Inside the Iggles
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Chase Daniel, Jordan Matthews and issues with cap space

By Geoffrey Knox

Dec 22, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Chase Daniel (10) runs past New York Giants defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (95) during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles won 24-19. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 22, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Chase Daniel (10) runs past New York Giants defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (95) during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles won 24-19. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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What’s taking so long for this team to move some of these guys?

If anyone knows what the Philadelphia Eagles are doing, we’d love to hear from you. If you can explain to us why backup quarterback Chase Daniel and wide receiver Jordan Matthews weren’t made available for trade weeks ago, we’d love to hear from you. Don’t look now, but it’s beginning to appear as though the Eagles are making this up as they go along and don’t have a plan.

March 7th:

On March 7th, the legal tampering period begins in the NFL. The Eagles and every other team will be able to speak with impending free agents. As you’ve heard over and over, the free agency period officially begins on March 9th. There’s just one issue.

The Eagles don’t have any cap space to work with, and they aren’t being aggressive enough with personnel decisions to free up any.

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The ongoing issue with finances:

Keep in mind the money they have also needs to go towards their eight draft picks. We now know one of those picks will be the 14th overall selection. That will eat up a lot of change.

If this team is serious about moving on from defensive end Connor Barwin, linebacker Mychal Kendricks and the high price tags associated with both, that needs to be done now. There are 31 other teams, and they’re looking to improve as well. It makes you scratch your head about what we’ve seen out of Philadelphia so far. We’ll ask again just to drive the point home. Why weren’t teams made aware that the Eagles would consider moving Daniel and Matthews weeks ago?

Next: An argument for and against acquiring Terrelle Pryor

Daniel makes too much money to be a backup quarterback and doesn’t figure to be in the team’s plans for the future. Matthews has been productive, but he’s also currently the team’s number one receiver on the depth chart and can’t play on the outside. He’s a slot receiver who isn’t athletic enough or have decent enough hands to consistently make a difference on the inside or in the red zone. He doesn’t have the speed to create separation on the outside. It’s very concerning that the Eagles’ number one receiver is truly, at best, a third option. Matthews is entering the final year of his contract. It’s possible he won’t be around in 2018.

If the Eagles intend to be competitive in free agency, they’re off to a bad start. If they’re waiting to see what everyone else does and plan on picking up the pieces, everything makes sense. It appears we’ll all have to wait this one out and learn together.

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