Many expected the Philadelphia Eagles to play it coy as it relates to NFL free agency. After all, they're turning the page from the Andy Reid era and seem to be prepared to move on in another direction, with a different front-office philosophy.
Two years removed from literally crapping itself as the "Dream Team," Philadelphia is back at it again in free agency this season. While it hasn't made the "big-name" moves, it is definitely spending money on what has to be considered average talent.
Philadelphia signed Cary Williams, our 10th-best cornerback on the market, to a five-year, $26 million contract this past week. While the contract only calls for $5.8 million guaranteed, Williams has been nothing more than an average starting corner in the NFL the past two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He does have 33 passes defended during that span, but possesses an AV (*Approximate Value*), right on par with Nnamdi Asomugha during that span. Pretty much a lateral move, if you ask me.
Then came the news that Philadelphia doled out $36 million over six years for Connor Barwin, who recorded just three sacks this past season for the Houston Texans. While Barwin fits the Eagles' 3-4 scheme to a T, he really isn't a difference maker for any defense. To say that they overpaid for him would be an understatement considering that the Seattle Seahawks obtained Cliff Avril, who drew interest from 3-4 teams, for $15 million over two years. Heck, Paul Kruger, who has way more upside, signed with the Cleveland Browns for just $2 million more per season.
Wouldn't Philadelphia have been smarter to wait and see how the market played out? After all, Elvis Dumervill just hit the open market and probably won't be demanding more than $8 million per at this point in the free-agency period.
Consider me stunned and in utter disbelief with this move.
As I have mentioned countless times in the past, building a championship-caliber team is usually done in April, not March. If you look at some of the consistently good franchises out there, they have one thing in common; building through the draft and supplementing in free agency.
Apparently Eagles' general manager Howie Roseman didn't get this fax.
Again, this is surprising considering that Philadelphia had one hell of a draft haul last april. Fletcher Cox, Vinny Curry, Mychal Kendricks and Brandon Boykin were all steals throughout the draft and promise to play important roles in the Eagles' defense moving forward.
Why not continue to build that way rather than overspending for mediocre veteran talent?
After all, it isn't like Philadelphia will be contending with the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers in the uber-competitive NFC this upcoming season.