Obviously, free agency kicked off on Friday, and the Eagles made the huge splash of the offseason, when they signed Asante Samuel to a big contract. Samuel was the best free agent on the market, and the Eagles needed to do something to upgrade the secondary.
I like the move because Samuel is a very good corner. Not great, but he's also not as mediocre as some New England fans are trying to make him out to be. He's an aggressive player, and he has a big play mentality, for better or worse. There are times where he'll get burned trying to make an interception, but his gambles do pay off a lot, and that's what this defense needs. They were last in the league with only 11 interceptions, which is absolutely pathetic for a defense as aggressive as Jim Johnson's.
Where does that leave the corners we already have? It would be great to have all three, but the reality is that just can't happen. One thing a lot of people would like to do is move Sheldon Brown to safety. He's a good tackler and a good athlete, so he should be able to play the position, but in the end, it probably won't happen. This means Lito Sheppard could get traded. There were already grumblings about how he's not happy with his contract, which may be true. If it is true, he's definitely not happy after seeing the money Samuel got. Lito can be used as a real asset in a trade for either a receiver or a better draft pick. However, once you get rid of him, I still think you need to get a better 3rd corner than Joselio Hanson.
The other signing was DE/LB Chris Clemons from Oakland. He had 8 sacks last season, by far a career high, and also the biggest number in free agency. He's played quite a bit of Linebacker, but it's assumed he'll line up with his hand down for the Eagles. I honestly have no idea how they'll use him. His LB experience will be great for bringing him in on 3rd down if they choose to do that. People are complaining about it because he's not an every down guy, but look at the Giants. They did have tow every down ends, but they also got a ton out of their backups because they knew how to use them. Jim Johnson knows how to use his players. This was also a relatively cheap signing. Considering he might've been the best pass rusher out there, he signed for 10 million less than Antwan Odom.
The bad news is the recent report that the Eagles believed they had Randy Moss "locked up" before he backed out of a deal to go back to New England. That's very disappointing. Randy Moss is an incredible talent, and he would've obviously been a huge upgrade to the receivers. Despite not being able to finish the job, there are some positives to be taken away from this. The Eagles see there's a need to be addressed and are aggressively trying to deal with the problem. They don't want a marginal upgrade; they want the receivers to be a position of strength and they'll do what it takes to get it done.
With that being said, who's out there? Larry Fitzgerald? Maybe. Roy Williams? Chad Johnson? Probably not. However, I'm sure this front office will find a guy to upgrade the offense.
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