Dawkins to the Broncos appears done

Bad news, Eagles fans. The signing that was off and on and back off again appears to be pretty much official: Brian Dawkins is going to sign with the Broncos. Barring some 11th hour offer, the Eagles are going to lose their defensive leader.

The story was initially leaked as a rumor by the San Francisco Chronicle and was then refuted by several sources, including Adam Schefter of NFL Network. Unfortunately, two reliable sources have come out late Friday night and confirmed that Dawkins has all but signed on the dotted line: Fox 29 of Philadelphia and Derrick Gunn of Comcast Sportsnet.

The shocking part about Dawkins leaving is the fact that the Eagles sit some 40 plus million dollars under the cap. You can't tell me they can't afford to pay Dawkins a few extra bucks over two years to let him retire an Eagle. We know that Dawkins isn't asking for a ton of money, he simply wants more than a one year deal.

The Eagles better have a plan up their sleeve about how they are going to make this team better because all they have done this offseason is lose players. Losing Correll Buckhalter, Lito Sheppard and L.J. Smith aren't huge blows but when you add in a veteran leader like Dawkins, you have to wonder if the team will remain one of the best in the NFC again next year.

I hope that it isn't true as much as the next Eagles fan, but it appears that Brian Dawkins will not be wearing Eagles green next season. Seeing him in a Broncos uniform is going to make me sick.