justinevans
03/11/06, 08:19 AM
The NFL's free-agent period started at 12:01 a.m. today.
Honest, it really did.
Proof is at the NovaCare Complex this morning in the form of a 313-pound man the Eagles would literally like to make the centerpiece of their offensive line.
If things go as planned, unrestricted free agent LeCharles Bentley will be holding up an Eagles jersey for a photo opportunity by the end of the weekend after signing a lucrative long-term deal with the team. He is likely to get a signing bonus between $10 million and $12 million.
Bentley, considered one of the best centers in the NFL, is without question the Eagles' primary target in free agency because they believe they need to do a better job of protecting quarterback Donovan McNabb and, according to coach Andy Reid, they also plan to run the ball more often in 2006.
The Eagles also have plans to sign quarterback Jeff Garcia as the backup for McNabb after watching Mike McMahon and Koy Detmer struggle in that role last year.
Beyond that, it remains to be seen what the Eagles will do in free agency in an attempt to rebound from a dismal 6-10 season.
They will, of course, also rid themselves of wide receiver Terrell Owens. He is due a $5 million roster bonus Wednesday, and he'll either be traded or released by then.
Oddly, the extension of the NFL's collective-bargaining agreement Wednesday gave the Eagles considerably more cash to pursue this year's free-agent class, but it didn't really help their cause for 2006.
"It increased our cap space very dramatically," Eagles president Joe Banner said yesterday. "Obviously, the cap went up, and we are a huge amount under the cap right now."
The salary-cap figure for this season jumped from $94.5 million to $102 million with the CBA extension. The Eagles, after ridding themselves of Owens, figure to be more than $27 million under the cap.
"If you're talking from a cap perspective in the short term, this is actually worse for us," Banner said. "There will now be more bidders with more money and fewer players than there would have been otherwise.
"I don't want to get in trouble with the commissioner [Paul Tagliabue]. It's a good thing that this happened, but purely from the standpoint of building a team only for 2006, we lost some competitive advantage that we had positioned ourselves to have. That's not a complaint. We're still in great shape and we'll do what we want to do.
"But before, we had fewer teams that could bid, and even the ones that could bid couldn't be as aggressive. If you're a buyer, the perfect market is fewer bidders and lots of sellers."
Now, the Eagles will have to determine the value they want to put on players as they bid against other teams. Half of the NFL's 32 teams have $20 million or more of salary-cap room.
"You just don't know who is going to offer what prices for what person," Banner said. "We're still free to have enough cap room to pursue any of the things we want to pursue, but there is a greater chance that somebody could outbid us. It's not that we wouldn't have the money, but the value still has to be there. You still have to think about, 'What am I getting for what price?' It's not like there isn't another season after this year, so you don't want to do something totally crazy. But we can be aggressive."
Even if the Eagles add Bentley as the foundation of their offensive line, it's not clear what the rest of their offensive line will look like. Even with their expanded cash flow, the Eagles still had not made an attempt to re-sign offensive tackle Jon Runyan as of last night.
"Everything is still the same," Runyan said during his drive back from Bike Week in Daytona Beach, Fla. "I don't have any visits planned yet."
The Eagles could end up replacing Runyan by moving Shawn Andrews out to right tackle and inserting Todd Herremans at right guard.
Help also is needed along the defensive line after the Eagles' sack total fell from 47 in 2004 to 29 last season. The problem is finding a free agent who could single-handedly cure that problem.
"There isn't a guy who you can say is going to get 15 sacks out there," Banner said. "There isn't a guy who is going to be a Pro Bowl left tackle for the next 10 years. There's nothing in the market like that. There are good guys."
Banner mentioned defensive end John Abraham, who is on the trade market after receiving the franchise tag from the New York Jets last month. Denver, Atlanta and Cleveland are in the hottest pursuit of Abraham, whose acquisition will require at least a first-round pick in addition to a huge contract.
"It's an unusual year because a lot of teams knew what we were coming into, so they did even more locking up with their own guys," Banner said.
Bentley may be the best free agent on the market.
If the Eagles dip into the free-agent pool for help at defensive tackle, they are likely to pursue either Baltimore's Maake Kemoeatu, Seattle's Rocky Bernard or St. Louis' Ryan Pickett.
When the Eagles acquired Jevon Kearse in the free-agent market two years ago, they also showed interest in New Orleans' Darren Howard as a backup plan. Howard, however, is coming off a season-ending knee injury and recorded a career-low 31/2 sacks last season.
The Eagles likely will add a veteran running back and wide receiver via free agency, although it's obvious they are focused on upgrading their interior lines. Pittsburgh's Antwaan Randle-El, New England's David Givens, Seattle's Joe Jurevicius and Cleveland's Antonio Bryant are among the top talents.
At running back, the Eagles could have an interest in recently released Mike Anderson from the Denver Broncos and Baltimore's Chester Taylor.
Finally, the market is open.
Gentlemen, start your spending.
Honest, it really did.
Proof is at the NovaCare Complex this morning in the form of a 313-pound man the Eagles would literally like to make the centerpiece of their offensive line.
If things go as planned, unrestricted free agent LeCharles Bentley will be holding up an Eagles jersey for a photo opportunity by the end of the weekend after signing a lucrative long-term deal with the team. He is likely to get a signing bonus between $10 million and $12 million.
Bentley, considered one of the best centers in the NFL, is without question the Eagles' primary target in free agency because they believe they need to do a better job of protecting quarterback Donovan McNabb and, according to coach Andy Reid, they also plan to run the ball more often in 2006.
The Eagles also have plans to sign quarterback Jeff Garcia as the backup for McNabb after watching Mike McMahon and Koy Detmer struggle in that role last year.
Beyond that, it remains to be seen what the Eagles will do in free agency in an attempt to rebound from a dismal 6-10 season.
They will, of course, also rid themselves of wide receiver Terrell Owens. He is due a $5 million roster bonus Wednesday, and he'll either be traded or released by then.
Oddly, the extension of the NFL's collective-bargaining agreement Wednesday gave the Eagles considerably more cash to pursue this year's free-agent class, but it didn't really help their cause for 2006.
"It increased our cap space very dramatically," Eagles president Joe Banner said yesterday. "Obviously, the cap went up, and we are a huge amount under the cap right now."
The salary-cap figure for this season jumped from $94.5 million to $102 million with the CBA extension. The Eagles, after ridding themselves of Owens, figure to be more than $27 million under the cap.
"If you're talking from a cap perspective in the short term, this is actually worse for us," Banner said. "There will now be more bidders with more money and fewer players than there would have been otherwise.
"I don't want to get in trouble with the commissioner [Paul Tagliabue]. It's a good thing that this happened, but purely from the standpoint of building a team only for 2006, we lost some competitive advantage that we had positioned ourselves to have. That's not a complaint. We're still in great shape and we'll do what we want to do.
"But before, we had fewer teams that could bid, and even the ones that could bid couldn't be as aggressive. If you're a buyer, the perfect market is fewer bidders and lots of sellers."
Now, the Eagles will have to determine the value they want to put on players as they bid against other teams. Half of the NFL's 32 teams have $20 million or more of salary-cap room.
"You just don't know who is going to offer what prices for what person," Banner said. "We're still free to have enough cap room to pursue any of the things we want to pursue, but there is a greater chance that somebody could outbid us. It's not that we wouldn't have the money, but the value still has to be there. You still have to think about, 'What am I getting for what price?' It's not like there isn't another season after this year, so you don't want to do something totally crazy. But we can be aggressive."
Even if the Eagles add Bentley as the foundation of their offensive line, it's not clear what the rest of their offensive line will look like. Even with their expanded cash flow, the Eagles still had not made an attempt to re-sign offensive tackle Jon Runyan as of last night.
"Everything is still the same," Runyan said during his drive back from Bike Week in Daytona Beach, Fla. "I don't have any visits planned yet."
The Eagles could end up replacing Runyan by moving Shawn Andrews out to right tackle and inserting Todd Herremans at right guard.
Help also is needed along the defensive line after the Eagles' sack total fell from 47 in 2004 to 29 last season. The problem is finding a free agent who could single-handedly cure that problem.
"There isn't a guy who you can say is going to get 15 sacks out there," Banner said. "There isn't a guy who is going to be a Pro Bowl left tackle for the next 10 years. There's nothing in the market like that. There are good guys."
Banner mentioned defensive end John Abraham, who is on the trade market after receiving the franchise tag from the New York Jets last month. Denver, Atlanta and Cleveland are in the hottest pursuit of Abraham, whose acquisition will require at least a first-round pick in addition to a huge contract.
"It's an unusual year because a lot of teams knew what we were coming into, so they did even more locking up with their own guys," Banner said.
Bentley may be the best free agent on the market.
If the Eagles dip into the free-agent pool for help at defensive tackle, they are likely to pursue either Baltimore's Maake Kemoeatu, Seattle's Rocky Bernard or St. Louis' Ryan Pickett.
When the Eagles acquired Jevon Kearse in the free-agent market two years ago, they also showed interest in New Orleans' Darren Howard as a backup plan. Howard, however, is coming off a season-ending knee injury and recorded a career-low 31/2 sacks last season.
The Eagles likely will add a veteran running back and wide receiver via free agency, although it's obvious they are focused on upgrading their interior lines. Pittsburgh's Antwaan Randle-El, New England's David Givens, Seattle's Joe Jurevicius and Cleveland's Antonio Bryant are among the top talents.
At running back, the Eagles could have an interest in recently released Mike Anderson from the Denver Broncos and Baltimore's Chester Taylor.
Finally, the market is open.
Gentlemen, start your spending.