Memo to the Eagles' front office: Pay this man -- now.


Sheldon Brown raised a bit of a fuss during the offseason when he came out and said that he wanted a new contract. He believes he's one of the best corners in the league, and thought that should translate into some more money.

Many of us scoffed at Brown, wondering why in the world he'd ask for a new contract when he's only two years into an extension. It's not that Philly didn't believe he deserved it, but the timing was all wrong. He had a contract, and that's the contract he would play out.

Well, now may be the time to change up that thinking a little bit.

The problem with Brown, and guys like him, is that interceptions are what lead to Pro Bowl nods and it's a stat in which he's never excelled. But the question is: why has he never had a lot of interceptions? Well, it could be because he's thrown at a lot less than most corners. In fact, I would go so far to say that he's one of the few shutdown corners in the league.

That, and the man has stones for hands. They're great for knocking the ball away, but he couldn't catch a cold.

But so far in 2009 (12 games), he's already bested his season-high total of interceptions with five, has more than doubled his return yardage was 152, and for the third season of his career, has returned one for a score. He's also got 13 passes defended -- one more than last season and one less than in all of 2007.

The case is there to be made that Brown has done more than enough to deserve a contract that would put him in the upper-echelon of the cornerbacks in this league, but what he's asking may not be something the Eagles are willing to pay.

They understand that there's already a lot of money tied up in Asante Samuel and Joselio Hanson, and the Birds will have some young kids, and veterans, to pay soon. DeSean Jackson, Jason Avant, Leonard Weaver, Sean Jones, and Akeem Jordan, just to name a handful, are all going to want paid around the same time.

Then there's also the franchise quarterback who will need paid either this offseason or the next, so the Eagles' front office has to be careful about shelling out money.

That said, Sheldon isn't a selfish guy. He's not going to ask for Samuel-type money in the $10 million per year area, but he will want about $8 million per season. Which, honestly, is a number he's worth.

The only problem is that he is at that magic number -- 30 years old. However, he's having his best season as a pro, so perhaps it's a sign that what the Eagles consider "old age" isn't going to slow him down.

I'm a big fan of Brown and think his skill and durability are reason enough to resign him for big money.

And really, who doesn't think that when Sheldon slows down too much to be a corner that he won't just turn into an All-Pro free safety?