Eagles football blog

WR Maclin agrees to 5-year deal

Nobody on either side was willing to explain why this negotiation took so long, after the Eagles confirmed late last night that Jeremy Maclin finally has agreed to a contract.

A source close to the situation said Maclin will get $15.5 million over 5 years, $9.5 million guaranteed. Continue

RB McCoy sighns 4 yr deal

LeSean McCoy agreed to a four-year contract with the Eagles yesterday, ensuring that Brian Westbrook's projected backup will be in training camp. The terms were not disclosed.

A second-round draft pick, the elusive running back from Pittsburgh is seen as an insurance policy for Westbrook, who underwent ankle surgery June 5.

"I think he can do the same types of things that Brian can do," general manager Tom Heckert told the Eagles' Web site. "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." Continue

Eagles trade with Browns draft WR Maclin

The Eagles made a trade with the Cleveland Browns for a wide receiver after all, moving up two spots in order to select Missouri's Jeremy Maclin.

In two seasons at Missouri, Maclin scored 32 touchdown and was considered a third-down specialist. In order to get Maclin with the 19th pick, the Eagles dealt their first-round pick and a sixth-round selection, the 195th pick overall.

Eagles need a WR

DeSean Jackson came up huge as a second-round rookie wideout in 2008. Jackson set franchise rookie records with 62 catches for 912 yards. Add him to a healthy Kevin Curtis, along with hard-working possession receivers Jason Avant and Hank Baskett, and you have a pretty solid 2009 wide-receiving corps, despite the puzzling slide into obscurity of once-promising Reggie Brown.

But to many Eagles fans, the dominant, superstar wideout is the great white whale. These are the people who thought bringing back Terrell Owens would be a terrific idea, when T.O. was banished from Dallas a few months back. If Charles Manson could go deep, they'd be writing his parole board. They want the Birds to trade their remaining first-round pick, 21st overall, for Cardinals wideout Anquan Boldin, or they want to see a stud receiver in the draft, never mind any other possible needs. Continue

Eagles have flex appeal for draft

Every time the possibility of the Eagles moving up in the first round of the NFL draft is brought up, the idea seems to be hooted down - and accompanied by worries that all they would do is take an offensive lineman anyway.

This might be the year, though - the year when you could move up farther for less treasure than at any time in the past.

At the owners' meetings last month, general manager Tom Heckert said the Eagles were in a position pretty much to do whatever they wanted to do. With the 21st and 28th picks in the first round, with a second and a third and about a hundred fifth-rounders, they could maneuver this thing however they wanted to maneuver it. They might be able to move up to the tippy-top of the first round if they were willing to give up both of those late first-rounders - something that would not have been true in the past but which, in 2009, could be at least in the conversation. Continue

Utes CB Smith to visit Eagles

Utah cornerback Sean Smith reportedly will visit the Eagles before the NFL draft on April 25-26.

According to ProFootballTalk.com, the Eagles, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks are among the teams that have visits scheduled with Smith, who at 6-foot-4 and 214 pounds is a giant by cornerback standards.

Smith, a high school running back in Pasadena, Calif., finished his career with nine interceptions in three seasons for Utah, which went unbeaten and upset Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Smith, according to NFL Draft Scout, is expected to be selected in the second round.

Eagles may move up

It seems unlikely that the Eagles will do another limbo dance in the 2009 NFL draft.

This time, they are more likely to go higher than lower on the April 25 first-day selection board.

Stopped in the hallway during the owners' meetings at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Hotel yesterday, Eagles general manager Tom Heckert seemed to be excited about the franchise's first draft with two first-round picks since 1993. Continue

Eagles may draft a top WR

The only wide receiver the Eagles have drafted in the first round since the Andy Reid era began in 1999 is Freddie Mitchell. And, that fourth-and-26 play aside, everyone who bleeds green knows how that turned out.

Otherwise, the Eagles' draft history on wideouts in the last decade is littered with forgettable names: Na Brown, Billy McMullen, Gari Scott. You get the idea. Before last year's draft, only one Eagles rookie receiver - Reggie Brown - caught more than 21 passes. Continue