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.