.

Eli Manning will be Giants’ starting quarterback in 2019 - Big Blue View
Now that we know that Eli will be the Giants’ starting quarterback when the season begins, the next question will be whether there will be a highly-drafted heir apparent breathing down his neck when the season begins. We will just have to wait a few more weeks to find out the answer to that part of the question.

Free agent wide receiver Golden Tate “would love” to play alongside Patriots quarterback Tom Brady - Pats Pulpit
“I would love it. I would love it,” said Tate before speaking about the Patriots franchise as a whole. “That organization, they have proven to be champions year-in and year-out. They work hard for sure, but you know where you’re going to be at the end of the season: you’re going to be not only looking at the playoffs, but you’re looking at maybe a first-round bye with this team. You gotta admire that organization, they do things right, they’ve been doing it for a long, long, long time. I would definitely love being a part of something like that and catch a few passes from old Tommy Boy,” Tate continued. “Julian [Edelman] is a buddy of mine, I’m really good buddies with him. I’ve heard good things from Kyle Van Noy, who got traded from Detroit and went there and has just been balling out since. It’s, as I said, a great organization. I definitely would not mind going over there for sure.”

It’s Officially Time to Speculate About Where Nick Foles Could Sign - The Ringer
If Foles is looking to maximize his salary, Jacksonville is not the place for him. But if Foles will settle for a lesser financial deal, the Jaguars are almost certainly the team best suited to win a Super Bowl with him onboard. In 2018, they nearly toppled the Patriots in the AFC title game, and the core of the team’s dominant defense remains. The team has also improved its offensive line and boasts good skill players. Foles was able to spark a debate over whether the Eagles should keep him or Carson Wentz, so he should have no problem persuading the Jaguars he’s better than Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler. It might not be fair to expect Foles to sacrifice salary again—having already done so in order to stay with the Eagles after they won the Super Bowl—but it’s hard to believe any other team would offer a better football opportunity than Jacksonville.

NFL Offseason Guide 2019 - SB Nation
The NFL offseason is in full swing, with all the speculation about free agents, draft picks, and how teams can and should bolster their rosters. Good thing for you, dear reader, we’ve put it all in one place — free agent rankings, mock drafts, player scouting reports by Stephen White, and team needs via Bill Connelly’s advanced metrics — that we’ll be updating from the combine through the 2019 NFL Draft. Check back often to track player signings, as well as complete coverage and team-by-team analysis of how roster moves will set up the 2019 season.

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