The Darren Sproles extension follows a trend by the organization to extend their veteran players. As Jeff McLane of Philly.com writes, the team has already wrapped up 31-year-old tight end Brent Celek and 34-year-old offensive tackle Jason Peters this offseason. However, executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman said the team isn’t following any set rules.
“I think we’re more looking at each individual case as it comes,” said Roseman. “When you talk about those guys, we know what they can still bring to our football team on and off the field. And when you’re implementing some young players it’s good to have a nice mix of guys who have done it before and understand what it was like when teams have had success.”
Instead, Roseman believes extending his veterans sends the right message to their younger teammates.
“I think it’s the message that you’re sending to the team and the players. . . . You do the right thing here, and you’re productive, and you got a chance to stay here,” Roseman said. “And we want people to feel that way on and off the field.”
Let’s take a look at some notes out of Philly…
- Sproles may have signed a one-year extension yesterday, but the running back is already eyeing the end of his career. “When I’m done playing, I’m going to be an Eagle,” the 33-year-old told Zach Berman of Philly.com. When asked how many productive seasons he has left in the tank, Sproles replied “this year and next year.”
- The Eagles are slated to have the least amount of cap room in 2017 and 2018, leading some to assume that the team would eventually move on from quarterback Sam Bradford. However, Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com explains why the team could keep Bradford in 2017, with the writer citing a recent quote by Roseman. “We’re not in the business of losing good players,” Roseman said. “That’s our job to figure out scenarios and figure out ways to do that, and we’ve gone through all those scenarios. It’s tighter than it’s been since I’ve been here, but we also felt like it was an opportunity now with where our players were that the longer we waited, the more players we’d probably have to lose. Time is never helpful in these things. We went into it knowing that, but, for sure.”
- Longtime Eagles safety Brian Dawkins has joined the team’s scouting department, tweets Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Zach Berman of Philly.com notes that Dawkins is the “inaugural recipient” of the Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowship, a program that “introduce[s] former players to scouting.”