It’s a gloomy Friday in Philly, but I’m trying to have a little fun.
I asked you guys for some questions on Twitter and asked that they be fun ones. Some of you obliged. As always, thank you.
Here’s the first bunch:
Here’s what I came up with: 5 years, $159 million, $100 million guaranteed, $45 million signing bonus.
Now, I’ll show my work. This contract would give Wentz an APY of $31.8 million, the second-highest APY in the league behind Aaron Rodgers ($33.5M) and ahead of Matt Ryan ($30M). I think there’s a chance the signing bonus is slightly lower to allow for an option bonus somewhere in that contract. The Eagles have used team options a lot in recent contracts and it might not be a terrible idea to have a kill switch on this deal, especially considering Wentz’s injury history.
Here’s a look at Rodgers’ and Ryan’s most recent deals:
NFL
Rodgers: 4-year extension, $134M, $98.2M guaranteed, $57M signing bonus
Ryan: 5-year extension, $150M, $100M guaranteed, $46.5M signing bonus
Either way, he’s going to be in that ballpark with Rodgers and Ryan. You can argue Wentz doesn’t deserve to be based on his body of work, but he’s going to get paid a huge sum of money and the salary cap rises each year. The current CBA is also scheduled to run out after the 2020 season, which could change everything and even possibly lead to an uncapped 2021.
I know some folks have wondered if Wentz will take some sort of hometown discount like Tom Brady has for years. It’s just unfair to ask him to do that and would really be frowned upon by the NFLPA. When these kinds of deals are made, they set the market for other players. If the Seahawks redo Russell Wilson’s deal before Wentz, it could potentially reset the market again.
I was bummed to hear the news about the AAF, but I have to be honest: I wasn’t watching it all that closely. I just thought it would be nice for there to be some sort of developmental league.
The Browns are signing QB Garrett Gilbert, who was the one guy who came to mind first. Former Eagle De’Vante Bausby also reportedly found a home with the Broncos.
Charles Johnson from Orlando put up some really impressive stats while catching the ball from Gilbert. He had 45 catches for 687 yards and five touchdowns. He’s a former seventh-round pick who bounced around several NFL teams since 2013. The problem here is he’s already 30. Rashad Ross, another receiver, would have made some sense, but he signed with Carolina.
Maybe former third-round pick Damontre Moore. The pass rusher fizzled in the NFL but looked good with San Diego. Some character concerns with him but he’s still just 26 and for a test drive, might not be a bad option.
It’s gotta be 1/2 a football, right? To be truthful, I was never a fan of giving Trout all those balls. Find a kid instead. How many damn footballs does the guy need. I’m still all for Trout’s still showing up at games and sitting in his front-row seats (no problem affording them now), but they can definitely stop giving him souvenirs.
Yeah, Pump really is a forgotten guy. Let’s start with the first part. You’d have to be right that he’s sixth and the Eagles have six on their roster: Jordan Howard, Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood, Josh Adams, Boston Scott and Pumphrey. I don’t like his chances. But I also think they're non-zero. There was actually a point last training camp when he looked much better and was even a possibility for that last spot on the depth chart, but then he got hurt.
The problem is that I also think the Eagles will draft a running back this year, which would put him at seventh on the depth chart. That would be a huge jump and a lot of things would need to happen. But, for me, the only locks for the roster are Howard, Clement and possibly a draft pick. Is it completely incomprehensible that Pumphrey beats out Adams, Smallwood and Scott? No. It’s just unlikely based on what we’ve seen so far. He could give them the element of a pass-catcher, but Clement can do that and so can Scott, who is already ahead of him on the depth chart.
I’ll give Pump a six percent chance to make the roster.
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