Here we go again: more Boldin to the Eagles rumors

The rumor that just won't go away has resurfaced yet again. According to Peter King of Sports Illustrated, Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin will be traded by July and the Eagles are the most likely destination.

King does not give a reason why he believes Boldin will be traded, but it stems from his contract issues with the team. Simply put, Boldin wants to get paid and the Cardinals aren't willing to restructure his current contract. The relationship between the 3 time Pro Bowler and his team has gotten so bad that Boldin wants out.

According to King, the top two teams in the mix for Boldin are the Eagles and the Giants. King goes on to say that the Eagles are the frontrunners: "Philly has (draft picks) 21, 28 and 53, the Giants 29, 45 and 60. I find it hard to believe the Eagles won't trade for Boldin. Very hard. He's a perfect fit, and they've got the cap room to sign him."

As we have learned, just because the Eagles have cap room doesn't mean they are actually going to use it. The draft picks they have to offer should be enticing to the Cardinals but the Eagles have to be willing to restructure Boldin's deal and give him the money he wants.

As I have said all along, if Boldin is at all available, the Eagles have to pursue him. He is a perfect fit for the team and would be a great weapon for Donovan McNabb. Let's just hope the Cardinals are foolish enough to shop him before we start buying our Boldin jerseys.

Will Eagles pursue recently released Orlando Pace?

Now that Tra Thomas has signed with the Jaguars, the Eagles have a hole to fill on their offensive line. If you look at their depth chart on their official website, Winston Justice is listed as the first string left tackle. Even though there is little chance that Justice would ever start a game for the Birds, the team will have to bring in someone else to either start at left tackle or move Todd Herremans or Shawn Andrews out there. The way I see it, the Eagles have three options: they could make a trade, they could wait and address the open slot at the draft, or they could sign a 7-time Pro Bowler who has recently become available.

The Rams have released left tackle Orlando Pace in a move that saves the team 6 million dollars in salary cap space. The move was a no-brainer for the Rams since they couldn't find anyone willing to trade for Pace and they figure to draft a tackle with the number two pick in the draft. While Pace has struggled with injuries over the last few seasons and is 33 years old, he can still play at a high level when he's healthy.

The question now is whether the Eagles choose to pursue Pace. The Birds will never give him a long-term contract, but at the right price for one or two years, Pace would make a lot of sense. The Eagles could plug Pace in as the starter and still draft a left tackle that could learn the position and wouldn't need to be thrust right into the lineup. Then, if (or when) Pace gets hurt, the Eagles can turn to their rookie tackle who should have learned a lot watching the veteran tackle do his thing.

For the right price and a short contract, Orlando Pace would be great for the Eagles. Unfortunately, this will likely be the last contract Pace ever signs, so the chances of him actually settling for a cheap deal are slim. The Eagles would still be smart to reach out to Pace and see if he wants to finish out his career making less money but playing for a winner after so many losing seasons in St. Louis. The chances are slim, but it can't hurt to ask.

Another Eagle moves on: Tra Thomas signs with the Jaguars

While it certainly won't have the impact of the departure of Brian Dawkins, the Eagles have lost another veteran leader today. Tra Thomas, who had been an Eagle since 1998, signed a three year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Thomas went to Florida State and is a native of Florida so the move will be a homecoming for him.

The writing had been on the wall for a while on this one. The Eagles essentially broke off talks with Thomas at the beginning of free agency and were clearly ready to let their left tackle move on. Thomas is still an effective football player, but at age 34, his skills are only going to degrade. The Birds were never going to give Thomas a 3 year deal at that age, so he was smart to look elsewhere.

The Eagles now have a hole on their offensive line. Who will play left tackle? There is some though that Todd Herremans or Shawn Andrews could move into that role. Of course, the Eagles could also address the tackle position at the draft, but there is no guarantee anyone they draft will be ready to play right away.

The Birds continue to lose veteran leaders on the offense and the defense. With Dawkins and Thomas already gone and Jon Runyan not likely back, the team will have a serious void of quality leadership. It will be up to the young guys to step up as the Eagles move into another phase of development.

With the Eagles so quick to drop veteran players when they get just past their prime, one also has to wonder how soon they will ship Donovan McNabb out of town.

The cancer known as T.O. will now infect Buffalo

That really didn't take long, did it? After more than half the NFL made it known that they wouldn't sign recently released Terrell Owens, all it took was a few days for T.O. to find a new home. I guess it only takes one desperate team, which the Buffalo Bills certainly are. T.O. signed a one year deal with the Bills worth 6.5 million dollars. In all likelihood, Owens will use this one year to prove that he can still be a solid citizen and a contributing member to an NFL team before he looks for a bigger contract. Buffalo was smart to give him no more than one year because this signing could easily blow up in their faces.

So, T.O. will now be a part of an offense that features Trent Edwards at quarterback. If he had issues with Pro Bowl QB's like Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo, you can imagine what kind of problems are going to arise in Buffalo. It should be fun to watch T.O. blow up another team, too bad it's not another rival of the Eagles.

Flyers avoid Briere scare, rescind trade

Watching Danny Briere get injured is becoming an all too familiar sight. Not only did the Flyers get beat down by the Calgary Flames on Thursday, but Briere re-injured his groin. There was some thought on Friday that Briere could be out for weeks or even months, fortunately the injury doesn't look serious and he could be back as early as next week. Of course, since he is dealing with an injury that has been bothering him nearly all season, he could be out longer. For now, though, the man the Flyers re-shuffled their whole roster for doesn't appear to have a major injury.

In other injury news, the Flyers have nullified one of their trade deadline deals. Unfortunately, it wasn't the deal that sent Scottie Upshall to Phoenix: defenseman Kyle McLaren failed his physical and will be sent back to the San Jose Sharks, meaning the Flyers will get their 6th round pick back. This won't be a huge loss for the Flyers, although it nullifies the only positive move they made at the trade deadline and makes them even thinner along the blue line.

Eagles sign replacement for Brian Dawkins

The Eagles have finally dipped back into the free agent pool and pulled in another player. Don't get too excited, however.

The Birds signed safety Sean Jones, who played for the Cleveland Browns for the last five years, to a one year contract worth 3 million dollars. Jones has played more strong safety than free safety in the NFL, but the Eagles figure to at least give him a shot to take over for the departed Brian Dawkins.

I don't know much about Jones as a player other than the fact that he has an impressive 14 interceptions and 286 tackles in 60 career games. He is clearly a playmaker who has a nose for the football.

Jones missed weeks 2-6 of last season after he had surgery on his right knee. His injury made it so few teams showed interest in Jones, and that is exactly why he wanted to sign a one year contract. Jones thinks he can put together one good season and then re-visit the free agent market to try to get a bigger contract. For that very reason, the Eagles and Jones make a good match. The Eagles already have safety Quintin Demps on the roster but they feel he might not be ready to start in 2009. Jones can hold on to the starting position until Demps beats him out, and since it's a one year contract, even if Jones loses the job in Week One, the Eagles won't lose much on their investment.

That may be it for the Eagles in free agency. They definitely won't be going after T.O. and there really isn't much else out there, so everything else the Eagles add will have to be at the draft.