Sports

[teganslaw]

I just read that the Eagles are working out a deal to send Michael Bennett to the Patriots. Details aren't yet finalized.

I heard that A.B. and T Y Hilton were friends. Brown is a diva and likes the spotlight; Hilton seems more down to earth. Ballard wouldn't even consider Brown for the Colts, as he's not the type of player they need. Too much drama. 

OBJ to the Browns is interesting. Cleveland is now becoming a respectable team, and Mayfield and OBJ might work well together. The Giants would have to get highly compensated for that trade.

[gardenman]

The Eagles are reportedly getting a fifth and seventh in the 2020 draft for Bennett. That's not a bad return. We save $7.2 million in cap space. We get rid of a guy who doesn't like a rotation. And we open up a roster spot for a kid. He wanted a raise also which the Eagles didn't want to give to a 34 year old guy. All in all it's a good move for the Eagles.

[gardenman]

An update on the Bennett trade. Instead of getting a fifth and seventh, the Eagles are getting a fifth, but giving the Pats a seventh in 2020. Not as good, but okay. You're starting to hear more negatives about Bennett now also. Other players didn't necessarily love him. He apparently refused to play the run and only wanted to rush the QB. A number of the long runs the Eagles gave up were apparently his fault. The more you hear, the better things sound for the Eagles. This could be one of those addition by subtraction moves. The Eagles gain cap space, a happier locker room, a fifth round pick next year, and lose a malcontent.

[SITRN]

@gardenman @What magic can Belly do w Bennett? How old is Bennett? 

Just heard AB to Raiders or 49ers by morning but who knows. And supposedly a 3rd team is interested 

Lots of moving parts going on. Stay tuned

[gardenman]

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@SITRN wrote:

@gardenman @What magic can Belly do w Bennett? How old is Bennett? 

Just heard AB to Raiders or 49ers by morning but who knows. And supposedly a 3rd team is interested 

Lots of moving parts going on. Stay tuned

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Bennett is 34. Belichick will have his hands full with Bennett. The Seahawks and Eagles (Bennett's former teams) both decided they'd be better off without Bennett. You really need a defensive end to play both the pass and run, but Bennett largely ignores the run and focuses on the pass. It's great when it's a passing play, but bad when it's a run. He's good at getting to the passer but he doesn't want to rotate out and wants to be on the field every snap. Defensive linemen tend to wear down when they play every snap. They'll take a play or two off while still on the field which you don't want. That's why teams rotate them. You can always have your d-line playing hard on every snap.

[SITRN]

Excellent! I hope Bennett keeps Belichek busy all year. Some year he has to be off his game.

[Spurt]

@gardenman  @SITRN  @teganslaw 

Speaking of the Patriots.....This was a message on a transguide in Dallas...LOL

[gardenman]

Seattle and Philly are two very tolerant football organizations that work hard to accomodate players. Both gave up on Bennett. Now he's going to the Patriots where you do what Bill says, or else. I'm not sure how good of a fit this will be. Bennett wants a new contract despite having two years left on this one. He wants a big raise from the $7.2 million due this year and the $8-$9 million due next year. He only wants to play at left defensive end and not move to the right side where he'd go against the left tackle that's typically the better o-lineman. He wants to stay on the field all the time and not rotate off. He's also still possibly facing legal issues dating back to the 2016(?) Super Bowl where he allegedly harmed an older female security guard rushing the field past her as she tried to block him. He could be facing jail time or a league suspension depending on the outcome of that case.

The Eagles get a fifth, lose a seventh, which means they gain about seventy spots in the 2020 draft (two rounds of 32 picks and then extra compensatory picks thrown in.) Moving up about seventy slots, gaining $7.2 million in cap space, losing a guy who wanted a new deal and to play by his own rules, isn't necessarily a bad thing. Bennett is productive and obstructive at the same time. Both the Seahawks and now Eagles have decided the obstructive part outweighed the productive part and have moved on. We'll see how things go in New England.

[gardenman]

After the Bennett trade, some contract renegotiations, and Foles rejecting his tender, the Eagles are up to about $26 million in cap space with free agency right around the corner. They could probably squeeze out another ten to fifteen million without a lot of trouble if need be. Not bad considering they were nineteen million over the cap not too long ago.

Do they splurge on one or two high priced guys, or stick to middle market guys? We'll start finding out Wednesday.

[gardenman]

I think some of the NFL insiders need a nap. As of this moment they're claiming the Eagles/Raiders are the final two contenders for AB. The Eagles are favored to sign Le'Veon Bell, Tevin Coleman and Ndamakung Suh. Unless the Eagles suddenly have $80 million in cap room (and they don't) that's not happening.