Despite the very public allegations that Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is facing, the Eagles-Watson trade rumors aren’t going away. The Eagles have been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Watson for nearly two months now, though most of the Watson trade rumors have understandably died down in recent weeks.
Here is more on the latest rumors and what they’re saying around the beat.
NFL Source: Eagles Remain Interested In Trade For Texans QB Deshaun Watson (Mike Fisher, SI.com)
The Philadelphia Eagles are trying to find a direction. So are the Houston Texans. And according to an NFL source, despite their various issues, the two teams could still get together on a Deshaun Watson trade.
Watson is of course buried in legal troubles that are completely separate from his trade request – a request that we know GM Nick Caserio grew increasingly amenable to until the flood of sexual assault charges against the star QB.
Meanwhile, the Eagles are trying to straighten themselves out as well, having traded away Carson Wentz with a tentative plan to hand their QB job to young Jalen Hurts – except that our source insists that Philadelphia’s desire to secure Watson remains in place.
Shane Steichen took a detour on the way to becoming the Eagles’ offensive coordinator (Vaugh Johnson, PhiladelphiaEagles.com)
Steichen wouldn’t have the reins of the Eagles’ offense today if it wasn’t for that opportunity in San Diego, where Steichen spent two seasons (2011-12) on the defensive side of the ball.
The experience was invaluable for Steichen.
“The way defensive coaches looked at offensive football and how they dissect it from how they wanted to cover guys defensively and what offenses did, and looking at their tendencies, and how they broke an offense down was very intriguing to me,” Steichen said during a recent edition of the Eagles Insider podcast.
How Jalen Hurts Spent His First $1M in the NFL (GQ Sports)
Eagles RB Jordan Howard on Jalen Hurts: The sky is the limit (Glenn Erby, Eagles Wire)
Jordan Howard returned to the Eagles in free agency and like so many of his teammates in Philadelphia, he couldn’t help gush about the potential of second-year signal-caller, Jalen Hurts.
During his Tuesday press conference, Howard was asked about Hurts and gushed about the Eagles’ new starter.
Will Nick Sirianni add fullback to Eagles’ offense? (Mike Kaye, NJ.com)
While Sirianni didn’t use a full-time fullback in Indianapolis, all of the previous coaches that he worked for used a lead blocker on offense.
Sirianni started his NFL coaching career in 2009 as an offensive quality control coach under Todd Haley with the Kansas City Chiefs. During that season, the Chiefs had two fullbacks: Tim Castille and Mike Cox. In 2010, Sirianni was promoted to assistant QBs coach, and the Chiefs still used Castille and Cox as lead blockers.
“I’d Put My Trust In Someone I Hire:” “Q&A With Quintin Mikell, Jason Avant” (Inside the Birds)
Former Eagles safety Quintin Mikell and wide receiver Jason Avant both agree that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is a caring, charismatic, easy-to-respect organizational leader who only wants to win championships.
But they’re also concerned about Lurie’s level of involvement in football operations, including the draft.
On the latest “Q&A on Inside The Birds,” they spoke about recent reports of Eagles front office dysfunction and about NFL players collectively deciding to sit out of all voluntary OTAs as the pandemic continues into the 2021 season.
Five free agent cornerbacks who still make sense for the Eagles (Matt Mullin, PhillyVoice)
But one of their biggest needs, cornerback, will warrant not just one, but a couple of upgrades between now and when camp opens. Some of that could be done in the draft, with the team seemingly in position to still grab either Patrick Surtain Jr. or Jaycee Horn after trading back from six to 12. And while both players would likely be considered Day 1 starters for the rebuilding Eagles, the Birds could opt to bring a rookie cornerback along slowly and in order to have that kind of luxury, they’ll need to add at least one more corner in free agency. As you can see, their current depth chart at the position is wanting and in massive need of an upgrade.
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Mike Maher is the editor and publisher of The Birds Blitz and Juiced Ball Era. Follow him on Twitter @mikeMaher and @TheBirdsBlitz and check out his archive for all of his latest stories about the Eagles and the NFL.
Image Credit: “Deshaun Watson” by KA Sports Photos is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
