Breaking: Philadelphia Eagles Strike Quickly To Sign $24 Million WR…..

admin | April 16, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Breaking: Philadelphia Eagles Strike Quickly To Sign $24 Million WR…..

The Philadelphia Eagles have reached a three-year, $75 million contract extension, including $51 million guaranteed, with their wide receiver DeVonta Smith, ESPN reported on Monday. The team also exercised the fifth-year option in his current deal, which will pay him $16 million for the 2025 season.

Only four wide receivers were paid no fewer than $25 million per year before Smith: Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins ($30 million), Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders ($28 million), Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams ($26.7 million) and Smith’s teammate A.J. Brown ($25 million).

The pair of Smith and Brown became the first in the Eagles’ franchise history to both post over 1,000 receiving yards in one season in 2022 before repeating it in 2023. Their firepower plus the comprehensive skills of quarterback Jalen Hurts enabled the team to remain within the top five in points per game in the past two campaigns.

The Eagles had until May 2 to sign an extension with Smith, but they acted much sooner than that for good reasons. The Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Alabama set the team’s rookie season receiving yards record at 916 in 2021. One year later, he set the new team record for catches for a receiver in one season at 95, which was broken by Brown in 2023.

Smith also proved that he was able to perform well on the big stage. The Eagles lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII in February 2023, but Smith had 100 yards with seven catches. Only two Eagles have done that before in franchise history. In the Eagles’ 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the National Football Conference Wild Card Game in January, he posted 148 yards with eight receptions.

The Eagles acted quickly to retain their key offensive players during this offseason. They inked a four-year, $84 million extension with guard Landon Dickerson in March and signed a three-year, $66 million deal with tackle Jordan Mailata in April.

It’s J.D. Bertrand, not Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who earns a mention as a recommended third-day option for the Eagles in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Hang out at any Philadelphia Eagles pep rally or NFL Draft party, and you’ll notice something immediately. Fans of this great team hail from different backgrounds and differ on most of the interesting discussion points, but now and then, they will find common ground on the most popular topics. One of those topics has been the possible acquisition of Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

He’s the son of a franchise legend and one of the better interior linebackers available in the coming selection meeting. Now, you will hear differences of opinion about his potential ceiling and how high he’ll be selected. Still, if the price is right, most would be willing to add him to the nest. That begs the question.

What should that asking price be? Some have said he’s a potential third-rounder. Philly doesn’t have a third-round selection currently, which means, if this was to happen, it would probably do so because ‘Junior Ax Man’ slides to Day 3.

If nothing changes between now and draft time or during the three-day affair, the Birds own five picks between the 120th in Round 4 and their final choice, the 210th in Round 6. Pro Football Focus has an idea about what they should do with one of them.

Notre Dame’s J.D. Bertrand is named as a Day 3 fit for the Eagles over Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
If you’re looking for nice reads during the current news cycle and the hits aren’t coming fast enough, check out PFF’s Day 3 fits for all 32 teams. J.D. Bertrand earns the nod as an option over Trotter once the Eagles enter the conversation. He’s a six-foot-one, 235-pounder who was a dependable player for the Fighting Irish. Here’s what Gordon McGuinness says on the subject.

“Solid in coverage and good against the run in 2023, Bertrand is an intriguing Day 3 prospect because of how he was used as a pass rusher over the past three seasons. He blitzed on 104 snaps in 2023, racking up 30 quarterback pressures, including four sacks and seven quarterback hits.”

Now, truthfully, there’s much to unpack. There’s no guarantee that Philly couldn’t wind up with Trotter as well if they landed Bertrand, but that’s highly unlikely. Philly isn’t investing two third-day picks on linebackers, right?

Some could argue that Bertrand and Trotter won’t be around in Round 4. Some might say they will be but Trotter is the better prospect. Regardless of your feelings about this, you must admit the conversation is interesting. These are the conversations we’ll be entertaining from now on, through the draft, and beyond.