Eagles News: Darius Slay finishes outside the top 20 in NFL cornerback rankings

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Cornerback Rankings: The 32 best outside cornerbacks entering the 2021 NFL season - PFF
23. Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles. After profiling as one of the top cornerbacks in the league from 2014 to 2018, Slay has taken a noticeable step back the past two seasons. His PFF grade dropped from 90.0 from 2014 to 2018 in Detroit to just 59.5 across the last two years. It’s worth pointing out that Slay frequently draws the opposing team’s top receiving option in single coverage, and his 97 single coverage targets over the past two seasons is a top-five mark at the position. Slay will look to rebound under a new coaching staff and get back to making plays on the ball after ranking second in the league in forced incompletions (75) across his seven years in Detroit.

10 players the Eagles can least afford to lose to injury - PhillyVoice
10) CB Darius Slay. Slay followed opposing teams’ best wide receivers all season in 2020. In some games, he was good. In others, notably against the Packers and Seahawks, not so much. He also didn’t exactly live up to his “Big Play Slay” nickname, and he had just one INT (in garbage time in a Week 16 loss to Dallas), and just 6 pass breakups on the season. At this stage of his career, Slay is probably just a good-not-great starter, but he’s the only one they have at corner.

Eagles Rookie Profile: 6 things to know about Tarron Jackson - BGN
The realistic best-case scenario for Jackson’s rookie season is he makes the roster as the fifth defensive end behind Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, and Ryan Kerrigan. Thus, barring injuries to players ahead of him, he likely won’t be playing much in 2021. But with Graham the only one of those four players currently under contract beyond this season, there’s an opportunity for Jackson to contribute in the future. If he can eventually become a Vinny Curry-level player, that’d be a great outcome for where he was taken.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.7: Building an All-NFC East Defense - BGN Radio
We know that you loved the All-NFC East Offense episode, so it’s only right that Brandon Lee Gowton and RJ Ochoa build their All-NFC East defensive teams on this episode.

More Zach Ertz Speculation - Iggles Blitz
Zach Ertz is still an Eagle. Hopefully that will change soon, for his sake and the team’s. It is time for the two sides to part ways. Ertz is still an all-time great Eagle, but this team is rebuilding and he wants a new deal. The fit is no longer right. I know some people would love to see him stay and finish his career as an Eagle. That would be cool. It just isn’t realistic, in my mind. One of the big problems for last year’s team was agendas. Too many players and coaches focused on themselves, not the team. Carson Wentz had a chip on his shoulder because of Jalen Hurts being drafted. Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson knew they were in their final season playing for the Eagles. Jason Peters wanted to max out his final season with the team and pushed for every dollar he could get. Ertz wanted a new deal and wasn’t happy that it didn’t happen and the team didn’t even take his desire for one all that seriously. If the 2021 team wants to have a better season and get things going in the right direction, they need to get rid of agendas and have everyone come together as a team. I just don’t think keeping Ertz helps that situation at all. He would be a distraction. They have to move him.

Ranking the 16 worst NFL offseasons of 2021: Which teams struggled and didn’t improve? - ESPN+
22. What went wrong: Imagine telling an Eagles fan after they won the Super Bowl in February of 2018 that neither Doug Pederson nor Wentz would be involved with the organization three years later. Pederson was fired after his relationships with Wentz and owner Jeffrey Lurie fractured beyond repair, and Wentz was traded to Indy shortly thereafter. We’ll see how the moves work out, but two key positions that seemed solved for the Eagles for years to come are question marks yet again. Philly is eating a staggering $33.8 million in dead money on its 2021 cap as part of the Wentz trade, meaning that his ghost will have the second-largest cap hit of any player in football this season.

Source: Kerryon Johnson took pay cut after Eagles claimed him - NBCSP
The Eagles claimed Kerryon Johnson last month and quickly got him to agree to take a pay cut. Johnson’s restructured contract will now pay him the veteran minimum of $920,000 with a matching cap hit in 2021, according to a league source. When the Eagles claimed Johnson from the Lions, he was still on the final year of his rookie contract and had a base salary and cap hit of $1,366,869 million for the 2021 season. So this restructure saves the Eagles just over $446,000 in cap space. It’s still important to note that none of this money is guaranteed, so the former second-round running back from Auburn will still need to earn his spot on the Eagles’ 53-man roster. But with a minimal cap hit on this one-year deal, his chances might have improved.

Eagles excited to get it going with a rocking Lincoln Financial Field - PE.com
Something significant happened on Wednesday, and while it lasted for only a handful of minutes as the supply sold out quickly, the Eagles put single-game tickets on sale for the 2021 season at Lincoln Financial Field. It’s happening. It’s really happening. After a 2020 campaign during which only a few thousand fans were able to watch the Eagles live and in person, what is ahead of us promises to be real progress toward the life we’ve known. The fans are coming back – both to the regular-season games and to two public practice sessions at Lincoln Financial Field. That’s exciting for everyone, and it’s something not lost on the players. Maybe there were some in the league who didn’t quite appreciate the importance of the energy generated by the fans in the stands during the course of a game. If there were any doubts before 2020, there are none now.

Would trading for Zach Ertz strengthen the Colts’ TE group? - Stampede Blue
eeping all of these things in mind, I don’t think Indianapolis plans on making a move toward acquiring Ertz. Sure, reuniting him with QB Carson Wentz would make for one heck of a story and would be enjoyable to watch, too. Wentz even had a ton of success in two-tight end sets under Reich in 2017. In fact, Ertz was one of Wentz’s primary targets in both ‘17 and ‘18, catching a grand total of 190 passes for 2,037 yards and 16 touchdowns, per pro football reference. I believe that, going into the offseason, the Colts’ plan was to get younger at tight end and to find more of a playmaker who can stretch the field vertically. The team now has that in Granson, they’re still very high on Alie-Cox’s capabilities, and I don’t imagine the Colts plan on letting Doyle walk out the door either. So, while making a move for the three-time Pro Bowler would certainly be interesting, I don’t believe acquiring Ertz would strengthen Indy’s current tight end group.

Raiders agree to terms with Alex Ellis - PFT
Ellis, 28, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Titans in 2016. He has played games for the Jaguars, Chiefs and Eagles.

How many Dallas Cowboys would make an All-NFC East defense? - Blogging The Boys
When you consider the current state of the NFC East there aren’t exactly a great number of things to place in the elite category. There is a belief that the Dallas Cowboys offense has the potential to be among the best in the entire National Football League, and given that we live in offensive times that is certainly a very good thing. Defense has been a rough go for the Cowboys, though, which is why the team made an effort to improve it over the offseason. One squad that has already made a number of adjustments to the point of having one of the best defenses in the league is the Washington Football Team.

Off Day Debrief #39: Where will Julio go + Best bet for Coach of Year + defending Lamar Jackson - The SB Nation NFL Show
Rob “Stats” Guerrera and Brandon Lee Gowton speculate about two big names that could find new homes this week, make their best bets for Coach of the Year, and argue with Kyle Barber of Baltimore Beatdown about the future of Lamar Jackson. Is any team a Julio Jones away from being a Super Bowl contender? Why Philly is being stubborn about Zach Ertz? Kyle Barber trips us for our Lamar Jackson criticism. Why the favorite for Coach of the Year is the worst bet you can make.

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