Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer offers an explanation as to why the Eagles, traditional big-spenders in free agency, have not splurged on outside players this offseason, despite having $24MM in salary cap space. And it’s not just because the team has been burned in the past by ill-advised, big-money deals; it’s also about scheme. Rather than pursue the premier free agents on the market, the Eagles instead “targeted specific players they thought fit their scheme, could provide in-roster competition, and were versatile enough to help on special teams.”
Furthermore, as Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com writes, head coach Chip Kelly believes the team has spent heavily this offseason, but the Eagles spent the money to retain their own players and view free agents from outside teams as complements to the core of their roster. The strategy that Kelly and general manager Howie Roseman have followed adheres to the blueprint Roseman laid out last month, and it suggests the Eagles have turned a corner in the franchise’s approach to free agency.
Here are some more notes from the NFC East:
- We learned earlier today that Henry Melton will still visit with the Cowboys as planned, but Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News reports that “talks have heated up” with several teams. In a separate post, George writes defensive end Anthony Spencer will be visiting the Rams on Sunday. The Cowboys remain interested in bringing Spencer back if the price is right.
- Steve Serby of the New York Post believes the Giants are losing the offseason battle to their divisional rivals, but that was before the team landed Quintin Demps and signed Walter Thurmond.
- The Redskins may be throwing their hat into the Kenny Britt ring, with Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweeting that the team is working on scheduling a visit with the receiver.