Could Burgess be back in midnight green in 2010?


Many Eagles fans were upset when the Eagles allowed Derrick Burgess to walk after the 2004 season, but the Raiders threw money at him that the Eagles were not willing to match. The Raiders overpaid, as they usually do, but that doesn't mean the Eagles didn't think Burgess was a very good player.

So when his name came up in trade discussions last season, the Eagles got into the mix. However, they weren't willing to match the third and fifth-round picks that the New England Patriots gave up for Burgess.

But according to Howard Eskin, now that he's back on the market, the Eagles are expected to take a chance and pursue the 32-year old defensive end.

He would probably be willing to come back to Philadelphia on a modest contract and, while he has clearly taken a step back with his age, he would still be the best pass-rusher on the team, save Trent Cole, of course.

Burgess isn't going to have 16 sacks again like he did back in 2005 with the Raiders, but he's feared enough as a pass-rusher that if teams even take a little bit of heat off Cole to worry about Burgess, he's already done his job.

Reports have recently linked the Eagles to Vikings' defensive end Ray Edwards after their failed attempt at signing Julius Peppers and taking a slight interest in Aaron Kampman, but Burgess is a guy who actually makes sense. He will already know the defense, be familiar with some of the players, and come at a decent price.

The Eagles have shown an affinity for bringing back former players, so pursuing Burgess to fill an obvious need only makes sense.
Continue Reading...

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.
Continue Reading...

Is it worth keeping Westbrook around next season?


While talking to a TV station in Tennessee, Brian Westbrook refuted the reports by Howard Eskin that he has decided to retire due to concussions and ankle and knee injuries. He says that he simply didn't wait long enough before coming back onto the field, causing his second concussion.

"What happened to me was that I was not completely healed from the first concussion," he said. "Even though I waited that long amount of time and passed all the tests I still wasn't completely healed...and it came back just like that. After that I had to sit out another five or six weeks just for me to be completely sure that I was 100 percent OK."

So, from what we can gather from that quote, he's saying that he's 100 percent healed from the concussions. And while he'll never be 100 percent healed from the ankle and knee injuries, he refutes any claims that the chronic pain will stop him from continuing his career.

Right now, I'm sure Westbrook is a hot topic of discussion within the Eagles' organization. He's been so good for so long that cutting him seems like an awful thing to do, but his $7.5 million salary is far too high for the production he can give them anymore.

So what do they do with him?

If it were me, the first thing I would do is attempt to convince him to take a pay cut. We'll see how much he really wants to stay an Eagle by asking him to take a much lower base salary, but high in incentives. Incentives like playing 50 percent of the snaps, playing in at least 12 games, rushing for 800 yards, receiving for 400, and 8 total touchdowns.

Some are certainly attainable, and others are not. It may be a juicy enough worm for him to take (if he's still really confident in his abilities) because it keeps him in Philly and out of a very questionable running back free agent market that has seen little to no action over the past few seasons.

Running backs 30 and over just aren't collecting the big money, or starting opportunities. A guaranteed spot here in Philly might be tempting enough to convince him to take whatever the Eagles are offering.

He will not, however, be this team's starter in 2010. I said before last season that LeSean McCoy would be more productive than Westbrook. He was, by a long shot, and has earned a chance to be this team's starter.

Westbrook would then become the third down back, a situation he's most suited for. It would take advantage of his blocking and receiving abilities -- abilities that McCoy hasn't quite acquired at this point in his career.

If the load is not on his shoulders, it's possible that he could still contribute to this team. He is still a talented player, and teams would still fear him on the field, regardless of whether or not he's the same player as he was even a few years ago or not.

He could still run away from a linebacker, or even a safety, so he's worth keeping around -- but only if the price is right. There is no way the Birds can pay him the $7.5 million. If he won't take the pay cut, then it's time that he goes. If he will, then he's certainly worth keeping around.

Maybe it's just the loyalty of seeing him in Eagle green for eight years, but something tells me Westbrook still has something left, and it would be a shame to miss out on it and see him do it in another jersey.
Continue Reading...

Westbrook his unwillingly passed the torch to McCoy.


During his prime playing days, Brian Westbrook was one of the most feared and respected players in the entire league. Defenses would gameplan around him and still couldn't stop him on a consistent basis. He was the kind of guy who created mismatches anywhere on the field, and to contain him was a job well done.

However, as is the case with most running backs, his glory days have quickly come to an end. He can no longer hit the hole as quickly as he once could, his route-running has become less crisp, the breakaway speed is no longer there, and even his field vision has been on the decline.

A mixture of a career filled with knee and ankle problems, combined with two concussions this season alone, may signal the end of Brian Westbrook not only as the feared playmaker, but as a player altogether as Howard Eskin reported last night that a knee injury may force Westbrook to retire after eight years in the league.

According to Eskin's report, the knee injury has his doctor's advising him to walk away from the game -- while he still has the opportunity to literally walk away. Apparently if he keeps playing walking may be a luxury that escapes him in the near future.

The knee injury is also to the point that passing a physical would be very difficult for the 30-year old running back. His career as an Eagle was already in jeopardy, but if he has trouble passing a physical, there may not be another team willing to take him on.

There's also the issue of his inflated contract -- about $7.5 million this season -- and the unwillingness of the Eagles to pay that much for a backup running back, which is where he would find himself.

I personally don't expect Westbrook to be back next year. If he gets cut, he may quietly stick around like Warrick Dunn or Deuce McAllister, but I don't see a team picking him up once news of his knee problem gets around.

LeSean McCoy was drafted to replace Westbrook, and it looks like that's going to be happening sooner rather than later.
Continue Reading...