– The Eagles have signed veteran tight end Alex Smith to a one-year deal worth $1 million. Smith was released by the Patriots on Sunday.  The Eagles released tight end Tony Curtis to make room for Smith, who is a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in 2005.  He’s been in the area of 250-400 yards and 3 TDs per season in his last 4 seasons with the Bucs.  Curtis was more of a blocking TE, whereas Smith is more valuable for the Eagles in the passing game.

– Macho Harris and Omar Gaither have officially been announced as the starters this Sunday.

– The Eagles are 2-point favorites this Sunday against the Panthers.

– Jon Runyan is working out for the Chiefs.

With the start of free agency just 36 hours away, we are all trying to anticipate what kind of moves the Eagles will make.  The Eagles are $30 million under the cap, so there’s plenty of room to make big moves.  Here are six free agents that the Eagles should court.  This article explores the free agent rankings by position.

Although I’m personally pulling for Houshmandzadeh, who we may risk losing to the Giants, I think the Eagles top priority is the offensive line, so pursuing Ravens G/C Jason Brown may be the Eagles first move.  I think that would be a great move since it would give Shawn Andrews or Todd Herremans the opportunity to move to tackle, which the Eagles seem to be panicking over now that talks with Tra Thomas are moving slowly and Jon Runyan is a free agent and coming off knee surgery.  I’m confident the Eagles will get a deal done with Tra Thomas.  Even though he’s getting up there in years, he’s been solid and consistent and we can’t afford to lose him this offseason.  Not to mention the fact that McNabb won’t be too pleased if his blindside isn’t protected.

Les Bowen doesn’t expext the Eagles to dive into free agency like year.  I can see the only two moves the Eagles make are going after Jason Brown and perhaps upgrading at fullback with Seattle’s FB Leonard Weaver.  Weaver has a great skill set for a FB with his ability to gain short yards, block, and catch out of the backfield.  Klecko clearly isn’t getting the job done and Thomas Tapeh was sorely missed last year.

I fully expect Brian Dawkins back this year, but the Eagles could add former Giants/Raiders safety Gibril Wilson as a backup and let Sean Considine go.  If you recall, Gibril Wilson left the Giants last year for big money in Oakland and he’s already been cut.  Please let Considine go.  I have an aneurysm every time he is on the field.  I can’t stand the guy.

Laveranues Coles was also cut by the Jets.  Although the Eagles don’t need another small wide receiver, if Coles isn’t demanding big money, would the Eagles consider him?  I doubt it, but you never know.  It’s another option on the table.

Free Agency This Year Not Exciting As Last Year’s:

So pretty much all the fun has been sucked out of free agency thanks to the awful Franchise Tag, which needs to go!  The Panthers signed OT Jordan Gross to a 6-year deal AND tagged Peppers to boot.  That means the Panthers have to pay Peppers a cool $17 million.  Most people are asking, how do the top 5 DEs make $17 million?  They don’t: a clause states that the tagged player gets the greater of the average salaries of the top 5 highest paid players at that position or 120% of the player’s salary the prior year.  Peppers made $15 million last year.  That’s a nice two-year payday.  I don’t know what he’s complaining about that.

Adding TE Owen Daniels and kicking L.J. Smith to the curb doesn’t seem likely since Bleeding Green Nation reports that Daniels has been tendered at the highest level.  Although, there are some rumblings that Kellen Winslow is being shopped for a 2nd- and 3rd-round pick.  Here are some proposals.

Adding a WR like Antonio Bryant won’t happen either.  A big, physical guy with a lot of talent and upside.  He’s been tagged by the Bucs.

What are the Eagles options?

T.J. Houshmandzadeh — Houshmanzadeh will likely hit the market, but Heckerd says he’s not looking to add a wide receiver (unless he’s bluffing).  I think Houshmandzadeh/DeSean/Curtis would be a perfect combination of receivers.  Housh’s bread and butter is 5-yard catches over the middle, with a high amount of yards-after-the-catch (YAC).  With DeSean Jackson and Kevin Curtis out there as well, I don’t see how #5 cannot hit one of them at will.  With all the other potential free agents out there tagged, the Eagles have room to make one big move.  This is their big move.

Offensive Tackle Outlook:

Looks like Tra Thomas will be resigned.  Jon Runyan will test free agency, find out nobody wants him due to his age and knee injury, and he’ll likely sign late with the Eagles on the cheap. Winston Justice is being shopped, but who are we kidding, who’s going to want him unless the asking price is a sixth-round pick (maybe a fourth, please?).  Justice will probably end up being cut in August unless he gets his act together.

That means you can bet your last dollar that the Eagles will be targeting an OT in the draft.  I say they package their 2 first-round picks to get the OT that they want.  Or I’ll take Michael Oher AND Beanie Wells.  Please NFL Draft Gods!  More on the OT draft outlook coming later.

Here is all the reading you need to catch up on the latest in what’s going on in the Eagles free agency rumor mill.

Full List of 2009 Free Agents [NFL Gridiron Gab] — Eagles fans are focusing on T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Anquan Boldin (not an UFA, but they can try to trade for him), and Julius Peppers.  Although I would be thrilled to have any of them, with both Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan entering free agency, I wouldn’t be surprised if Pro Bowl Carolina OT Jordan Gross is the #1 priority on the Eagles offseason list.  Odds are the Panthers resign him and let go of the disgruntled Julius Peppers.  Here’s a more detailed review of the 2009 free agent from Sports2Debate.com

Philadelphia looking at Jordan Gross or Julius Peppers [Off the Record Sports] — They seem to think the Panthers will franchise Peppers and try and sign Gross long-term, which could lead to a bidding war with the Eagles.

Free Agency Report: Jordan Gross [Bleacher Report] — A great in depth look at Jordan Gross.

If Cardinals trade Boldin, Eagles are frontrunners [All Things Philly Sports] — Boldin is locked up in Arizona for two more years and the Cardinals would be stupid to unload him, but if Boldin threatens a hold out and causes more headaches for their front office, it’s always a possibility.  The asking price is likely a first-round and third-round pick.  If that’s the asking price, I think Philly would take it.  If the Eagles don’t bite, he may end up with the Giants.

No tag for Houshmandzadeh? [Philly.com] — If the Bengals franchise Housh, they’ll have to shell out $9.88 million.  Housh said he doesn’t think the Bengals would do it.

Eagles Rank 20th in Pay Roll [Gary Cobb] — How the hell does Oakland have the highest pay roll?  Dallas is second.  Anyway, the Eagles have the room to make a big splash in free agency.

Free Agent Fullbacks [Inside the Iggles] — Although it’s not high on the priority list, the Eagles do need a Fullback.  Here is the list of free agents.  Although Lorenzo Neal is old, he still gets the job done.

Freddie Mitchell busted with Pot [Bleeding Green Nation] — Fred-Ex delivers his weed via Fed-Ex, but he got busted.

From the Desk of Jay Vaidya

Even as the price of a gallon of gasoline nears $5 and heat indexes soar above 100 degrees in the Lehigh Valley, Eagle fans are once again expected to converge at Eagles Training Camp 2008 on the campus of Lehigh University in record numbers.  Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the summer amongst the fans and the media is nothing new to Coach Andy Reid, who will be preparing for his 10th year as head coach of the Eagles.  Yet controversy and concerns still loom amidst an anxious and eager 2008 Philadelphia Eagle squad before the pads even go on.  As all of Eagle nation knows, six of Coach Reid’s past Eagle teams have found their way into the post season with limited success (aka one Super Bowl appearance) and four of them have forever been deleted from our memories (not to mention the lingering  void from not reaching the playoffs in two of the last three seasons).  This all of course is in addition to the salty taste and anger that has been brewing in Southeastern Pennsylvania ever since David Tyree’s “immaculate reception” in last year’s Super Bowl.

Topping the list of the afore mentioned concerns include the contract dispute of disgruntled Pro-Bowlers RB Brian Westbrook and CB Lito Sheppard, the health of Donovan McNabb, and rookies WR DeSean Jackson and DT Trevor Laws.

(1)          To begin, both Westbrook and Sheppard have fired their current agents and have re-signed with different agents in order to gain leverage against Eagle management, since their previous representation could get nothing done during talks in their favor before training camp.  At the “Welcome to Training Camp” press conference, Coach Reid made it clear that he has been in contact with Westbrook in the past few days, but has not spoken with Sheppard since the discontent cornerback skipped Organized Team Activities (OTA) last month.  To me, although the Eagles can survive and thrive in a season without Lito Sheppard (a la Sheldon Brown), a season without Brian Westbrook would mean disaster.  Let us all cross our fingers and hope that a Westbrook holdout is not in the near future.

(2)          Moving to less turbulent news, Coach Reid also noted (as reported here at www.allphiladelphiasports.com by Zach Zawarski) that Donovan McNabb’s shoulder problems are now in the past.  #5 has spent the last few weeks rehabbing his injury and training in Arizona (as he does every year) along with teammate Brian Dawkins and has been quoted as saying his shoulder ailment is a “non-issue”.  It is good to see the captain of our offense and the captain of our defense spending some of the offseason together butting heads in attempts to get the Eagles Team focused on another Super Bowl run.  Once again, we should all pray that both these cornerstones of our team remain healthy for the duration of not only training camp, but the entire season.

(3)         Finally, we move to the contract situations with rookies WR DeSean Jackson and DT Trevor Laws.  It is my pleasure to report to you that as of July 21st both these explosive players, one on each side of the ball, have inked 4-year deals with the Eagles.  (NOTE:  DT Trevor Laws will likely miss a portion of training camp due to what’s described as a “foot injury”, however this injury does not seem to be a major concern to either Laws or the Eagles’ staff)Near the end of his press conference, Coach Reid announced his new “30 Plus Club” policy.  This policy is specifically targeted at older veterans (i.e. Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas, and Jon Runyan) to keep them fresh and ready for the start of the regular season.  Basically this means that after these players workout back-to-back days, they will receive the following next day “half-off” in order to relax, recuperate, and keep from getting fatigued in the intense summer sun.  Players over 30 not included in the “30 Plus Club” include Donovan McNabb and AJ Feeley, since they wear the protective red jerseys, and don’t get as physically into the practices as the rest of the players do.

TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE NOTE: Over the next three days, the Eagles will work out their rookies and some select veterans (27 in total), including throwing sessions with Donovan McNabb, AJ Feeley, and Kevin Kolb so that these select players are ready for when the pads go on this Saturday July 26th.

The Madden 09 player rankings for the Philadelphia Eagles are out.  You can check out the full rankings following this link to IGN.com.

Here is who the Eagles’ top 10 players are according to the Madden rankings:

1.) Brian Westbrook – 97
2.) Asante Samuel – 96
2.) Shawn Andrews – 96
4.) Tra Thomas – 95
5.) Lito Sheppard – 94
6.) Trent Cole – 93
7.) Donovan McNabb – 92
7.) Brian Dawkins – 92
7.) Jamaal Jackson – 92
10.) Jon Runyan – 90

You can also follow Madden 09 at EA Sports Blog.

There is an outstanding article I came across over at the Eagles eye that talks about where the Eagles stand in 2008.  They discuss which players will be the starters next season, which free agents they may go after, which players they will let go, and what the Eagles may look for in the draft.

To summarize the article: Trent Cole and Juqua Thomas should the starters at defensive end next year.  Jevon Kearse and Darren Howard have been disappointing this season, so the Eagles may target another defensive end in free agency, possibly the Chiefs’ Jared Allen or Ravens’ Terrell Suggs, or the Eagles may draft another defensive end if they don’t think Victor Ambiamiri is making the progress they had hoped for; he didn’t get a lot of snaps this year, so it’s hard to tell how he is doing.

We all know the four safeties the Eagles were looking at in last year’s draft (Landry, Griffin, Nelson, and Meriweather) were drafted before the Eagles were up in the draft, so they really missed out  on a player that they hoped could attempt to assume Dawkins’ role when Dawkins’ time to retire comes (I hate talking about it, but he is 34).  Mikell has had a pretty good year; J.R. Reed hasn’t been bad, especially for a player who was counted out because of injuries; and Sean Considine simply sucks. If the Eagles like a safety in this year’s draft, you can be pretty sure they will use their first round pick on that position.

We all know how well the Eagle’s young linebackers are developing.  I’m extremely impressed with Gaither, Gocong, and Bradley. I like what they have at that position, so if Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis or Penn State’s Dan Connor are available, I think the Eagles would pass on them.  Laurinaitis should be drafted in the top 10 because he does stuff like this (YouTube video), but Connor could fall to a spot where the Eagles could pick him up.

The Eagles could use another OT to succeed Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan and I’m scared about Winston Justice’s development after the Giant’s debacle, but the guy never gave up a sack in college football (I think; regardless, he was damn good in college).  The Eagles were going to draft him with their first pick, but Bunkley fell so they took him and then Justice fell, so they traded up in the second round to get him, so a double bonus for them.  The Eagles could use another OT, but I think they should target one in the 2nd or 3rd round rather than their 1st round pick, which I think they should use to get a safety or DeSean Jackson.

Finally, what will the Eagles do about L.J. Smith?  I think they’ll let him go unless his free-agent stock decreases because lets face it: he’s injury prone, drops passes, fumbles, and is a below average pass blocker, but other than that he’s awesome!  He does a lot of good things to the passing game and has bad-ass tattoos.  The article mentions that Dallas Clark is a free agent, but Indy will almost certainly resign him.  I think Brent Celek will be a very solid player,  not a pro-bowler, but a sure handed player who can block, and that’s about all you can really ask for from the 5th round selection.  I think the Eagles should draft another TE late to add depth, but I have no problem with Celek as the starter going into next season.

One final note.  Apparently there were some rumors the Eagles would trade for Chad Johnson in the offseason, but the chances of that are probably as good as the Eagles making the playoffs this year: none.