Hobbs' NFL career could end after another neck injury.


After suffering a helmet-to-helmet hit against the New York Giants that left him motionless on the field for over 10 minutes, Ellis Hobbs is expected to undergo his second neck surgery in the same calendar year.

And according to the sources ESPN's Adam Schefter has spoken to, Hobbs would prefer this be his very last and has seriously contemplated retirement.

"There's a good chance of that [Hobbs retiring]," a source told Shefter Saturday.

Another source told Schefter that "if Hobbs had to make a decision today, he would retire." But, like Schefter notes, Hobbs has been advised to take his time and not rush a decision. It's understandable why he'd be ready to walk away from the game right now, but given the success of the surgery and his recovery, it's possible he could return next season.

Garry Cobb of GCobb.com said last week that he believes Hobbs should retire before suffering any life-altering injuries.

"This is solely my opinion," Cobb writes, "but if I had damage to a disc in my neck and back area, which has to involve the spinal column, I would retire immediately. If he’s looking at things clearly, Hobbs should retire rather than risk being paralyzed."

It's hard to argue with that reasoning, but football players do what they do because they're some of the toughest (and hard-headed) people on the planet. There are a lot of guys who keep playing when their knees have basically eroded away or they can't move their shoulder or they're permanently dizzy from concussions because football is all they know.

But that's an argument coming from a former player, so to say he would retire immediately if given the same situation has to carry some weight.

I don't think anyone would blame Hobbs either way. If he walked away from the game, everyone would understand. He's going to be a free agent at the end of the season and it might be difficult to get a team to take a chance on him. He might just figure now is the time to walk away.

Conversely, I don't believe anyone would look down on him for wanting to come back, either.

We likely won't get any confirmation one way or the other until deep in the offseason, but right now it looks like Hobbs' playing career is over.
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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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Let's get Kolb on line one so we can figure this out.


Yesterday, Garry Cobb of GCobb.com reported that the Eagles had offered a contract extension to Kevin Kolb. Only a few hours later, the blogosphere went crazy tearing Cobb apart for a report that other sources called "ridiculously false" and "completely 100 percent false."

Today, however, Cobb is sticking by his report saying, via his website, "I stand by my report that the Eagles talked to Kevin Kolb about a contract extension. I said all I wanted to say about it yesterday ... I don't have anything to add to it."

And with Cobb sticking by his report, others are seemingly backing off of their harsh criticisms of the former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker.

Geoff Mosher, one of the first to refute the article with a source of his own, said via his twitter that "report could be smoke screen designed to make sure neither side ruffles the feathers as the team could be looking to maintain leverage for McNabb trade."

What Mosher is saying would certainly make sense. It's in the Eagles' best interest to deny all reports, try to rip credibility from Cobb, and still continue with the illusion that the team is steadfast in its support of Donovan McNabb.

I'm of course just playing devil's advocate in this case as my personal belief is that the Eagles will not trade McNabb. However, that doesn't automatically make Cobb's report untrue. I said a few months ago that it would not be surprising for the Eagles to try and resign Kolb to a modest deal by telling him that he'll eventually get the chance to start here.

It doesn't mean it will be this season, or even the season after that, but just telling him that the opportunity will eventually be there could be enough to get him to resign.

Only time will tell if Cobb's source is right and if others are just getting bogus reports from within the Eagles organization, and that time is probably a long ways away, but it certainly adds another level of intrigue to an already circus-like offseason for the Eagles.
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