Sports

[gardenman]

Broken legs take time to feel 'right.' Mine's about nineteen months and still not feeling right. I'd be shocked if Colt McCoy's leg felt perfectly normal.

As to Dak, he's kind of got JJ in a bind. The franchise tag would pay Dak the average of the top five QB's which would probably be around $32.9+ million in 2020. Matt Ryan is currently fifth at $30 million. Wentz $32 million, Rodgers $33.5 million, Roethlisberger $34 million, and Russell $35 million. The average of those five is $32.9 million. When Goff signs his new deal it'll pay around $32+ million which will bump it up a bit more. There's really no reason for Dak to sign for $30 million when he's pretty much guaranteed $33+ million in 2020 by waiting. If he gets tagged again and plays the following year (2021) on the tag, the Cowboys would have to pay him another 20% over the $33+ which would put him around $40 million. Dak has JJ by the hanging bits and can squeeze as hard as he likes. The Cowboys have to make a deal or Dak's got them in the same spot Cousins had the Redskins. You really need to sign those guys early and pay whatever it takes or they're in control and you're not.

[AuntG]

@gardenman your comments are insightful. The Green Bay press is small time and they kowtow to the team in hopes of some kind of exclusive story. I think it this were a big television market, there would be more investigative reporting on the Packers.

[gardenman]

Jane Slater is now reporting that Dak's counteroffer to the Cowboys is $40 million a year. (Ha!) She thinks they'll compromise around $34-$35 million a year. There's no real reason for Dak to sign for less than that. If the Cowboys don't want to pay it, then they'll have to move on. 

[gardenman]

It kind of looks like the NFC East is rolling over and playing dead for the Eagles right now. Trent Williams is still holding out in Washington and their QB play hasn't been great. The Cowboys are refusing to pay their star offensive players and Elliott's sitting out. Two Cowboys defensive linemen are suspended again. The Giants have a real live QB controversy going on that could split the team. Meanwhile the Eagles are just cruising through training camp with everything pointing in the right direction and very few distractions. As offseasons and preseasons go, this is about as close to perfect as things get for the Eagles right now.

The three rival NFC East teams are all dealing with distractions of one sort or another while the Eagles are focused on football. Wednesday Brandon Brooks is expected to be cleared from his torn Achilles and will be able to practice again. That could free up Vaitai to be traded to a team needing offensive line help. Andre Dillard and Jordan Mailata have pretty much taken over the backup tackle roles held by Vaitai and given the dearth of offensive tackle talent around the league, Vaitai likely has some significant value. He's been filling in at guard while Brooks was out, but we've got a bunch of kids who can play guard also. I expect him to be moved, the only real question is what do the Eagles get back in return. 

The Eagles have a ton of depth at a lot of positions, so more trades are likely to go down in the coming days/weeks.I wouldn't be shocked to see a wide receiver get moved. Maybe a tight end. (God knows the Patriots are going through tight ends by the ton as they try to frind a Gronk replacement.) We're about six or seven deep at defensive tackle also and we won't be carrying that many defensive tackles. Howie Roseman will be working the phones like crazy for the next few weeks trying to get some value for guys who won't make the Eagles roster, but who could be starters for other teams.

[gardenman]

More roster shuffling by the Eagles. They waived safety Blake Countess with an injury settlement after he injured his hamstring last week and signed defensive tackle Aziz ******tu who was a draft pick of theirs a few years back and has hung around the team a bit on the practice squad. Kind of an odd move as there's good depth at DT. Maybe they are looking to trade a DT and want ******tu for depth after the trade? Maybe they're looking to stash him on the practice squad again? Who knows? It's kind of an interesting move though. A bit confusing, but interesting.

[Spurt]

Colts owner Jim Irsay has chimed in with a different diagnosis for Andrew Luck.  Irsay said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that Luck is dealing with an issue to a “small little bone.”  @teganslaw Are there reasons to think Andrew's current injury is more serious than the calf injury the Colts disclosed?  What are you hearing locally??

[Spurt]

Here's something funny from John Keim....

It's apparently time to get snacks. For a second consecutive day ESPN analyst Rex Ryan visited his brother Rob, the Redskins' linebackers coach.

[gardenman]

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@Spurt wrote:

Colts owner Jim Irsay has chimed in with a different diagnosis for Andrew Luck.  Irsay said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that Luck is dealing with an issue to a “small little bone.”  @teganslaw Are there reasons to think Andrew's current injury is more serious than the calf injury the Colts disclosed?  What are you hearing locally??

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Interesting. There's a small little bone in your calf? There's the tibia and fibula, but neither are really little bones.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

Colts owner Jim Irsay has chimed in with a different diagnosis for Andrew Luck.  Irsay said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that Luck is dealing with an issue to a “small little bone.”  @teganslaw Are there reasons to think Andrew's current injury is more serious than the calf injury the Colts disclosed?  What are you hearing locally??

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Interesting. There's a small little bone in your calf? There's the tibia and fibula, but neither are really little bones.

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@gardenman 

There is speculation that these are two separate injuries...the calf that was disclosed....and a bone injury that wasn't previously reported....

[teganslaw]

Andrew Luck has pain in his left upper ankle joint, which is causing problems with his calf. Luck has a small bone located in his back ankle, which isn't  common, as most people don't have a bone located there. That was the "small bone" Irsay mentioned, and was originally thought to have been causing pain. However, the problem is his front left ankle, near the calf. 

Luck can't move in the pocket much with his pain, and that is an issue. They won't do surgery, just lots of rehab. He will miss all of preseason, and hopes to be back by the start of the regular season. All everyone can do is take things day by day.