What a great time it is to be an Eagles fan! After three consecutive years of falling just short of the Super Bowl, owner Jeffrey Lurie and President Joe Banner have gone all out with the almost $20 million that the team is under salary cap and produced one of the most productive free agency campaigns in the history of the franchise, if not the entire NFL.Third string quarterback A.J. Feeley was traded to Miami for a second round draft pick in 2003, and after losing linebacker Carlos Emmons to the New York Giants due to free agency, coincidentally the Eagles up picked up free agent Dhani Jones from the Giants and signing him to a five-year contract. Jones is younger than Emmons and is considered to be entering into his prime at the position. However, the biggest news when it comes to the Eagles’ off-season acquisitions would, without a doubt, have to be the signing of quite possibly the biggest defensive and offensive weapons in the league, defensive end Jevon Kearse and wide receiver Terrell Owens. The Eagles got Kearse as a free agent from the Tennessee Titans and signed him to an eight-year contract. He had earned the nickname “The Freak” by a teammate at the University of Florida for his unique physique and athletic ability and now that he is in Philly they’ve changed it to “The Phreak.” Kearse will have a major impact on the defense, which struggled at times this past year. After missing two games last season due to a sprained ankle, Kearse still finished up with 9.5 sacks which was two more than all of the Eagles’ defensive ends had combined.
That pressure up front is going to be a huge help due to the loss of ProBowl cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor to free agency. Vincent is now with the Buffalo Bills and Taylor has not received many offers from other teams so he may be seen back in Philly again. Also, rumor has it that the Eagles may still try and work out a trade with the New England Patriots to bring in corner Ty Law, but the amount of money that he wants makes it a long shot.
The Eagles offense may now be one of the most potent in the league, due to the addition of Terrell Owens, simply known as T.O. Owens had originally missed out on becoming a free agent due to a mistake by his
agent and ended up being traded to the Baltimore Ravens by the San Francisco 49ers. Owens then filed a complaint to the players union over his free agency status because he refused to play for Baltimore and stressed how badly he wanted to be in Philly. Before a decision was made over his complaint, a three-way trade was worked out, finally landing T.O. where he wanted to be. The trade included the Eagles giving up defensive end Brandon Whiting to the 49ers and a fifth round draft pick in this year’s draft to the Ravens. Owens is a fourtime Pro-Bowler and in combination with wide out Freddie Mitchell, a.k.a. “First Down Freddie,” who had the amazing fourth and 26 first down catch in last year’s playoffs, quarterback Donovan McNabb at the helm, and lightning quick runningback Brian Westbrook, just to name a few, this Eagles offense could be lighting up the scoreboard week after week.
All of this is before the draft in April has even taken place. The Eagles have the 28th pick in the first round and will most likely go after a linebacker. They have talked about linebacker Jonathan Vilma from Miami, but he may go slightly earlier in the draft, so if they donøt trade up it will probably actually be another linebacker from Miami, D.J. Williams. All in all, the Eagles look like they’re making all the right moves to avoid disappointing fans for a fourth year in a row and finally bring home the Vince Lombardi trophy, a piece of hardware that has been missing from the city of brotherly love for more than three decades.