Jason Peters ruptures Achilles tendon, may be lost for the season

The Eagles got some terrible news today: Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jason Peters suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and will have surgery next week.  Peters suffered the injury while training for the upcoming season and likely won't be ready to play until late in the 2012 season, if at all.

This is a huge blow to the Eagles who now must fill a big hole on their offensive line.  They did announce the re-signing of King Dunlap today but that won't be a solution.  Look for them to draft an o-lineman in the first round and possibly look to trade for or sign another veteran left tackle in free agency.

For a team that looked set heading into the 2012 season, losing their best offensive lineman certainly throws a wrench into the Eagles plans.  What looked like a smooth, successful offseason plan now has been thrown off course.

The Eagles land a LB, acquire DeMeco Ryans

All offseason, we've been left to wonder what the Eagles will do to shore up their weakest position: linebacker.  After passing on most of the bigger name free agents, the Eagles pulled off a huge trade today, acquiring DeMeco Ryans from the Texans for a 4th round draft pick.  Ryans, who does have some issues with an Achilles tendon, still has to pass a physical before the trade becomes official but all indications are that the Eagles are confident he will pass.

Ryans, a 6 year veteran and a 2-time Pro Bowler, brings a hefty salary with him to the Eagles as he earns over 6 million a year through 2015.  He is a huge pickup for the Eagles and he will be the best linebacker they've had on the roster in years.  The reason the Texans were willing to trade Ryans for very little was his salary and he is better suited for the 4-3 defense that the Eagles employ.

It will be a strange sight to see the Eagles actually have a legitimate Pro Bowler playing middle linebacker for them next season.  At 27, Ryans is young and should be a force in the middle for years to come.  Great move by the Birds to get a young stud player in a position of extreme need for little cost.

Eagles kick off free agency by extending Herremans, Cole

The NFL free agency period began today and the Eagles started it off by making sure two of their better players were going to remain with the team for several more years.  Both Todd Herremans and Trent Cole signed contract extensions today, with Herremans being extended through 2016 and Cole's exact contract not yet announced but expected to be for about the same number of years.

Herremans was rewarded for his versatile play along the line as the deal could give him about 20 million dollars of guaranteed money.  Cole also is much deserving of more guaranteed money given how valuable he is as one of the best pass rushers in the NFL.

What the Eagles do next in free agency isn't clear, though there have been some rumblings about LB's and backup running backs being on their wishlist.  With DeSean Jackson getting good money with the franchise tag and the Eagles giving extensions to a few of their own, there likely isn't a ton of money left for the Birds to make a big splash.  In other words, don't expect anything like what happened last year.

Eagles officially tag DeSean Jackson

As expected, the Eagles announced that they have placed the franchise tag on wideout DeSean Jackson.  The move locks Jackson into a one year deal next season with the Eagles for 9.4 million dollars, quite a substantial raise over what he has made the last few seasons.  Jackson is looking for more years and a bigger payday than that, however.

The tagging doesn't guarantee that Jackson will remain with the Eagles.  The Birds could take the tag off of Jackson at any time or even try to deal him to another team though I wouldn't expect many teams to be interested in him when there are so many other free agent receivers available.

DeSean Jackson's offseason story is just beginning.  Expect plenty of contract and trade speculation over the next few months as the Eagles try to work with their enigmatic and likely disgruntled wideout.