Eagles being paid not to play

[deerpathdave]

First of all you have the dead money. These guys are counting against the salary cap and playing for other teams....

LeSean McCoy...$3.4M
Trent Cole... $3.2M
Todd Herremans.$2.4M
Cary Williams....$1.6M

Total...............$10.6M

Really no big issue here. They earned their pay when they were here for the most part. Given the carry over of $15M its still a net positive.

I am curious about money they are paying to guys that may not play much....

Riley Cooper....$4M (4/5 receiver)
Miles Austin....$2.25M (4/5 receiver)
Marcus Smith..$1.7M (3/4 OLB)
Demeco Ryans...$3M (2/3 ILB)
Brad Jones .....$1.1M (4.5 ILB)

Total .......$12M

This is not as bad as I imagined. The Riley Cooper deal is a bad contract. And then you throw $2M at Miles Austin, and you know at least one of those guys is going to get paid for doing nothing. The Marcus Smith deal is what you pay at that spot in the draft, and while it looks bad now, we may think differently in six months. I really don't see the justification though for re-signing Ryans and signing Brad Jones. There is a good chance neither will see the field.

While I like the depth, this is some of what you get with a Coach/GM. These are arguably bad financial deals. Looks like Chip has basically p--- away over $6M. But they are a better team this year for it.

 

[deerpathdave]

Thinking about the Demeco Ryans contract a little. The big deal on that contract is it is essentially fully guaranteed for two years. The dollar value is good, but not necessarily starter sort of pay. My take is that they are paying him as much for his leadership off the field as on, and are probably viewing him as much a coach as a player. I would not be at all surprised if part of the expectation is that he accept a part time/backup role as necessary. Bottom line, is I don't think he will be playing much (assuming health from the others), and the Eagles may be fine with that. A strong leader and clubhouse harmony, maybe a contribution on special teams. A bonus if you will for the ultimate leader and team player. And a good to excellent emergency fill in if Alonso or Kendricks have issues.

Again though, paying a guy extra mill for leadership is not the way a business oriented GM thinks. Its the way a coach thinks. Totally the opposite of the way they handled Dawkins.

 

[Deano]

I don't see any really gross issues here. Looking at each case individually, there's justification for each of those ayers at the time they signed.

I would bet you could look at any team and find at least one contract more questionable than any of these.

 

[deerpathdave]

I don't see any really gross issues here. Looking at each case individually, there's justification for each of those ayers at the time they signed.

I would bet you could look at any team and find at least one contract more questionable than any of these.

Not sure I would agree when it comes to Brad Jones, DeMeco Ryans, and Miles Austin. If your trying to create a bang for your buck roster, you don't make those moves. These are pure football moves for depth that a good business oriented GM would probably not do. How many more games are they likely to win with those signings? Really 0. What this does do is give them a slight edge in depth. As a coach and a fan I would love it though.

 

[WIZ]

Austin and Ryans were great signings. Ryans is a pure leader and great player. Austin is a decent speed guy who can play when healthy. If hurt there's no real loss. Both are no lose kind of signings that could pay big dividends.

 

[eaglesnut]

I really don't see the justification though for re-signing Ryans and signing Brad Jones. There is a good chance neither will see the field.

Ummm Ryans will definitely be playing.

Chip may always have problems with his starters asking for more money since their backups are making more than them. He's never had to deal with that before and might not have a clue about it. Although I suspect he reads a lot on leadership and organizational theory.

 

[eaglesnut]

A strong leader and clubhouse harmony, maybe a contribution on special teams. A bonus if you will for the ultimate leader and team player. And a good to excellent emergency fill in if Alonso or Kendricks have issues.

You can't lead from the bench. He's going to be in there on every first down that he's healthy for. (Probably not in the two minute drill though)

 

[Deano]

Not sure I would agree when it comes to Brad Jones, DeMeco Ryans, and Miles Austin. If your trying to create a bang for your buck roster, you don't make those moves. These are pure football moves for depth that a good business oriented GM would probably not do. How many more games are they likely to win with those signings? Really 0. What this does do is give them a slight edge in depth. As a coach and a fan I would love it though.

Brad Jones is a veteran LB with experience at ILB or OLB. Who better to teach young guys like Kendrick's, Alonzo, Smith, and Hicks? Reasonable salary too. You have Ryan's and Alonzo coming off major injuries. Great signing although it may now work out that he doesn't play much.

Ryan's is a fantastic leader. Still productive. Reasonable deal based on timing. Alonzo was iffy and Kendrick's was on the bubble. No brainer. Splits time with 2young studs if all healthy.

Miles Austin? Signed when we had just Matthews at WR. Huff and Cooper can't play. Reasonable deal with a veteran. No problem.


I really can't find fault in any of these deals. Jones may get released if everybody makes it through camp healthy.

 

[deerpathdave]

Brad Jones is a veteran LB with experience at ILB or OLB. Who better to teach young guys like Kendrick's, Alonzo, Smith, and Hicks? Reasonable salary too. You have Ryan's and Alonzo coming off major injuries. Great signing although it may now work out that he doesn't play much.

Ryan's is a fantastic leader. Still productive. Reasonable deal based on timing. Alonzo was iffy and Kendrick's was on the bubble. No brainer. Splits time with 2young studs if all healthy.

Miles Austin? Signed when we had just Matthews at WR. Huff and Cooper can't play. Reasonable deal with a veteran. No problem.


I really can't find fault in any of these deals. Jones may get released if everybody makes it through camp healthy.

I don''t disagree other than the little matter of $6M spent. Yes it makes them a better team this year, but you keep on making moves like this and you quickly find your team heading to Salary Cap Hell. This team has no history of that as in the Banner/Roseman era, they didn't make many moves like this, and consequently have had salary cap space to spare. Its really alot of money for a guys that don't stand much of a chance of playing.

 

[PhillyJoker]

Aren't all of them coming off the books relatively quickly? I don't think any of them are signed for more than 2 years, so it would be relatively painless to get rid of them if need be. Not to mention the cap is just going crazy right now. I think in the VERY long run you COULD be right, if these types of moves continue for the next 3-4 years and the cap rise stalls we MIGHT have issues. But this year with Bradford coming off the cap and the 20MIL boost in the cap we'll be just fine.

 

[deerpathdave]

Well, hopefully Bradford is not coming off the books next year. In fact if all goes according to plan, he will cost over $20M.

I am not seriously upset about this. More observing that this is what you are getting going from Howie to Chip. Spending $6M on a few guys that stand a good chance of not seeing the field is good for the depth, but when you weigh the value vice the dollar, its questionable.

 

[old duke]

Thinking about the Demeco Ryans contract a little. The big deal on that contract is it is essentially fully guaranteed for two years. The dollar value is good, but not necessarily starter sort of pay. My take is that they are paying him as much for his leadership off the field as on, and are probably viewing him as much a coach as a player. I would not be at all surprised if part of the expectation is that he accept a part time/backup role as necessary. Bottom line, is I don't think he will be playing much (assuming health from the others), and the Eagles may be fine with that. A strong leader and clubhouse harmony, maybe a contribution on special teams. A bonus if you will for the ultimate leader and team player. And a good to excellent emergency fill in if Alonso or Kendricks have issues.

Again though, paying a guy extra mill for leadership is not the way a business oriented GM thinks. Its the way a coach thinks. Totally the opposite of the way they handled Dawkins.

"They" meaning Joe banner and Reid. Things are different now. Also, Lurie wasn't in favor of playing "hardball" with Dawk. In fact, Banner was shocked that Dawk didn't sign their low ball offer, with his age factor, and then it certainy backfired on all of us. Dawk was Lurie's favorite player of his ownership.

 

[eaglesnut]

"They" meaning Joe banner and Reid. Things are different now. Also, Lurie wasn't in favor of playing "hardball" with Dawk. In fact, Banner was shocked that Dawk didn't sign their low ball offer, with his age factor, and then it certainy backfired on all of us. Dawk was Lurie's favorite player of his ownership.

Reid was expecting Dawkins back. Banner fucked that up all on his own.

 

[old duke]

Then Reid had no excuse for not drafting Earl Thomas, did he?
I hope that Graham finally shows that he can be a solid, if not dominant player.
I hope he does. I have nothing against him, but until he does, he will always be compared to Thomas.

 

[I miss Dawkins]

Reid was expecting Dawkins back. Banner fucked that up all on his own.

while I agree, banner was the author of that failure - Lurie is the owner and Reid had tremendous influence. It was not done without their knowledge and tacit concent. Reid is a company yes-man and simply doesn't come out and speak out against what management is doing. However, when they were doing the same thing to Westbrook, on a very rare instance, he inserted his 2 cents and said they should pay him and move on. And since Westy didn't budge, they did that. Reid remained silent on Dawkins. And Lurie is the owner - nothing happens without his final approval. And lease you forget, it was Lurie that goaded TO in the media stating who he was not thinking about when TO had finally got smart and went silent in hopes of working with management. So lurie is very well aware of the contracts and what Reid and Banner are both doing.

 

[eaglesnut]

Then Reid had no excuse for not drafting Earl Thomas, did he?
I hope that Graham finally shows that he can be a solid, if not dominant player.
I hope he does. I have nothing against him, but until he does, he will always be compared to Thomas.

Go take a look at how many pass rushers go in the first round every year. I loved Earl Thomas too. And probably earlier than most. But that doesn't change the impact that a top pass rusher can have on a team.

 

[eaglesnut]

while I agree, banner was the author of that failure - Lurie is the owner and Reid had tremendous influence. It was not done without their knowledge and tacit concent. Reid is a company yes-man and simply doesn't come out and speak out against what management is doing. However, when they were doing the same thing to Westbrook, on a very rare instance, he inserted his 2 cents and said they should pay him and move on. And since Westy didn't budge, they did that. Reid remained silent on Dawkins. And Lurie is the owner - nothing happens without his final approval. And lease you forget, it was Lurie that goaded TO in the media stating who he was not thinking about when TO had finally got smart and went silent in hopes of working with management. So lurie is very well aware of the contracts and what Reid and Banner are both doing.

That's some good misremembering right there. Especially, and particularly, and without the slightest resemblance to reality, the bolded.

 

[old duke]

Ithink that Banner had told Lurie that they were going to work it out with Dawk, but was caught off guard when Denver sined him without Dawk coming back to the birds

Go take a look at how many pass rushers go in the first round every year. I loved Earl Thomas too. And probably earlier than most. But that doesn't change the impact that a top pass rusher can have on a team.

But their biggest need was a safety not another pass rusher. Reid was/is clueless.

 

[eaglesnut]

Ithink that Banner had told Lurie that they were going to work it out with Dawk, but was caught off guard when Denver sined him without Dawk coming back to the birds


But their biggest need was a safety not another pass rusher.

You can have the best safeties in the world and they'll get burnt without a pass rush.

 

[old duke]

You're right, of course.