21 minutes ago, greend said:

I'm keeping Brooks and probably Lane but that said this is a great and well thought out post. Thanks for that.

HEY, we can't have that around here

7 hours ago, Allhaildawk said:

The plan can’t be to trade away literally all the talent on the team 

The trade anyone over 26 years old and trade back in the draft to stockpile picks will hit a fever pitch in the next couple months.

25 minutes ago, greend said:

I'm keeping Brooks and probably Lane but that said this is a great and well thought out post. Thanks for that.

Brooks and Lane shouldn’t go anywhere. Everyone talks about our QB play not being good, if you take 2 All Pro players off the line it’s usually not beneficial to QB or Team play. But hey ... let’s trade everyone for a 5th Rd draft pick because we do such a great job of drafting.

32 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

Sweat is about to be in his final year. You really think the Eagles are re-signing him? 
 

Seumalo is and always has been average. He sucks at pass protection. Would rather see Herbig start at LG next year. Some team would give up a late pick for a known commodity 

I do think they need to bring Sweat back.  Seumalo has been slightly above average but we have to remember that you can't have all-stars at every position.  He will be better with stability around him.  

50 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

What an inspirational story.  The guy snaps his leg in half, has 17 surgeries over a two year period then comes back and turns his struggling team around...and beats the best team in the NFL yesterday.  And his story is likely not finished yet....

 

 

And some are under the impression that benching a QB will ruin his career?  Mind boggling.

 

Bad example. 

33 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

I can't argue against keeping them.  They are better when healthy than the players I would put in their place... but the when healthy part is the key.  They are also very expensive and will have diminishing returns on that investment.   They were a great investment though, and paid off handsomely with a Super Bowl.  I just would rather deal with all the issues at once and rip it all down, but can absolutely see the other side of it.

Sure you can argue against it.

If I could make every player on this team making >8m magically disappear to other rosters along with the entirety of their contract, I would do it.  
 

Every one of them.

6 hours ago, WentzFan11 said:

This is sad. 

Good job Kempski — now go through man games lost due to injuries 

40 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

That actually creates a significant amount of space to actually go out and sign a few moderately priced veterans to fill in some gaps.  And frees up $116M for the 2022 cap, allowing the new GM to make a splash for the right players in FA... though it really is 100% about the draft.   2021 will be a tough year to watch... but 2020 has been a tough year to watch and they have no future.  At least in 2021, we'd know that 2022 opens up the free agent market again... and we'd be watching young guys struggle in 2021, instead of watch Alshon and Peters struggle this year.

Iggles Phan for GM!!!!

Outstanding plan and post.  Some of the ideas need more debate, and are dependent on other factors (compensation in trade, alternative options etc) but what a nice outline.

This stuff is not rocket science.  There is no magic voodoo to these decisions.  Most of them can be made logically.  One key is you need people that can evaluate talent and project it correctly, which the Eagles do not have and the results speak for themselves.  If decisions over the last couple of years were made by Iggles Phan or possibly most of the well informed fans on this board, we would be in better shape. 

What has to end right now, this offseason, is that someone can develop a friendship with the owner and be given carte blanche and a job for life.  The owner is the current owner of the team.  He won't own it forever.  The owner has an absolute obligation to do what is best for the team.  The right way for an owner (generally rich guys who primarily inherited their money, like Lurie) is that they hold the team in trust for the fans.  Nepotism cannot be tolerated.  It certainly doesn't go too far with players.  It cannot be allowed for anyone in the organization.  Being a part of an organization like the Eagles is a tremendous privilege and comes with the obligation to fulfill your job role and have success.  When you have a track record of failure, you MUST be replaced.  There is no wiggle room. 

5 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Bad example. 

He has such an axe to grind with Wentz, it's so odd.

12 minutes ago, Casey @ Bat said:

Brooks and Lane shouldn’t go anywhere. Everyone talks about our QB play not being good, if you take 2 All Pro players off the line it’s usually not beneficial to QB or Team play. But hey ... let’s trade everyone for a 5th Rd draft pick because we do such a great job of drafting.

It’s about getting them off the roster, not draft compensation.

Id trade them all for nothing if it got their contracts off the books.  But it doesn’t.  

1 hour ago, bpac55 said:

Dallas could very easily take Chase.  Amari Cooper has an extremely tradeable contract.  They can let Gallup walk and then they are left with CeeDee Lamb.  They save the money on Coopers contract and have a dynamic duo at WR.  Jerry LOVES weapons on offense.

UGH.  I had this feeling last year that CeeDee would go to the Cowboys and it happened.  Let's hope I'm wrong.

Gallup is under contract next year and it wouldn’t make sense to trade Cooper just so they could draft a WR. They aren’t that dumb. 

 

I’m fine with Waddle over Chase if our draft position dictates it.

If Reagor gets his head straight and learns to play the position, combined with Waddle, that might actually work out.  
 

We’d still need a #3 WR, but a shifty phone box quick type would be all they need, which could be found in a delayed fashion at moderate cost after they get a qb and figure out the tackles.

After they figure all that out...then...and only then...should they bother with defense.  

Any plan that involves cutting/trading Brooks/Lane I'm out on.

People are criticizing the OL all year. Wentz is a mess and Hurts is in year 2. You want to put either guy behind bad OL next year? No thank you. You can gut the entire defense if you want, but there's nothing more important than the QB. Fixing Wentz/Developing Hurts is our #1 priority and that starts with the OL.

4 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Gallup is under contract next year and it wouldn’t make sense to trade Cooper just so they could draft a WR. They aren’t that dumb. 

I thought Gallup was a FA after this year.  You're right.  Trading Cooper to take Chase isn't dumb at all.  Cooper is $20 million per year starting next year.  If they can get out of that contract for a rookie who is a flat out stud.  Nothing stupid about that.

1 minute ago, Mike030270 said:

 

It's one of the most unprecedented situations of all time.  No team has ever invested in a franchise QB, especially one who had the success Wentz had in 2017 and 2019, and then made a selection like Hurts.  It will be studied and referenced for years to come.  A cautionary tale will  be told about the importance of embracing and supporting your franchise QB, and the laughable stupidity of the GM in the past that took a QB high right after giving out a franchise QB contract and talking about quarterback factories.

Anyone catch much of Josh Allen last night?  It was sad.  He looked exactly like I expected Wentz to look at this point in his career.  They had some similar skill sets, but Wentz always had much better accuracy in college, throughout the evaluation process and early in his career.  I thought Allen would be like a poor mans Wentz.  What a shame, and what could have been.

3 minutes ago, Mike030270 said:

 

I actually disagree with this.  They tried to help him succeed, they just failed MISERABLY with what they did.

The coaches coddled him instead of forcing him to adopt acceptable mechanics.

They overinvested in TEs and 12 personnel so that he was only comfortable seeing and targeting the middle of the field.

When they did start investing in wideouts for him, they got it embarrassingly wrong.

They spent a first round pick on a LT may never start a game for this team after his debacle last year.

Its not that they intentionally did nothing to help him succeed, it’s that everything they did do was a horrible backfire.

4 minutes ago, Mike030270 said:

 

Now, there’s a tweet from someone who has a clue.

Actually, the Eagles did stuff — but it comes down to terrible planning, terrible talent evaluation, and bad spending.  Believing that Jeffery and Jackson were long term pieces was foolish, and whoever evaluated JJAW as the piece you wanted to pair with Wentz long term should have been fired a long time ago 

3 minutes ago, RLC said:

Any plan that involves cutting/trading Brooks/Lane I'm out on.

People are criticizing the OL all year. Wentz is a mess and Hurts is in year 2. You want to put either guy behind bad OL next year? No thank you. You can gut the entire defense if you want, but there's nothing more important than the QB. Fixing Wentz/Developing Hurts is our #1 priority and that starts with the OL.

Finding a new qb should be #1 priority because neither one of them is it.

If you want to waste the next 2-3 years coming to grips with that, well, I guess that’s fine.  That’s almost certainly what will actually happen.

54 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Alright... a lot of people have given up on Wentz, and others have given up on Wentz here and believe he requires a change of scenery.  I have not given up on Wentz, nor do I believe he needs a new city to play in.  What he needs is a new scheme, new personnel around him, and a renewed commitment to him that won't undercut him at every turn. 

 

Here's my Carson Wentz/Philadelphia Eagles rebuild project plan 2021 and beyond.

 

Step 1 - Clean house - Howie goes, Weidl goes, Doug goes and just about every assistant coach.  Stoutland can stay, but the rest are on very shaky ground.  Taylor, Morhinweg, and Scangarello must go.

Step 2 - New eyes on talent acquisition.  New GM.  A break from overvaluing past performances and focus on identifying and paying for current and future performances.  (I will break this one slightly in a little bit, but for a purpose.) 

Step 3 - New philosophy of creative offensive play calling, and maximizing talent already on the roster. 

Step 4 - Roster purging.  30+ year old players will be dismissed as charitably as possible (in most cases) with an eye to clear cap space, move impediments to the growth of the next generation, and possibly even get some draft capital in place.

 

New GM: Daniel Jeremiah... backup plan (or more ideally assistant GM) Louis Riddick
New HC: Joe Brady
New OC: Brady's choice
New QB Coach: Pat Shurmur (only possible if Vic Fangio is canned in Denver).   Shurmur has a history in this city, but a good one.  He's been able to rebuild many a 'broken' QB and turn them into something.  Long list.  Started with McNabb in 2002... rebuilt Sam Bradford for his 2 best seasons.  Made Case Keenum (Vikings' OC in 2017) into a legitimate starting QB in Minnesota.  Eli Manning had his highest comp pct with Shurmur.  Daniel Jones surprised people as a rookie, working with Shurmur.    Backup plan - Dan Orlovsky.  

New DC: Kris Richard - experience on the back end, and I want aggressive CBs who create turnovers.

 

Moving to the contracts side, the cap is a huge problem.  If the NFL and NFLPA agree to keep the number at this year's number the Eagles are still WAY over the cap, but not as bad as if it drops.  Hard decisions have to be made to get under the cap.  The number to hit seems to be $65M.  But, if the cap number holds steady, with this year's rollover that number drops to about $31M (Spotrac) -$41M (overthecap)

Easy ones first:
Alshon cut - $8M saved
Desean cut - $5M saved
Goodwin cut - $4.2 saved

That's about half of the issue right there.  $17M saved

Now for the crazy part... 
Wentz costs $34.6M against the cap in 2021... but taking his contract and turning his salary and roster bonus into a signing bonus, it drops the number to $16.4M. Saving $18.2M, and making the rest of this all possible, as that puts the team under the projected cap before the start of the league year... making trades possible.

That's shaved $35M of the cap, roughly the midway point between the two reported numbers.

Now... roster trimming and freeing up future cap space (partly to deal with moving on from Wentz if he is truly irreparable, so the goal is to get younger, faster and more flexibility for 2022 and beyond.) 

Trades which might return some value: 
Ertz - Might bring back a late 3rd from a contending team... more likely a 4th or 5th.   I'll take it.   Saves an additional $4.7M and clears his numbers from future years.
Slay - He won't bring back the 3 and 5 we traded away, but costing his new team only $12M/year, he'll have value.  Again, maybe a 4th and a conditional pick later.  $6M comes off the books.
Cox - this is likely the last chance to get anything of value from him.  Only saves about $3M in 2021, but saves over $22M in 2022 and beyond.  Might get lucky and get a 3rd round pick.

 

Less value, and less savings:
Brandon Graham - this is about clearing money from his empty years in 2022 and beyond... Likely nothing more than maybe a 6th round pick in return, maybe a 5th if we are lucky.  But, clears over $12M off the cap in 2022.  (His contract ends in 2021 anyway). saves $700k for 2020.
Brandon Brooks - unlikely to get much of anything back, but clears $2.3M this year, and about $12M off the future numbers for 2022.
Lane Johnson - Mailata needs to play.  Johnson might be pretty close to done.  Trade him post-June 1 to make this possible... and he saves the team $9.7M in 2021, but costs $21M in dead for 2022.  But, his contract gets worse in 2022 and beyond... cap number rising over $20M in some years anyway.

This leaves Wentz vulnerable, trading away the right side of his OL... but he doesn't have that right side of the OL now... but the bigger issue, as I see it is that they replaced them with Peters, Jamon Brown, Matt Toth and Matt Pryor.   With Herbig, Mailata and Driscoll, they might be able to develop some sort of continuity and actually play better, especially as the season goes along.   No more musical chairs on the OL... and that's part of the thinking with trading Brooks and Johnson.  They were once great players, and likely formed the best right side of an OL in the NFL for a couple years.  But, those days are gone and they are breaking down.  

 

Cut: 
Malik Jackson - saves peanuts this year, but saves nearly $9M for 2022.   Let the young guys play.

Extend: 
Derek Barnett - trading away Graham leaves a void.  Barnett can be extended to lower his number in 2021 to about $3M with a 5 year extension on his deal.  He's still very young and is productive enough to warrant keeping.

 

That actually creates a significant amount of space to actually go out and sign a few moderately priced veterans to fill in some gaps.  And frees up $116M for the 2022 cap, allowing the new GM to make a splash for the right players in FA... though it really is 100% about the draft.   2021 will be a tough year to watch... but 2020 has been a tough year to watch and they have no future.  At least in 2021, we'd know that 2022 opens up the free agent market again... and we'd be watching young guys struggle in 2021, instead of watch Alshon and Peters struggle this year.

I like it.

I’d try and trade malik Jackson before cutting him. I think he’s had a solid season and i could see a team that is a contender willing to deal you a 5-6th rounder for a DT who they’d get on a decent contract for a year or two or restructure his contract. If you cut him they would have to likely have multiple teams they are competing with. I think he has trade value. Not great value but some. 

as for lane it is tough. He is 30 going on 31. I agree his body is deteriorating on him. His contract is also basically tough on the eagles through 2022. While howie deserves a lot of blame i can’t blame him on this most would’ve done this. He was 28/29 in his prime and while some nagging injuries he was playing at an elite level. Probably thought at 32 he would start the exiting of his prime. Not at 30. He likely imo only has 2 years left. However have a hard time seeing a team trading for him right now knowing three consecutive years he’s had an injury where he’s missed time. Likely at most only get a mid-late round pick. I get mailata needs to play however I’m not sold on dillard being able to play. I rather keep lane for what’s likely offered and make sure dillard isn’t a bust of a pick. Let mailata and dillard compete for the LT job. And if dillard proves himself at the trade deadline if lane proves himself you can make a decision to deal him and likely get better value. 

not included in this, i actually think kelce is going to retire. Don’t have any info just a gut feeling. If we were closer to being a title contender i think he would gut out another year. But since i think we are far away and if we moving on to an entirely new coach i think he calls it quits. 

20 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Bad example. 

Why?  

10 minutes ago, Mike030270 said:

 

I’m pretty sure it was maaddi Who asked wentz in the post game presser if you felt that the Eagles did a good enough job trying to help him succeed. And wentz didn’t say no but gave an answer he knows he needs to play better and doesn’t point fingers at anyone. 

If someone were to put some steroids in Lane’s ice cream this whole contract would go away 

#justsaying

3 minutes ago, RLC said:

Any plan that involves cutting/trading Brooks/Lane I'm out on.

People are criticizing the OL all year. Wentz is a mess and Hurts is in year 2. You want to put either guy behind bad OL next year? No thank you. You can gut the entire defense if you want, but there's nothing more important than the QB. Fixing Wentz/Developing Hurts is our #1 priority and that starts with the OL.

I wouldn’t say I’m excited to move on from either, but I understand it. Both are aging, expensive, and the injuries are mounting. The decision to move on one way or the other is very close regardless. 

11 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

It’s about getting them off the roster, not draft compensation.

Id trade them all for nothing if it got their contracts off the books.  But it doesn’t.  

It’s hard for any QB to perform well if he’s getting his brains beat in routinely. Can’t stomach watching Matt Pryor, Jamon Brown, etc... take turns doing s*** jobs. I’d keep both of them until we find more than an adequate replacement.