Twitter Mailbag: The Patterson PR Hit

Every Thursday we select a few of your Twitter questions and provide the long-form answers they deserve. For a chance to have your question published on Birds 24/7, send it to @Tim_McManus.

From @Lemur421:  What is $150k to the Eagles? Doesn’t seem worth it to upset Patterson over it. A sign they def don’t plan on bringing him back?

And from emailer Victor:

Jim Harbaugh’s players would run through a brick wall for him.  If an Eagles player did that and got hurt, Roseman would say it’s a non-football related injury and cut him.  What kind of signal does cutting [the pay of] Mike Patterson send to the locker room?  If the team needs a roster spot, fine, but pay the guy his $150,000.

The decision to cut Patterson’s pay after placing him on the non-football injury/illness list is a clear misstep from management, and it comes at a poor time. I know that one of the team’s biggest priorities as they transition into a new era is that they re-establish a solid connection with the fan base and distance themselves from any labels that paint them as cheap or cold or detached. This move hurts those efforts.

Placing a player on NFI and cutting his pay is a common practice in the league and makes business sense. But this is a special circumstance. Patterson put off brain surgery so he could play for the Eagles last season, and was a consistent presence around the team during his recovery. He is a sympathetic figure, and it is no surprise that the move to slash his pay because he came down with pneumonia has not played well, especially since it is cloudy to begin with whether this is in fact a “non-football illness.”

It is a bad PR move, plain and simple, and was not thought through well enough.

From @derfdy: What does Foles need to show the eagles during the last few games to be named the definite starter going into next season?

That is the big question. So many variables in play here. How much say does the incoming coach have, and what does he value? Can Foles do anything to convince a Chip Kelly, for instance, that he is a fit for his system? Is it possible to determine based off  a handful of starts how good a young quarterback will be?

Sheil and I discussed this on our show Monday, and Kapadia is of the opinion that offseason decisions shouldn’t necessarily be influenced by what Foles does down the stretch. I believe that if he continues to show improvement that a leap of faith may be warranted.

It is impossible to answer that question now because so much is up in the air when it comes to the direction of this organization. The only thing Foles can do is keep playing well, and try to make the decision easier on the powers that be.

From @phillycwood: With a new coaching change & QB happening, would trading McCoy for a cpl of 1st rounders be an option?

No way you can get multiple first-rounders for a running back. The Colts only got a second and fifth-round pick from the Rams for Marshall Faulk for crying out loud.

I don’t see any good reason to trade LeSean McCoy, who will be 25 next season. Getting rid of your best player is almost never good business. If the team goes with Foles, it can only be a positive for the young QB to have two quality backs to lean on. Bryce Brown doesn’t seem to be the type that needs to be the feature back, which works to the Eagles’ benefit.

“I think it’s great. The more talented guys we have in our corner, the better chance we have to win,” said Brown.

Seems like sound logic to me.

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