With the draft just over 24 hours away, the Eagles are shopping linebacker Mychal Kendricks, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). According to La Canfora, teams are currently balking as Philadelphia’s asking price of a second-round pick, but there’s still a chance something happens.
Kendricks, 24, has been a starting inside linebacker for the Eagles since entering the league as the 46th overall pick in 2012. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the former second-round pick was one of the league’s best ILBs last season, despite only playing 12 games — his grades as a pass rusher and in pass coverage were among the best at his position.
Nonethless, there have been some questions about how committed the Eagles are to Kendricks. The team brought in former Bill Kiko Alonso in a trade earlier in the offseason, and reworked DeMeco Ryans‘ deal to keep him in the mix, rather than parting ways with the veteran. Kendricks is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and there has been no indication that the club has interest in extending him, which led to some trade speculation earlier in April.
As La Canfora points out in a pair of subsequent tweets, Kendricks’ apparent availability adds another wrinkle to the rumors about the Eagles potentially trading up in the first round for Marcus Mariota. Kendricks – or the draft pick(s) acquired for him – could be included as part of a package for that sort of move.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), rival teams believe the Eagles would also be willing to part with cornerback Brandon Boykin, which is something we heard a few weeks ago.