Eagles News: NFL executive believes Philly is in the driver’s seat for eventual Russell Wilson trade

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NFL free agency wins, losses and questions for all 32 teams: Execs on Pats and Giants’ spending, Bucs’ strategy, more - The Athletic
“All they’re doing is stockpiling picks for next year, so they can get weapons for Jalen Hurts or acquire one of the top two overall picks to draft a quarterback,” an exec said. “And I would put Philly in the driver’s seat for Russell Wilson next year if Seattle moves him. That would have Howie Roseman written all over it.” Roseman, the Eagles’ GM, has not hesitated making expensive trades up the draft board to select a quarterback. He also hasn’t hesitated paying large salaries at the position, whether for Sam Bradford, Carson Wentz or even backups. As for free agency this year, say hello to safety Anthony Harris and backup quarterback Joe Flacco. The latter signing confounded execs. Some backup quarterbacks provide upside for the future. Some serve as mentors for younger starters. Some are natural fill-ins because their playing styles mirror the styles of the men ahead of them on the depth chart. Flacco, who publicly declared his intention was to compete for playing time instead of serving as a mentor to the inexperienced Hurts, checks none of these boxes. “It makes zero sense,” an evaluator said.

Todd McShay’s latest mock draft has two picks for the Eagles - BGN
On the bright side, there’s a sense of relief to be had with neither Chase nor Pitts being available at No. 6. Losing out on both the next two wide receivers and top two cornerbacks isn’t fun, though. The Eagles are realistically left to choose from Parsons, Penei Sewell, Rashawn Slater, and [enter top defensive line prospect here]. At that point, who would be surprised to see an organization that prioritizes building through the trenches taking another lineman? Ultimately, this mock portrays just one scenario and it’s quite possible it doesn’t play out this way. But this scenario doesn’t do much to leave one thrilled with Philly’s trade down to No. 12. Unless you’re a big Sewell fan, I suppose. I’m not as keen on going offensive tackle in the first round.

Special: Get to Know Raichele Privett‪e‬ - BGN Radio
Michael Kist, a very familiar voice rejoins the show to pass the torch to BGN’s newest staff member Raichele Privette. Raichele shares her current Eagles takes on Jalen Hurts and the ‘New Era’ of the franchise and also shares her interests outside of sports.

Eagles player review: Joe Flacco edition - PhillyVoice
Obviously, the Eagles saw something they liked from Flacco that caused them to pay him significantly more than it would have cost to sign a veteran on a near-minimum deal for a guy like Mike Glennon, or Matt Barkley, or simply re-signing Nate Sudfeld for next to nothing, or (fill in any other still-available quarterback here). I tried to see it. I don’t see it. Flacco made some nice throws against the Patriots, but they were far more the exception than the norm in his four games in 2020. After reviewing Flacco’s actual play, it was worse than the stats would indicate, and it’s confounding how the Eagles felt that he what he showed in 2020 — not to mention the fact that he’s also now a year older — was worth a 224 percent raise in pay.

2021 NFC East Team Needs and Prospect Fits - Rotoworld
2. Receiver (or Kyle Pitts). Jalen Reagor profiles as a No. 2 or No. 3 receiver in the NFL, and 2019 sixth-rounder Travis Fulgham was benched down the stretch last year for players who were released this offseason. The Eagles’ next alpha receiver isn’t on the roster. Whether that’s a stereotypical X receiver or a speedster doesn’t matter because everything is being reset.

Where are they now? DT Hollis Thomas - PE.com
Hollis Thomas may have been born in Texas, raised in Missouri, and went to college in Illinois, but the moment he signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 1996, he became one of Philly’s native sons. A 6-foot, 300-pound defensive tackle, Thomas’ goal while at Northern Illinois was to play in the NFL. But when teams didn’t come to him, he went to them. “My agent at the time said, ‘Put a little highlight reel together and send it to all 30 teams,’” Thomas says. “I got the audio-visual department to make me one. It wasn’t too long and it wasn’t too short. I was just trying to give them pretty much a highlight of what I do in games.

T.Y. Hilton: New Colts QB Carson Wentz Has Some ‘Andrew Luck Traits’ - Stampede Blue
Now, expectations should be tempered before labeling ‘Wentz as Luck,’ as those are lofty expectations, and aren’t fair for either him or #12—as Wentz just needs to be his best self. However, regarding the ability to escape pressure, extend plays outside of the tackles, and improvise when the passing pocket breaks down, there are some definite similarities in overall playing style between the two quarterbacks. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Wentz was compared a bit to Luck as a top quarterback prospect, coming out of North Dakota State in 2016.

NFL Free Agency: Washington signs WR/KR DeAndre Carter - Hogs Haven
The Washington Football Team announced their latest signing in free agency. They have signed another WR who has experience returning kicks/punts. DeAndre Carter has officially joined the team on a 1-year deal, and gives them more options on special teams. Washington also signed Adam Humphries who has experience returning kicks, but he said that wasn’t discussed when he was signed. Carter was an undrafted free agent from Sacramento State who signed with the Baltimore Ravens after the 2015 NFL draft. He bounced around with 4 teams before making the Philadelphia Eagles final roster in 2018. [BLG Note: The DeAndre Carter revenge game cometh.]

Ravens re-sign ILB L.J. Fort to one-year deal - Baltimore Beatdown
Despite playing in a rotational role with 2020 third-round pick, Malik Harrison, Fort was arguably the Ravens’ best inside linebacker last season. He was certainly their most consistent and well-rounded player at the position, excelling in both pass coverage and run defense. He appeared in 16 games in 2020, including the playoffs, and made eight regular-season starts and one in the postseason. In the regular season, he recorded 53 total tackles, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, forced a fumble, recovered a pair of fumbles — one of which he returned 24 yards for a score, and deflected two passes. Fort will continue to be the veteran leader and stabilizing presence in a very young position group for the Ravens for at least one more season. He was a reliable resource to Harrison and 2020 first-round pick, Patrick Queen, as rookies both in the locker room as well as on the field. Even if his defensive snaps get reduced as the second-year pros develop, he’ll still provide quality depth on defense and play a big role on special teams.

Falcons re-sign DE Steven Means, add DT Jonathan Bullard - The Falcoholic
The Falcons wound up relying pretty heavily on Steven Means in 2020. Coming off a major injury that cost him the 2019 season, Means rebounded in a major way last year, playing in 16 games, starting 11, and piling up the third-highest sack total and fifth-largest number of pressures on the team. A sturdy run defender and quality special teamer, Means clocked 59% of the defensive snaps and 29% of the special teams snaps in 2020, and proved to be at worst a capable player for a defensive line starved for them. After all this time, I sort of assumed the new regime would not be re-signing Means. Fortunately, I was mistaken, as the team announced today that they’re bringing him back and adding defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard. I wrote earlier today that the team’s need for defensive linemen with at least some pass rushing acumen was an acute need indeed, and while these two signings hardly fix that, Means in particular will help round out what’s likely to be a heavy rotation at defensive end. [BLG Note: Former Eagles DE staying in Atlanta. Also, the Falcons signed former Eagles OL Josh Andrews.]

Jordan Hicks takes paycut to save cap space in 2021 - Revenge Of The Birds
It started with Justin Pugh, now the avalanche of restructures and money clearing has continued. Earlier today we found that Rodney Hudson had restructured his contract, saving the Cardinals quite a bit in 2021. Now, according to Chuck Harris, the Cardinals have given Jordan Hicks a paycut, saving an additional $3.5 million in cap space.

Determining the best non-Cowboys place for star Florida tight end Kyle Pitts - Blogging The Boys
The Dolphins picked up San Francisco’s 2022 first-round pick in their initial trade, but they sent their own 2022 first-rounder to the Eagles when they jumped back up to number six. Obviously the better that the Dolphins are this season the worse off that Eagles pick will be which is why a reinvigorated Miami offense by way of Kyle Pitts sounds like a great idea if he isn’t calling The Star at Frisco his new home.

Prospect of the week: Kyle Pitts is a “unicorn,” but could he be a Giant? - Big Blue View
The 6-foot-6, 245-pound Florida hybrid tight end just might be that unicorn. Even with Golladay ... and Evan Engram ... and Kyle Rudolph ... and Sterling Shepard ... and Darius Slayton could the Giants pass up an opportunity to select the most unique pass catcher in the 2021 NFL Draft? Florida coach Dan Mullen talked ... and talked ... and talked some more when asked after Florida’s Pro Day on Wednesday about what Pitts can do for an offense. “His ability to create matchup problems. I think he’s an elite wide receiver and I think he’s an elite tight end, and when you’re that that’s what causes the problem of what personnel grouping you’re in, who you’re going to match up against him,” Mullen said. “The only way you can defend a unicorn is with another unicorn. So, if you don’t have a unicorn on defense you’ve got a problem.”

NFL players union says it doesn’t see a reason to rush back into team facilities this spring - Inquirer
The union feels injury rates were lower because of the reduced time spent on the field, and the cancellation of the preseason. The NFL intends to have a preseason this year, though with the added regular-season game there can be no more than three preseason games instead of the previous four, as per the 2020 CBA. “I think the data overwhelmingly shows that perhaps the most dangerous place to be if you’re a veteran player is in an offseason program,” Smith said. Tretter said the union is “following the science,” in advocating for the same precautions as were put in place a year ago, as medical experts warn of another COVID surge.

More video review among potential NFL rule changes - ESPN
The NFL’s competition committee has endorsed six potential rule changes for the 2021 season, including a proposal that would expand the scope of information that replay officials could provide to on-field officiating crews during games. The change would fall well short of calls for adding an eighth official, sometimes known as a sky judge, but would give referees a new resource to help make accurate calls without needing a formal review.

NFL Daily Kickoff, Friday - Jersey numbers changing?! | The Falcons will play in London in 202‪1‬ - The SB Nation NFL Show
The third week of free agency is coming to a close and while players are changing uniforms one team in the NFL wants to see what they can put on those uniforms change as well! Confused? Don’t worry, RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) is here to catch you up on everything going on in the National Football League.

James Cigarettes walks it off: Phillies 3, Braves 2 - The Good Phight
Harper began the bottom of the tenth on second. Bohm moved him over to third on a ground out. Braves reliever Nate Jones elected to intentionally walk Gregorius to pitch to Jean Segura. Well, Segura took that personally. James Cigarettes singled to score Harper. BOOM. PHILS WIN. 162-0 STILL IN PLAY. [BLG Note: Make sure you’re following along with our friends over at TGP now that baseball is back!]

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