McCoy jukes Uconn's Tyvon Branch, now an NFL safety.


The Philadelphia Eagles signed rookie running back LeSean McCoy to a contract yesterday. As of now, all we know is that the contract is four years but the dollar amount is unknown.

Either way, this is a good signing, and a good time to do it. He's locked up a good three weeks before training camp is slated to begin, so now he can simply focus on football and nothing more.

"I think he can do the same types of things that Brian can do," said Eagles' general manager Tom Heckert. "We think he's an all-around player and we think he can step right in and help us out. He's a great receiver out of the backfield. You can spread him out and he can also run the ball in between the tackles. It's not fair to him to say he's just a change of pace guy, that he's not a full-time player. He's proven that he can be durable enough to carry the football in major competition."

The Eagles feel like McCoy can take over for Westbrook full time in a couple years, so they want him to be as ready as possible right from day one.

McCoy is extremely young at only 20 years old, so he could play for ten years before even having to worry about that dreaded age where all running backs take a dive.

You know, the age that Westbrook has recently hit.

McCoy is clearly slated in as the starter here for years to come, so this year and this training camp may be the most important for his career and for the future of the Eagles' running game for the next decade.

In other running back news, Edgerrin James is rumored to be on the Eagles' radar if things with Westbrook's injury were to take a bad turn.

There are evidently other teams taking a look at Edge, but most believe that the Eagles are the most likely suitor for the veteran running back.

While Edge is also over that dreaded age, he has proved to be much more reliable than Westbrook as far as injuries go, and as a stop-gap until McCoy is ready and Westbrook is healthy, Edge would be a fantastic addition.

The Eagles have also been rumored to have interest in Warrick Dunn, which just makes sense considering he's the closest thing to Westbrook that's available.

Will they sign a running back? For my money, I would think that they will not because that's just not what the Eagles do. They won't carry four running backs all year just for a guy who can fill in for two weeks or so.

The only way the Eagles bring a guy in is if Westbrook finds his way to the PUP.

Let's hope that doesn't happen.