Philadelphia Eagles: Ronald Darby trade rumors continue to heat up
The Philadelphia Eagles could be looking to move one of their cornerbacks any day now. Why does Ronald Darby seem to be the favorite?
Welcome to the craziest week of the NFL offseason! This week marks the beginning of the new year for the NFL, and we all know how crazy the new year can get when the free agency and trade rumors start heating up. Well, even though the Eagles have won it all in 2017, they continue to succeed in the offseason. We can thank general manager Howie Roseman for keeping things interesting.
We knew last week that the Eagles had made a few trades. The most recent trade involved dishing out wide receiver Torrey Smith for former Carolina Panthers cornerback Daryl Worley. Even with the significant amount of young cornerbacks on the team, the Eagles continue to stack the position.
The move to get Worley made it feel like the Eagles were throwing in the towel for the race to get Patrick Robinson back. But not so fast, Eagles fans. Howie’s gonna’ Howie and plans on bringing back Robinson on what could be a multi-year deal. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport re-confirmed the signing talks between Robinson and the Eagles once again on Monday morning.
P.Rob back?
The #Eagles are working to retain CB Patrick Robinson, sources say, and the expectation is they do it before the tampering window starts. After signing a 1-year deal in 2017, Robinson emerged as one of Philly’s stars. Now he should be back.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2018
So with the addition of Robinson and Worley, the Eagles will have six cornerbacks that could realistically be on the depth chart for 2018. Although depth is good, it is highly doubtful that the Eagles keep everybody on board. So here is where the rumors start to heat up once again.
Just last week, there was some speculation that the Eagles could move a cornerback for a third-round pick. Naturally, everybody pointed their fingers at Ronald Darby to be traded after his struggling Super Bowl performance. Although Darby had a very up-and-down season, his last performance is not the actual reason why he becomes the odd man out.
As the Eagles are struggling for cap space in 2018, the situation won’t get any easier the following year. With Darby’s contract year coming up, he will most-likely demand some big-time money considering what the cornerback’s market has been in recent years. Looking at the Eagles current situation at cornerback, it wouldn’t make sense to pay him the big bucks if guys like Sidney Jones and Jalen Mills do just fine on the outside.
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So assuming the Eagles will be strapped for cash next year, they may try to get some value out of Darby right now while he is crowned as a Super Bowl champion cornerback. With the Eagles having zero picks within the second and third rounds, a deal that involves Darby could get them a much-needed draft pick for next month.