Did the Eagles make a mistake not taking the pick?


Speaking with Garry Cobb on 610WIP last night, Leonard Weaver revealed that the Cleveland Browns had offered him more money than the Eagles for his services. He didn't say how much, but the way he said it made it sound like it could have been substantially more.

If the Browns contacted Weaver and made him an offer, it would mean that they were willing to part ways with their second-round pick, which is the tender level Weaver was on for about 14 hours.

Weaver is a great weapon and a fan-favorite already in Philly, but would the Birds have been wise to let him walk for a second-round pick from Cleveland? The 39th overall pick is incredibly high for a fullback, and it's certainly something the Birds had to have at least considered.

Now I'm by no means an expert on the workings of restricted free agency. It's a new animal for most and learning the rules of it is going to be a process, so I'm not sure if Weaver has the right to reject an offer sheet and stay in Philly, or if he doesn't have a say in the matter.

If he has a say, he probably would have rejected the offer in the hopes of earning a contract from Philly next offseason -- but there's no way to be sure. If he doesn't have a say, a second-round pick for a fullback would be incredibly difficult to turn down -- even for a fullback of Weaver's caliber.

Don't take this the wrong way; I would not want to see Weaver leave, and would in fact love to see him retire as an Eagle, but if a team is willing to give up that much for him I'm just saying it would have been tough for me to turn down in the same position.

I had the pleasure of meeting Weaver last night when I joined Cobb on WIP and he's a very personable and just all-around good guy. He stood and talked to me and someone else for a good 10 minutes or so when he could have simply blown us off and rushed out the door.

He's exactly the guy this city needs and loves to have around, but business is business and a second-round pick is a tough business deal to turn down.
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After all of this, we seem no closer to a resolution.


Kevin Kolb put the rumor to rest today on 610WIP while talking to Howard Eskin and Ike Reese -- he has not been approached by the Eagles about a contract extension contrary to Garry Cobb's report.

"We haven't even talked to them as far as I know," Kolb said. "That totally blew me away whenever that was reported because it was obviously false. Yeah, that has not been discussed yet."

So that puts that to rest, barring the small possibility that the Eagles reached out to Kolb's agent, who didn't bother passing it along to Kolb because it wasn't exactly an offer, but more of a dipping-your-toe-in-the-pool sort of contact.

Cobb has also said, on his site, that other sources have contacted him to substantiate the story.

Is it possible that Kolb has been told by the Eagles to refute the report publicly so Donovan McNabb's trade value stays high? It's a bit of a round-about way to do it, but I suppose it's a possibility.

Kolb did go on, however, to say that he would like to start.

"I wish I could have played last year," Kolb said. "With that being said I am going to wish it even more this year. It's tough, but I know it's an even harder situation for the Eagles. There are three of us out there that can play so I am going to keep their feelings in mind and try to remain positive no matter what happens."

I'm not sure that he's going to be a quality starter in this league or not, but he's saying all the right things and it's tough not to like the guy.

He also seems willing to just sit and wait for his number to be called rather than asking to be traded elsewhere for his opportunity to start.

"I feel like I fit in this system so well and not just the system but the coaching staff and the players and the personnel all the way around," Kolb said. "You know even on the other side of the building with the business side and all of that.

I just feel like our personalities really fit well together, we work hard together and I look forward to taking over this thing one day and working with those guys. I would never wish myself to be anywhere else."

The Eagles have said that Kolb isn't available, but if someone calls up offering a second round pick along with some mid-to-late rounders, it would be difficult to keep him around. He showed flashes, but there's still a whole lot of question marks surrounding him and giving him a second contract seems like a very risky move.

Things will get heated up once we hit that March 5th milestone, but right now there's not a whole lot that's going to happen anyway.
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