Eagles steals, cuts, and rumors

March 6, 2008 · Paul Raymond · Jump to comments

Related Items

So a lot of Eagles fans are shocked the team took a stab at Randy Moss and that they were willing to pay so much. The question was how could they afford to pay so much after signing LB Chris Clemons and CB Asante Samuel. Well the answer is pretty simple, Clemons and Samuel were both absolute steals. Yea I know how could Asante Samuel’s 6-year $57.14 million be a steal.

Lets break down the contract. Samuel received a $6 million signing bonus, and roster bonuses of $7 million in 2008 and 2009. Making it a total of $20 million guaranteed. The rest of the contract is super backloaded on annual salary and thats what makes it a steal. In 2008 his base salary is only $645,000 and then $1.9 million in 2009. After that is when the rest of the money kicks in. So a steal? Yep! The Eagles basically are paying Asante Samuel for 2 years worth of work. If he sees the 2010 season it will be under a renegotiated contract as his base salary that year is $8+ million. It basically winds up, if he busts like their last big signing Javon Kearse, they can release him after 2009 and basically have a very little cap hit.

Chris Clemons is also a steal, except he’ll most likely be on the team for all 5 years no matter what. His base value is actually only $12.6 million not the $18.5 that was being widely reported. He received a $4 million signing bonus, and his base salary is so minuscule each year that he basically is guaranteed to be around. With his talent, if he can become a full-time player (i.e. a rush stopper in addition to pass rusher) he could become a MAJOR bargain.

The Eagles today also cut Takeo Spikes. A little surprise since the Eagles kept insisting he’d be on the team next year. But this isn’t a total loss. He had rotator cuff surgery in the off-season that he’ll need time to recover. And lets face it since tearing his Achilles tendon a few years ago, he’s just not the same player. This opens up the possibility of Omar Gathier moving to outside linebacker next season. I’d say watch out for Stewart Bradley thou, he might be a dark horse candidate to start next year.

Now the daily Lito Sheppard rumors. The St Louis Dispatch shot down the rumors of Lito Sheppard and the 19th pick in the draft to St Louis for Torry Holt. I too find that another hard to believe rumor especially after St Louis just let Isaac Bruce walk.