NFL Draft Rumors: Griffin, Lions, Jets
UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin did wonders for his draft stock by running a 4.38 second 40-yard-dash, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) reports. Griffin is getting considerable buzz in Indianapolis and one head coach remarked to Rapoport that Griffin may have put himself in consideration as a fourth-round pick. Teams were wary about Griffin’s ability to play at the next level because of his amputated left hand. They’re looking at him in a whole new light now, though Rapoport says that evaluators are now going back to the tape to see if Griffin plays as fast as he looked at the combine. Griffin’s 4.38 was the fastest recorded time for a linebacker at the combine in more than a decade.
Here’s more on the NFL Draft:
- Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, and Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen are all on the rise after strong showings in the combine, Rapoport reports (on Twitter). Allen was once viewed as a second-tier QB in this year’s draft, behind USC’s Sam Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen. There’s no longer a clear consensus on the order of this year’s top signal callers with talk that Allen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield are climbing boards league-wide.
- We’ve been hearing a lot about Vander Esch’s rise in particular in recent weeks. LVE’s 4.65 second 40-yard-dash was faster than expected and Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com hears that he could go as high as No. 14 when the Packers are called to the podium. Pauline’s understanding is that he won’t get past the Steelers at No. 28 and the Eagles, who pick at No. 32, have already come to the conclusion that he’ll be gone by then.
- Delaware defensive tackle Bilal Nichols is a name to watch for the Jets and Lions, according to Pauline. Nichols tweaked his hamstring during the 40-yard-dash and was unable to finish the drill, but he should be ready to go before his pro day on March 20.
Eagles Seeking More Than 1st, 4th Round Picks For Nick Foles
The Eagles have set a sky high asking price for Nick Foles. In order to part with the reigning Super Bowl MVP, the Eagles are telling teams they’ll need more than the first- and fourth-round picks they received from the Vikings in the Sam Bradford trade, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Eagles Offered Second-Round Pick For Foles By AFC Team]
With roughly two weeks to go between now and the start of free agency, the Eagles can afford to set the bar high. That’s presumably what the Eagles are doing here. While Foles is a quality quarterback and arguably a stronger option than any free agent QB not named Kirk Cousins, it’s hard to imagine the Eagles netting such a return for him. It’s also hard to see the Eagles holding on to Foles as their backup given his $7MM+ cap hit and the team’s limited financial flexibility. The likely outcome here is that Foles will be traded and it will probably be for less than what the Eagles are currently asking for.
For what it’s worth, Mortensen reports that the Eagles have received multiple offers for Foles, but they have not been actively shopping him. We don’t know the nature of every offer put in front of them, but we do know that one AFC team has already pitched a second-round pick for the 29-year-old.
Eagles Offered Second-Round Pick For Nick Foles
An AFC team has offered a second-round pick for Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke with Geoff Mosher of FanRag. The source says that the proposal was made to Philadelphia earlier this offseason. 
The Eagles, ideally, would like to hold on to the Super Bowl MVP, but that’s a luxury they might not be able to afford given their serious numbers crunch. In a vacuum, Foles’ $7.6MM cap charge is completely justifiable, but the Eagles have bigger needs to address than the backup QB role.
The Eagles are already primed to lose tight end Trey Burton to free agency and nickel cornerback Patrick Robinson could also fly the nest. Moving Foles could help the Eagles in their bid to retain Robinson, or at least give them the draft ammo necessary to replace him and fill other holes.
The identity of the AFC team in question is not known, but the Browns, Bills, and Jets would all be logical suitors. The Dolphins, who may not be 100% confident in Ryan Tannehill, could also fit the profile of a team with interest in Foles.
Giants Interested In Patrick Robinson
Patrick Robinson could wind up leaving the Eagles while staying in the NFC East. The Giants have interest in signing the free agent cornerback, according to a source who spoke with Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com. 
We learned over the weekend that the Giants are planning to move Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from cornerback to safety, leaving a major void at nickel cornerback. Filling the gap with Robinson would be a major win for the Giants. The veteran graded out as the sixth-best cornerback in the NFL last season, per Pro Football Focus, and matched a career-high with four interceptions.
The Eagles, naturally, would like to keep Robinson, but the defending champs are placing a serious numbers crunch. The Giants are somewhat limited with just $23.68MM in cap space, but that’s far more flexibility than the Eagles have.
Free agency officially begins on March 14. Teams are permitted to contact agents of players set to become free agents on March 12, that is already happening across the league on the QT.
Eagles To Release DL Vinny Curry?
The Eagles are expected to release defensive lineman Vinny Curry, but could attempt to restructure his contract before making the cut official, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (all Twitter links). Meanwhile, other NFL clubs are expressing interest in trading for Curry, per Rapoport.
Philadelphia, of course, is coming off a Super Bowl title, but now faces an offseason of cost-cutting. Releasing Curry represents the first of those moves, as parting ways with the veteran defender will clear his $9MM base salary from the Eagles’ 2018 books. However, $6MM worth of Curry’s prorated bonus money will now immediately accelerated onto Philadelphia’s salary cap, leaving the club with a net savings of $5MM.
For most teams, a $5MM cap savings would represent a drop in the bucket, but it’s a critical total for the Eagles, who were a projected $10.41MM over the cap before cutting Curry. Philadelphia will still be over the cap following Curry’s release, so more transactions — which could potentially include cutting wide receiver Torrey Smith or trading backup quarterback Nick Foles — are likely on the table.
Curry, 29, played the most defensive snaps of his career (576) of his career in 2017, and saw the third-most playtime among Eagles defensive lineman. While Curry managed only three sacks, he posted 28.5 quarterback pressures and graded as the NFL’s No. 21 edge defender, per Pro Football Focus, which assigned Curry excellent marks for his run defense.
Philadelphia, though, has cheaper options along its defensive line. Brandon Graham will earn just $8MM in base salary in 2018, the final year of his contract, while Chris Long will collect only $2.25MM. And the Eagles used their 2017 first-round pick on edge rusher Derek Barnett, who is under team control through at least 2020 at cost effective rates.
Given his track record and his ability to slide to defensive tackle in sub packages, Curry should be able to generate a market in free agency. He’ll be aided by a weak free agent defensive end class, as well as the fact that he won’t factor into the 2019 compensatory pick formula now that’s been released.
Eagles Promote Assistant
- Spencer Phillips will rise to the position of assistant quarterbacks coach/offensive quality control with the Eagles, Jeff McLane of Philly.com tweets. Now that John DeFilippo departed to become the Vikings’ OC, last season’s assistant QBs coach, Press Taylor, rose to be Philadelphia’s QBs instructor. Phillips was on Philly’s staff as an assistant last season.
Eagles Want To Extend CB Patrick Robinson
The Eagles are negotiating an extension with cornerback Patrick Robinson, a source tells NJ.com’s Matt Lombardo. Robinson is scheduled to reach free agency on March 14. 
The cash-strapped defending champs will do their best to keep the band together, but they are limited in what they can offer. The Eagles are already likely to lose tight end Trey Burton, who figures to garner the most lucrative contract of any free agent tight end this offseason.
Robinson, 31 in September, emerged as a locker room leader in 2017 and gave the team quality play at slot cornerback. Last year, Pro Football Focus ranked Robinson as the sixth-best cornerback in the NFL, putting him ahead of notables such as Stephon Gilmore, Darius Slay, A.J. Bouye, and Aqib Talib. Robinson also had four interceptions, matching a career-high.
While the Eagles’ signing of Alshon Jeffery drew headlines, Robinson proved to be an excellent one-year pickup in his own right. He earned just $1MM in 2017 but he should be poised for a significant pay bump in 2018, whether it comes from Philadelphia or another team.
Salary Cap Rollover For All 32 NFL Teams
This week, the NFLPA updated its salary cap report to include the rollover amounts for all 32 teams in the NFL. The Browns, as expected, lead the league in $58.9MM in cap space rolled over from the previous season. Here is the full rundown of each team’s rollover amounts:
After the Browns, the 49ers ($56MM), Titans ($30.3MM), Jaguars ($27.8MM), and Jets ($17.3MM) boast the highest rollover amounts in the league. The Dolphins ($69K), Saints ($287K), Giants ($365K), Eagles ($514K), and the Seahawks ($547K) have the least amount of rollover. In total, teams carried over nearly $340MM from last season, good for an average of $10.6MM per club.
Eagles P Donnie Jones Retires
Donnie Jones is calling it a career. On Tuesday morning, the Eagles punter announced his retirement from the NFL. 
“After 14 seasons in the NFL, I have decided to retire so that I can spend more time with my family,” said Jones in a statement released by the team. “I am grateful for all those who have supported me throughout the years. Specifically, I would like to thank Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman, Doug Pederson, and the entire Eagles organization for allowing me to be a part of their family for the past five seasons. I will truly miss my teammates, coaches, friends, and the best fans in the NFL. Although I am retiring, I will always be an Eagle and will forever have a special place in my heart for the City of Philadelphia. It is a great honor to be a part of the first Super Bowl championship team in Eagles history and there is no better way to finish my career.”
Jones first entered the league as a seventh-round pick of the Seahawks in 2014. After that, he spent two seasons with the Dolphins, five seasons with the Rams, and one year with the Texans before hooking on with the Eagles in 2013. He leaves the game not only as a world champion, but as a record holder in Philadelphia. He is the Eagles’ all-time leader in gross punting average (45.37 yards) and net average (40.5). He also owns franchise records for most career punts inside the 20 (138), most single-season punts inside the 20 (34, 2014), and best net punting average in a season (41.6, 2015).
Cameron Johnston, who signed a futures deal with the Eagles in January, may be a candidate to take over for Jones.
Trey Burton Unlikely To Return To Eagles
The defending champions are looking to keep the band together with limited cap space this offseason. Already, they’re on the verge of losing at least one key player. The Eagles are unlikely to retain tight end Trey Burton and he is expected to sign with another team in March, a person with knowledge of the negotiations tells Matt Lombardo of NJ.com. 
The Eagles made an offer that Burton, but the tight end did not consider that proposal to be “serious,” according to the source. Burton now projects as the best tight end available on the open market.
Burton most of the season behind Zach Ertz on the Eagles’ depth chart. The undrafted free agent then saw an uptick in playing time when Ertz suffered a concussion late in the season. In the Super Bowl, Burton cemented his place in Philadelphia lore when he threw the “Philly Special” touchdown pass to quarterback Nick Foles.
In the regular season, Burton caught 23 passes for 248 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. There are bigger names in this year’s free agent TE crop such as Jimmy Graham, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, and Tyler Eifert, but Burton figures to command the largest offers of the group.