Monday, July 25, 2011

Eagles free agents: Who stays and who goes?

Now that the lockout is over, the Eagles have some work to do in free agency, starting with what they will do with their own free agents. With the removal of the transition tag on David Akers, the Birds now have 15 players set to be unrestricted free agents:

K David Akers
LB Stewart Bradley
G Nick Cole
LB Omar Gaither
S Antoine Harris
RB Jerome Harrison
CB Ellis Hobbs
G Max Jean-Gillis
LB Akeem Jordan
DE Bobby McCray
S Quintin Mikell
CB Dmitri Patterson
P Sav Rocca
LB Ernie Sims
G Reggie Wells

As for which of these players the Eagles will bring back, I wouldn't be surprised if they signed Rocca and let the rest leave town. The other player with the best chance to sign back is Bradley given how well he knows the system and how effective he has been when healthy. Jerome Harrison would be someone I hope the Eagles sign for another season but I can see him looking elsewhere so he can have a bigger workload. The only other player on the list that has any value to the Birds is likely Dmitri Patterson, who could be a nice depth piece in the secondary.

Given the linemen the Eagles drafted, the three offensive linemen, Cole, Jean-Gillis, and Wells are as good as gone. Akers will also be kicked to the curb with the drafting of Alex Henery. None of the linebackers besides Bradley will have a role with the Eagles, so Gaither, Jordan and Sims better look elsewhere for jobs.

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