Eagles Looking Towards Springs

March 3, 2009   ·   Paul Raymond   ·   Jump to comments

The Philadelphia Eagles are finally hitting free agency, looking at former Washington Redskins defensive back Shawn Springs. Springs will be in Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday for a visit. When it comes to the Eagles this usually means you are in town to take your physical and sign your contract. This move is somewhat perplexing. Yes they need depth at corner back after trading Lito Sheppard but why go after such an established veteran after letting your star safety Brian Dawkins walk???

Like I said the Eagles do need some depth in the secondary. They’ve got Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown and Joselio Hanson to play corner but not much after that. Smart thing to do here would be to draft a youngster or two and let them learn under these guys. In the past that is what the Eagles have done and it’s worked well for them. So why would they now be considering a veteran?

There is enough interest from other teams that the Eagles would have to pay something of value to acquire Springs. He won’t be overly expensive, but will at least require a decent signing bonus. The problem then becomes this. Hanson is being paid quite well for a backup so one would assume he’s a lock for the nickel back spot. If you bring in Springs, he’d be a very expensive dime back and really how often is the dime back on the field.

One option would be to have Springs play some safety as that is now a position of need. If the team is really considering that then they’ve got some major problems on their hands. Mainly, the fans.

The fans are already pissed off about letting Dawkins walk, especially with the guy still performing like he’s in his prime. If Springs is brought in and asked to play some safety then things could get ugly. Why? Well Springs is two years younger but his health and performance would make you think he is two years older then Dawkins.

I’m no Eagles fan but I do live in the city, so I’ve witnessed first hand the fans anger towards management when it comes to Dawkins. When Springs is signed later this week I can only imagine how much worse it’s going to get.

One think to think about thou Eagles fans. If Springs is brought in, could this mean Brown is on the move for that certain wide receiver you’ve been craving for??? I doubt the Eagles pull the trigger, but it’s not a bad thought right?

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