Links of the week: Eagles prepare for Combine, begin to make roster moves

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This is week two of the “lull” period of the NFL offseason, but teams still continue to make some moves and move forward in their evaluations of players for the NFL Draft. This week, the Eagles released their first player, had a player wrongly arrested for indecent exposure and hypothetically traded all their 2015 draft picks to get Marcus Mariota. Sounds like an interesting week to me. Props to the blog Bleeding Green Nation this week, which happened to be the source of four of the five articles I picked. Here are the links:

1. NFL Mock Draft 2015: Eagles trade for Marcus Mariota at No. 2

By Brandon Lee Gowten, via Bleeding Green Nation

This particular mock draft, carried out by an SB Nation draft writer, suggested that the Eagles would trade their entire group of 2015 draft picks and their 2016 first round pick for Mariota. Well, I guess it’s certainly a possibility, and the Eagles said they were going to make an attempt to trade up for him, but this seems a little excessive. I have no idea what the Titans would actually be asking for, but if it’s this much, there’s no way it makes sense for them. Going all in like this is far too dangerous for a player who hypothetically fits well in their offense. But is he even an NFL quarterback in the first place? That’s a question as well that doesn’t have a clear answer.

2. Eagles release James Casey, save $4 million in cap space

By Brandon Lee Gowten, via Bleeding Green Nation

The release of James Casey was expected by pretty much everyone who follows the Eagles closely. He would have had a $4 million cap hit in 2015, far above his value. While he did catch two touchdowns in 2014, he only had three catches all season. He was a third-string tight end who became obsolete as soon as the Eagles drafted Zach Ertz two years ago. I loved him as a player, but there was no room for him on the roster. Hopefully he’s able to find a job with another team.

3. Early birds: Eagles’ areas of interest at the combine

By Zach Berman, via Philly.com

Berman spends most of the article talking about the quarterback position and how important it is that they figure out who they want to be the starter in 2015. Guys like Marcus Mariota, Brett Hundley and Bryce Petty have been thrown around for weeks now as possible guys the Eagles could draft, but I’m not convinced on any one of them. If Hundley was available in the second round then he might not be a bad pick because the Eagles do need a backup quarterback. Hundley could then always take over if Nick Foles disappoints next year. Spending a first round pick on the position seems drastic though. The secondary is also a big area that the Eagles will focus on in the combine, but who knows if they’ll be able to find a starter there.

4. Eagles position review 2014: Cornerback was a disaster

By Dave Mangels, via Bleeding Green Nation

The headline says it all- the Eagles were terrible at the cornerback position this past year. Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams were the biggest culprits when insulting this position, although it should also be noted that Brandon Boykin had a down year, Nolan Carroll was nothing special, and Jaylen Watkins barely played. The entire position needs re-vamping and the draft is only a part of where they will look to fix it. This team has had struggles at the position for years now despite signing big name guys in the past such as Asante Samuel, Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. All three guys failed to produce to their expected ability, and Williams and Fletcher can be added to the list. Is it the system? After all these failures, it’s definitely fair to suggest it.

5. Nate Allen released by police after being wrongly accused of indecent exposure

By Brandon Lee Gowten, via Bleeding Green Nation

I don’t know Nate Allen, but according to all the tweets that came out from writers when it was reported that he was arrested, he is likely the last guy on the team who they’d think would get arrested. This suspicion was fair after it was later declared that Allen, who had originally been arrested for indecent exposure, was released without having charges pressed against him. If he had actually been arrested, there’s no chance he would’ve been back in Philly in 2015. But even despite this case he may be entering free agency without a suitor.

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