PHOENIX — Plenty to come on Chip Kelly‘s hour-plus session with reporters at the coaches breakfast this morning.
First to some news that came out of it:
Kelly confirmed that the Eagles will hold a private workout with quarterback EJ Manuel. According to his agent, it will take place on Thursday the 28th in Tallahassee. Manuel, who held his pro day at Florida State on Tuesday, also has workouts scheduled with Buffalo (Saturday) and Jacksonville (Monday).
Jason Peters should be available when the Eagles begin practicing, Kelly said. The first three-day minicamp, allotted to teams with new head coaches, is expected to be held in the third week of April.
The latest in our draft profile series focuses on Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner, who could be an option for the Eagles with the No. 4 pick.
From Howie Roseman roasting marshmallows with Pete Carroll to Mike McCoy talking about his interview with the Eagles, we give you some color from the owners meetings in Phoenix.
PHOENIX — Much has been made of Chip Kelly‘s trips to Foxborough when he was coaching at Oregon. He reportedly made three visits in all, and passed along to Bill Belichick the keys to his super fast-paced no-huddle, which included one-word play calls.
“I was interested to hear how he did it,” Belichick said, via the Boston Globe. “I would say he expanded it to a different level and it was very interesting to understand what he was doing. Certainly I’ve learned a lot from talking to Chip about his experiences with it and how he does it and his procedure and all that.”
The Patriots revved up their no-huddle and simplified their play-calling this past season. Belichick, though, downplayed Kelly’s influence on New England’s offense during a session with reporters at the owners meetings Tuesday.
PHOENIX — When the Chiefs traded for Alex Smith, the conversation about Geno Smith being taken with the No. 1 pick in this April’s draft was shut down.
Andy Reid opened it back up on Tuesday at the AFC coaches breakfast.
“That doesn’t mean Geno is out of the water,” said Reid, surrounded by a group of Philadelphia reporters during the second day of the owners meetings. “I’m going to keep my eyes open on everybody. I think Geno is a good quarterback. We’ll just see how it all goes, get this workout thing going.”
From Connor Barwin’s production to Kenny Phillips’ contract to options with the No. 4 pick, here are three Eagles-related numbers that matter.
PHOENIX — Jeffrey Lurie held a media session with a small group of reporters outside of the Biltmore hotel Monday that lasted about 14 minutes. He rarely talks, so we figured we would share most of what he had to say. This is how a bulk of the Q&A went:
One of the more intriguing aspects of free agency for the Eagles might have been a move they didn’t make.
On the first day of the new league year, the Birds were linked to right tackle Jake Long. Eventually, Long ended up signing a four-year, $34 million deal with the Rams that includes up to $20 million in guaranteed money if he stays healthy.
The Eagles also expressed interested in right tackle Eric Winston once he was cut by the Chiefs. Les Bowen of the Daily News reports that the team has a number it’s willing to sign Winston at, and a deal is still possible, depending on what he gets offered elsewhere.
So what does all this mean for the current players on the roster?
The Eagles were awarded a compensatory seventh-round draft pick Monday, bringing their total number of picks to nine.
Here is the breakdown:
PHOENIX — Much has been made of the fact that Nick Foles doesn’t appear to have the exact skill set that Chip Kelly seems to prefer. Namely, that Kelly likes a QB who poses a threat to run, and Foles is no threat.
Lurie, in a newsy session with a small group of reporters at the owners meetings Monday, spoke highly of the signal-caller.
“I think it’s to be determined but Nick showed an awful lot before he broke his hand,” said the Eagles owner. “Poise and accuracy. We’re real excited about Nick. I think the best thing is to say to be determined how it’s going to work, but he’s going to have a great opportunity. He’s really bright, he’s a very hard worker, he has all the intangibles. We just have to see how he can maximize it or not.”
PHOENIX — Jeffrey Lurie addressed a number of topics Monday afternoon at the owners meetings at the Biltmore hotel in Phoenix, including his decision to attend Geno Smith‘s pro day in Morgantown recently.
“It’s a common thing when it’s an important decision,” said the Eagles owner. “We haven’t had a high draft pick for 14 years, and I think it’s true with anybody that we’re going to look at that you want to have all the information you can. It’s a very important decision for us if we stay at No. 4 there.”
