The Linc – Adam Schefter weighs in on the “rumor” about the Eagles’ collapse

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 2/21/24.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Eagles Source Tells Adam Schefter that Nobody Slept with Someone Else’s Woman – Crossing Broad
Tuesday morning, Craig Carton went on his FS1 show and said this about the Eagles collapse: “I can tell you that it is a problem that would splinter any group of men. Any group of men. It is a real, significant problem and it cannot be fixed… I’m not gonna tell you any more than that. But I know what the problem was, I know they’re trying to fix it. And I don’t think it can be fixed. So it will be very interesting to see if a high-profile player is no longer with the Eagles going into this season.” Carton, who has a dubious track record with the truth, reiterated that he can’t tell us what actually happened, like a little kid saying “neener neener” to you in middle school. So fans and media have to decide whether he’s actually got something here or just being a humongous tool bag. Adam Schefter, who does a weekly appearance on John Kincade’s show, was asked about it this morning and said this: “I texted someone in the organization yesterday, and the text I got back was, ‘None of that ‘S’ happened.’” … “None of that shit happened,” but what exactly is the “shit?” Carton won’t tell us. There’s a rumor going around that someone slept with someone’s wife or girlfriend, so my guess, when I saw that Fanatic tweet, is that Schefter was telling us that allegations of infidelity are false.

Eagles sign former third-round pick to “the biggest future contract in the league” – BGN
TDP was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with a third-round pick (No. 93 overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft. He logged 34 carries as a rookie for 99 yards, a paltry 2.9 average. He saw just six rushes for 21 yards (3.5 average) in 2023. The 49ers cut him in early December and then immediately signed him to their practice squad after he cleared waivers. TDP ultimately found himself in a similar spot to Julian Okwara, who the Eagles signed last week. He could’ve signed a future contract with the team that drafted him (assuming an offer was on the table) but instead figured he might find a better path to playing time elsewhere. Though he’s struggled in regular season action, TDP has had some preseason success. His 23 carries went for 112 yards (4.9 average) in 2023. That was an improvement from 24 carries for 74 yards (3.1 average) as a rookie.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.152: What we don’t want to see each team do – BGN Radio
RJ Ochoa and Brandon Lee Gowton each share moves they don’t want opposing teams in the division to make this offseason.

Ty Davis-Price signs with the Eagles on a reserve/future contract – Niners Nation
Drafting TDP at the time was puzzling, and it’s the type of draft picks the team could get away with because they were winning — but it hurt their depth in the long run. One year after drafting Sermon in the same round, the Niners doubled down on a running back who played in a pre-dominant gap scheme. After selecting Aaron Banks in the second round the year prior, perhaps it was a sign that Kyle Shanahan was leaning into more of a man-to-man blocking scheme. But that never happened; TDP — despite hollowless offseason hype — never amounted to the running back the 49ers envisioned him to be. At the time of the draft, pundits had projected Davis-Price closer to the fifth round than the third. But some thought the Niners had a plan for him. He had an opportunity in Week 2 of his rookie season, suffered an injury, and never had double-digit carries for the rest of his career. His stint in San Francisco was brief.

Looking for Help – Iggles Blitz
Tyrion Davis-Price was a Top 10 RB coming out of high school. He went to LSU and had a solid career there. The Niners spent a third round pick on Davis-Price in 2022. Unfortunately he was only 40-120 in his two seasons out there. There is no question about his talent, but even going back to his time at LSU, Davis-Price has been an inconsistent player. The Eagles are taking a chance on someone who has ability, but also issues. RB is wide open right now. D’Andre Swift, Boston Scott and Rashaad Penny are all free agents. The team could bring back Swift, but we know they’ll address RB with some key resource. They would love to find cheap depth and that’s where Davis-Price has a chance. He will have to play better than he did in SF.

The 2024 NFL Quarterback Commitment Index – The Ringer
Hurts and the Eagles signed a quarter-billion-dollar extension after narrowly losing the Super Bowl last year, started 10-1 in 2023, and then won just one more game as they flamed out in one of the most epic playoff crashes in years. My Ringer Fantasy Football Show cohost Craig Horlbeck described this Eagles season as a delayed Super Bowl hangover: the kind where you wake up drunk, which fools you into thinking you don’t have a hangover, only for the hangover to set in at noon and then it’s the worst hangover you’ve ever had. That is essentially the diagnosis for this first year of marriage with the Eagles and Hurts. The relationship was way harder once they had truly committed, and only now can they look and see that there are serious issues they have to work through—like why can’t they have a downhill running game despite having an offensive line physical enough to do the tush push, or why was their offensive coordinator unprepared for blitzes against the legendary blitz-happy Todd Bowles in the playoffs, and why was Matt Patricia their de facto defensive coordinator when six years earlier the Eagles won the only Super Bowl title in team history largely because of Patricia’s incompetence as the Patriots DC? Right now, the Eagles are looking into counseling to stay together. Another year of this, and the Eagles will be researching divorce lawyers and dead cap hits on Hurts’s contract.

Five defensive free agents Eagles, Vic Fangio could target – ESPN
LB Josey Jewell, Broncos. Age: 29. Keeping with the Fangio theme, Jewell played under him for three seasons (2019-21) when Fangio was head coach in Denver. Considered a well-rounded player, Jewell had 453 tackles, nine sacks and seven fumble recoveries over six seasons in Denver. He has worn the green dot in recent seasons, responsible for relaying communication from the coaches and getting the unit lined up. The Eagles were a mess at linebacker last season. They paid the price for underinvesting at the position, especially with rookie Nakobe Dean sidelined for much of the year with foot injuries. Adding a veteran who could help keep the back seven in correct position could go a long way. [BLG Note: Long been a fan of Jewell, going back to his Iowa days.]

A 10-point offseason plan for Howie Roseman to fix the Eagles – NBCSP
2. Figure out Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat: This is a tricky contract situation because Reddick turns 30 in September, his production dropped this past year and he’s going to want top-10 edge rusher money, and top-10 edge rushers are getting $25 million a year. On paper, Reddick is a top-5 edge rusher. But especially in light of the way things played out with James Bradberry, does Roseman really want to pay top dollar for an older veteran? Roseman needs to determine how much of Reddick’s decline this past season was due to coaching staff issues and the way he was used and overall team malaise and how much was Reddick just being a year older? And how much do you want to pay a guy who hits 30 in September? The Eagles sure need to generate more pass pressure and I’m not sure how that happens without Reddick. Another complication is that Josh Sweat is also up after 2023, and while his production hasn’t matched Reddick’s, he’s three years younger and you’re always going to feel better handing over a ton of money to a guy who’s about to turn 27 than a guy who’s about to turn 30. But then we just watched Sweat go eight straight games without a sack. Is that really a guy the Eagles want to re-sign? It’s possible the Eagles will only be able to keep one of the two edge rushers. Sweat will be cheaper. Reddick is better. A lot to figure out here. But Reddick is still a top edge and needs to be paid like it.

Report: Titans hire Colt Anderson as special teams coordinator – Music City Miracles
Anderson played his college football at Montana.* He signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent following the 2009 NFL Draft. He spent a season and a half with the Vikings before the Philadelphia Eagles signed him off of their practice squad. He also had stints with the Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills. [BLG Note: Shout out to a former Eagles legend.]

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott could command around $60M per year in contract extension conversations – Blogging The Boys
It would stand to reason that the Cowboys, who are currently over the projected cap, would get this extension done prior to the beginning of free agency so that they can have enough space to add other players to their roster. But as noted, they have not exactly shown a history of being proactive when it comes to paying the most important player on their team. The clock is ticking.

Saquon Barkley to Dallas Cowboys? Ex-NFL GM suggests Jerry Jones as a suitor – Big Blue View
“This one’s easy. It’s the Dallas Cowboys,” Tannenbaum said when asked which team should pursue Barkley. “Tony Pollard was mildly disappointing replacing Zeke Elliott. His production went down by about 25 percent … “Trust me, the last thing the New York Giants want to see if Saquon Barkley graduates this year is him with a star on the side of his helmet. Can you imagine the first time Dallas rolls into town with Saquon as a Cowboy?” Tannenbaum said Barkley would be “perfect” for the Cowboys.

2024 NFL franchise tag primer: Candidates to watch while window is open – NFL.com
There’s no question the Giants are better with Barkley, but will they want to go through the franchise tag process with him again? He is 27 years old, just missed three games to injury, and his statistics were less impressive last season than in 2022. Barkley will have a market if he becomes a free agent, but first the RB’s representatives and the Giants are expected to talk during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. With the offense struggling so badly last season, can the G-Men afford to let their best playmaker go?

Mark Tyler’s 2024 Washington Commanders Pre-Combine Mock Offseason – Hogs Haven
Round 1. Drake Maye, QB, UNC – The gunslinger from North Carolina becomes the number two overall pick of the draft, and he’s inserted into Kliff Kingsbury’s Air-Raid offense (one he’s already familiar with) to lead the next decade of Commanders football. Round 2. Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU – The ultra-athletic Suamataia can play either right or left tackle. I have him projected to start off on the right side, but that could VERY quickly change.

6 NFL Draft Combine storylines that will shape the first round – SB Nation
As NFL free agency looms, the potential is there for a historic RB class of free agents. Players such as Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Tony Pollard, and Austin Ekeler are set to hit the market. How will that impact the rookie class? The league-wide trend has shifted towards relying on rookie running backs, given the punishment that goes into playing the position and the relative shelf lives of running backs in the NFL. But with a veteran class like the one listed above set to test the market, will that trend hold? Or will a running back from this draft class take a big step forward in Indianapolis? Some names to watch include Trey Benson from Florida State, Blake Corum from Michigan, Jonathon Brooks from Texas, and Bucky Irving from Oregon.

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