The Philadelphia Eagles: It's Time to Start Cutting

Now that the draft is over and the first mini camp has taken place, it’s time for the Eagles to start purging themselves of players they no longer need. This will stop the team from wasting time on players that will not make the roster come training camp, allow them to focus on and prepare the new arrivals for the upcoming season. Of course I understand that getting rid of these guys so early may lessen the environment of competition within the camp setting, but it will get younger players much needed practice reps so that their game readiness will come all that much faster.

The first guy that comes to mind is the much maligned Reggie Brown, who in three years has gone from a NFL starting wide receiver, to injured backup, to someone who is completely and utterly expendable. Everyone had hope for Reggie coming out of Georgia and he actually looked good with Jeff Garcia throwing him the ball. Unfortunately, he has underperformed at every other point in his game. He is currently behind DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, and Hank Baskett on the depth chart. And for a guy who doesn’t play special teams, I think it’s time to say goodbye. As of this past mini camp however, one would think that the Eagles love Brown, having Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg praise him for catching the football during practice. We’ll see how long this lovefest lasts.

The Winston Justice travesty can go on no longer. Once a potential 1st round draft pick out of USC, Justice has been nothing short of a disappointment. The only memory that any Eagle fan will have of Winston Justice is the number of sacks he gave up to the New York Giants’ Osi Umenyiora: Four, all by himself. In that fateful game on the 30th of September in 2007, the Giants sacked the QB a total of 12 times, so it wasn’t just Justice. To Osi, it was like a video game. To Winston, it was the end of a one time promising career. It had been rumored that Justice was being shopped in a potential trade for Anquan Boldin. I can only imagine what the Cardinals thought they were getting.

Why the Eagles traded a fourth round pick for Lorenzo Booker still goes unexplained. The Eagles and Andy Reid say it was because it was like getting a third rounder and there was some value in the trade. I say they really wanted Brian Westbrook-lite. Too bad Booker is more like Ryan Moats-lite. The Eagles have B-West, they have Shady McCoy, and that third RB spot can go to some undrafted rookie like Rashard Mendenhall’s brother, Walter who has 2 inches and twenty pounds on Westbrook. There is absolutely no need for Philly to keep Booker on the roster, unless they put off admitting they were wrong. He wasn’t great on special teams, and he doesn’t add anything to the passing game so….see you later.

These guys could make a team somewhere else, so they should be given that opportunity sooner than later. In fact, I hope that Justice gets a job in the NFC East. They are still under contract with the Birds, to the organization can do what they will with them. Regardless, the writing is on the wall and their names have been removed from their lockers, so let’s forget about the past and move forward, with better players, a better team, for I doubt Eagle fans will be regretting any of them go a year from now.