Wake-Up Call: Roseman’s Role In Negotiations

Today’s question comes from reader Christopher, via e-mail:

A lot has been written about Chip overpaying on some of these contracts, such as the potential $3 million Austin can make if he achieves his incentives. How come Howie isn’t getting some of this flak? He is supposed to be the salary cap guy now, right?

The first question posed to Chip Kelly during last week’s roundtable was about why he felt Ed Marynowitz was better suited to fit his vision than Howie Roseman.

“I think we just tried to maximize everybody’s strengths,” Kelly said. “Howie does an unbelievable job from the contract side and cap side, and we’re just moving in a different direction from a personnel standpoint.”

Based on that statement, you’re right Chris. If Roseman’s handling the cap and contracts, then the criticism over how the Eagles are utilizing some of their finances should be directed towards him. But there’s a problem with this theory: It’s extremely difficult to envision a scenario where Kelly gives Roseman even an ounce of power in these negotiations.

The bottom line here is that Kelly is picking the players. My guess is that when he targets someone, the braintrust comes up with a reasonable number for how much the team is willing to pay. As long as the contract falls in line with that number, it’s on Roseman to get something done.

Philosophically, I highly doubt that Kelly is seeking Roseman’s feedback on big-picture issues like: Is this too much to spend on the running back position? Do you think there are any other teams interested in Miles Austin? How will this affect next year’s cap? And so on.

If Kelly wants a guy, and the Eagles have the funds, it seems Roseman’s job is just to make it happen.

There’s still plenty of confusion with the overall setup. Roseman worked for years to be accepted as a personnel guy. Kelly wanted a football guy, so Jeffrey Lurie booted Roseman to the business side. And then Kelly essentially replaced Roseman with Marynowitz.

Keeping that in mind, I don’t picture these guys engaging in a big group hug when the Eagles pull off a trade or sign a free agent.

Lurie admitted last week that he’s not sure if Roseman plans to stick around long-term. And that’s a totally fair question. Roseman can’t be happy, and it’s unlikely that much (any?) trust can develop between him and Kelly at this point.

Kelly is the one calling the shots. Lurie gave him that power. Others have roles, but Kelly is the one determining who fills those roles. Because of that, he’s the one who has to be held responsible for every aspect of the organization, and that includes the cap and contracts.

WHAT YOU MISSED

“There were actually times in practice when I would cry.” Josh Huff opens up to T-Mac about the struggles he faced during his rookie campaign.

A look at the latest mocks and draft buzz, including a new CB name to consider in the first round.

According to Malcolm Jenkins, the LeSean McCoy trade didn’t surprise anyone in the Eagles locker room, but Jenkins thought the Birds would get more in return.

Are the Miami Dolphins targeting Brandon Boykin in a trade?

The Eagles brought in UCLA edge defender Owa Odighizuwa for a visit. McManus has more.

Draft Daily: Closeup on Arizona State wide receiver Jaelen Strong.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Les Bowen of the Daily News with a feature on Connor Barwin and his work ethic:

To Eagles fans, Barwin is the outside linebacker with the hipster haircut who notched an NFC-high 14 1/2 sacks last season and made his first Pro Bowl. (Asked whether fans recognize him around town, Barwin said, “Not if I’m wearing a hat.”) In terms of results so far, he probably ranks as the top acquisition of the Chip Kelly era, having arrived in 2013 as a free-agent signee from the Houston Texans, who drafted him in the second round in 2009.

“He’s the ultimate team player, and he has been since the day I met him,” Celek said. “I could tell the day he came in [to Cincinnati] that he would be playing in the NFL. I never thought it would be as a DE or OLB, but I knew he would make it. His athleticism was unreal. I think we all see that now.

“The crazy thing about Connor is, I firmly believe that if he wanted to switch positions today, that he could, and he’d be a great NFL TE. I don’t think there are many guys in the NFL that have the ability to be versatile like he does.”

Tommy Lawlor of Iggles Blitz takes a look at what’s in store for the Eagles’ offense in 2015:

I think the RB trio of Murray, Mathews and Sproles will deliver chunk plays. Murray had more runs of 20 or more yards and more runs of 40 or more yards than LeSean McCoy did over the past 2 years. Mathews has the speed to break long runs. Sproles is a threat to create a big play any time he touches the ball.

Obviously the key to all of this is having the right trigger-man. We’ve talked about Sam Bradford quite a bit. All we can do for now is speculate. If things go as Kelly envisions them, the offense will be even better. You’ll have a veteran QB with a strong and better accuracy running the show. He’ll get the ball to the open receivers and run the explosive attack at a high level. If things go as others fear, we’ll see Mark Sanchez on the field too often and being as erratic as he always has through his NFL career, meaning the offense is in trouble in critical situations. Time will tell on this.

COMING UP

We’ll zero in on another prospect today.