Eagles News: Kobe Bryant shared a funny anecdote about Nick Foles

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Four Downs: Everyone stays in their lane - BGN
Earlier in the week I noted that the Eagles are, far and away, having the best offseason of the division. That guarantees nothing, but there’s little reason to believe that the Eagles aren’t the best team in the division. I sat on it for a couple of days because I figured a division rival would do something stupid. I should have waited a bit longer, because later that same day the Redskins signed Ereck Flowers. I am laughing as I type that. Not to some minimal signing bonus, non-guaranteed contract in a “hey this guy was a first rounder and we’ve got a pretty good position coach what’s the harm” type of deal. That would be defensible. No, they gave him a $3 million one year contract and guaranteed half of it. For a guy who couldn’t cut it on two 5-11 teams last year. They did sign another former first rounder to a no guaranteed money deal though: Marcus Smith. Yes, that Marcus Smith. If the Cowboys had a 1st round bust they’d probably have signed him too, though there’s still time to trade for Taco Charlton.

NFC East free agency grades: Eagles edition - PhillyVoice
Part of the reason Michael Bennett was traded was because his personality clashed with some in the organization, I’m told, and apparently he graded out poorly against the run.

Josh Jacobs - Iggles Blitz
Obviously you can’t say for sure what the Eagles should do since we don’t know who will be on the board. I like Jacobs quite a bit, but if a uniquely talented DT like Ed Oliver is somehow there, I’m taking Oliver without a doubt. Then again, we don’t even know if Jacobs will be on the board at 25. Daniel Jeremiah had him rated seventh in his latest Top 50 rankings. I don’t see Jacobs going before 25, but never say never. Teams down in the 20’s can do some crazy things at times. I do think the Eagles have to strongly consider Jacobs if he is on the board. Normally I’m not a big believer in taking RBs in the first round, but Jacobs is an interesting case. He is 220 pounds and a tough, physical runner. He’s also a gifted receiver.

Lawlor: How do Eagles stack up in new-look NFC East? - PE.com
You can argue that the Giants were adding resources as they try to rebuild. OK, there is logic to that. Their roster needs help. There is one big problem, though. They kept 38-year-old Eli Manning around. He is not part of the future. The Giants think they are doing the right thing by keeping their veteran quarterback and two-time Super Bowl winner around. They think he can help young players develop while giving the team a chance to win games. It should be noted that in the last six years, the Giants and Manning have one winning season. The Giants also traded their best pass rusher, Olivier Vernon, and let their best defensive back, Landon Collins, walk in free agency. Again, the goal is to add talent, not lose it.

When the NFL Gives Away Draft Picks, You Better Take Them - Sharp Football
It’s no surprise that two of the smartest teams over the last decade at understanding how to build winning rosters (Bill Belichick and Ozzie Newsome) are at the top of this list. It’s also no surprise that when you look back at the last 5 teams that have won a Super Bowl (New England, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle and Baltimore) that 4 of the 5 teams dominated the comp pick process. The lone team that did not (Philadelphia) didn’t receive comp picks from 2015-2018. (Note that Howie Roseman didn’t reassume control from Chip Kelly until 2016, and needed to take some time to settle the roster.) By letting 2018 free agents walk, they received 2 comp picks in the 2019 draft and by letting 2019 free agents walk, they are set up to receive the #1 most draft value from the 2020 comp picks. Now that the roster is more settled, Roseman clearly appears to be focused on exploiting this rule when possible.

Eagles Mailbag: Faith in Nate Sudfeld, Vinny Curry signing, spreading it around - NBCSP
I got a few questions about Nate Sudfeld this week and I certainly understand why. He’s now the Eagles’ backup quarterback and Carson Wentz has finished the last two seasons on the shelf. I think there are legitimate reasons for concern. From the time the Eagles got Sudfeld, I thought he was a possible QB2. The problem here is that he is unproven; we haven’t seen much of him outside of summer practices and minimal game action. It’s somewhat of a gamble for a team with Super Bowl aspirations to go into a season with an unproven backup, especially because of Wentz’s injury history. But, to be clear, I like what I’ve seen from Sudfeld. He seems to be pretty athletic and has a big arm. The Eagles have shown how much they like him at every turn. This is one of those situations where I’m skeptical, but just kind of trust their evaluation.

The Bizarre Path of the NFL Draft’s Most Unlikely Sleeper - MMQB
He got good enough to warrant interest college programs, but Liggins wasn’t interested in playing college football, instead looking into a military career. That summer he had a change of heart. Rather than reaching out to big-time programs he called the coach at NAIA Dickinson State, in Dickinson, North Dakota, one of the only schools that haddn’t harassed him for initially not wanting to play college football. He ended up becoming the school’s best defensive player. Now, the cornerback is a hidden NFL draft gem in the process of being unearthed. From a training facility in Mesquite, Texas, where he’s currently working out, he’s already talked to more than a dozen NFL teams, including the Jaguars, Broncos, Chiefs, Eagles, Bills, Saints, Ravens, Cardinals, Buccaneers and Browns, despite not attending a single all star or bowl game. The 6’ 2”, 205-pound Liggins was receiving some heavy interest from one NFC West team, so much so that the team sent him their playbook so he could get acclimated to it.

In injury-shortened pro day, Delaware safety Nasir Adderley impresses in front of Eagles personnel - PennLive
Adderley jumped 38 inches in the vertical leap, posted 19 reps in the bench press and covered 10 feet, 9 inches in the broad jump. He pulled his hamstring during the 40-yard dash, but Delaware said he ran 4.54 seconds. He also checked in at a shade under 6 feet tall and 203 pounds. Eagles safeties coach Tim Hauck was among the representatives from Adderley’s hometown team at Delaware’s athletic facilities Friday. There were scouts and coaches from many other teams, too, like Detroit Lions defensive backs coach Brian Stewart and Oakland Raiders scout Raleigh McKenzie.

Former Eagles TE Clay Harbor eyeing NFL comeback | ‘I still have a passion for the game’ - NJ.com
At this point last year, Harbor was a contestant on “The Bachelorette”. He was coming off a lost season with the New Orleans Saints, as he spent the entire campaign on injured reserve with a wrist injury. Ironically, Harbor re-injured his left wrist while playing football during the taping of the reality show. He tore a ligament in the wrist, forcing him to rehab the injury as NFL teams entered their offseason programs. Despite his ailment, Harbor received interest from a few teams prior to training camp. His first visit was with the Buffalo Bills. Harbor suffered a minor abdominal injury during the workout in Buffalo, so the Bills passed on signing him. Due to the new injury, Harbor was unable to work out elsewhere and spent the rest of the season unemployed.

Right or wrong Giants GM Dave Gettleman is doing what should have been expected - Big Blue View
Angry. Confused. Disappointed. Anguished. Frustrated. Resigned. Bitter. Disillusioned. Whatever word or words you want to use to describe them, I have been thinking a lot about the emotional state of many New York Giants fans recently, especially in the wake of the organization’s decision to send Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns. Many in the media haven’t helped, with their poison pens turned menacingly in the direction of Dave Gettleman, who some might think of as the crazy old man in charge of making personnel decisions for the Giants.

Cowboys free agency: George Iloka set to sign with Dallas Cowboys - Blogging The Boys
Safety was one of the biggest needs that Dallas was facing when the offseason began. Bringing in Iloka hardly prohibits them from still drafting one, or even signing another in free agency, but it does lessen the need to a degree. This is a great move to give the Cowboys options at places where they need them.

The statistical argument for trading down in the draft - Hogs Haven
In the first two rounds, trade back: The general rule of thumb from this analysis is that teams with first round or early second-round picks should be happy to trade down in the draft if the terms of the trade reflect the NFL Trade Value Chart, and that teams holding picks in the middle rounds (3 - 6) should be hesitant about trading them away to move into the top-50 if the terms of the trade are based on the Chart.

Nick Foles gets more than $45 million fully guaranteed at signing - PFT
Without per-game roster bonuses, the deal has a base value of $85 million over four years ($21.25 million per year). If he’s on the 46-man roster for all 64 regular-season games, the deal becomes worth $87 million ($21.75 million). The maximum value of the deal (if he earns all incentives, an extreme long shot) is $101 million. The practical guarantee is $50.125 million because the Jaguars can avoid the $5 million roster bonus only by cutting him after one season, which would mean that he will have received $45.125 million for one year with the team. Which surely won’t happen, even though the Jags cut quarterback Blake Bortles after only one year of his most recent deal.

Why the NFL proposed replay rule modifications, and what happens now - ESPN
It’s true. After months of discussion and debate, the NFL’s competition committee has no answer for the officiating mistake that marred last season’s NFC Championship Game. There apparently will be no safety net in 2019 if and when two highly graded officials fail to penalize an obvious pass interference foul happening a few feet away. This is maddening and begs for future trouble. But while the committee is punting on that specific problem, it has nevertheless proposed an unprecedented rule change that would address some of the highest-impact officiating mistakes of recent years. If approved -- and to be frank, it will be a tough hurdle -- the league would add pass interference fouls to its list of reviewable plays for one season. The proposal would represent a massive shift in philosophy in its own right, and more importantly, would address a type of mistake that affects the outcome of games more than any other penalty.

10 dominoes that could fall if the Cardinals draft Kyler Murray - SB Nation
So what happens if he is? Murray’s selection at the top of next month’s draft wouldn’t just impact the Cardinals, it would affect the plans of every team looking for a franchise passer in 2019. It would also push Josh Rosen out of his position as Arizona’s budding young starting quarterback and onto the trading block. Here’s how that could look, given what we know about teams’ draft needs and current assets so far.

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