Trey Burton disappointed Philadelphia Eagles didn’t make him an offer
Former Philadelphia Eagles tight end Trey Burton is expected to ink a four-year, $32 million deal with the Chicago Bears, but it appears part of his heart will always be in Philly.
It’s long been known by Philadelphia Eagles fans that tight end Trey Burton probably wasn’t going to factor in to the long-term plans of the organization. His exit had nothing to do with his performance or how ‘The Birds’ felt about him. This was all a part of that ‘business of football’ that we keep hearing about.
The Eagles had salary cap issues. They had quite a few guys that they needed to make room for financially, both this year and next. There was also the theory that they’d be over the salary cap by the time the NFL Free Agency Period kicked off. They were right. Once the NFL league offices set the cap at $177.2 million, Philadelphia had to shave somewhere around $12 million. They aren’t quite there yet, and it got more complicated once news broke that Nigel Bradham was finally getting an extension, one that would pay him $40 million over the course of five seasons.
All of that led to the departure of Burton, which he understood. His only issue with the Eagles’ decision was Philly didn’t offer him a any deal at all. Nothing.
Sometimes, things don’t work out as we hope they should.
Burton appeared on 94 WIP-FM in Philadelphia to discuss his new opportunity with the Chicago Bears and how things ended with the Eagles.
Here’s some of what he had to say:
"I was really disappointed, man, honestly. If I’m going to be open and transparent, I was really disappointed there wasn’t any offer. (It) didn’t even seem like they were really trying to make it happen. In reality, you can make anything happen if you really want to. That was my mindset. I’m really disappointed in that. It kind of hurt me a little bit…but I’m excited about where I’m going and where we’re heading. I think it’s a great fit for us. Really good days are on the horizon."
The Eagles and their fans appreciate Burton and always will. There’s no doubt about it.
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This could be argued two ways. While Burton has a point, it does stand to reason that the Eagles never seemed to express any genuine interest in signing Burton to a long-term deal. Yes, drawing something up would have been seen as classy, but isn’t there also something to be said about the fact that the Eagles’ organization showed they weren’t going to waste Burton’s time or their own?
That may be a question that lives on for a while. While the answers are uncertain, one thing isn’t. Burton’s place in Eagles history is set.
Eagles fans will never forget his imaginary campfire after scoring a touchdown in MetLife Stadium against the hated New York Giants. No football fan, especially those who cheer for ‘The Birds’, will ever forget his touchdown pass to quarterback Nick Foles in the Super Bowl in a play that you all may have heard of, yes, ‘The Philly Special’.
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Burton will be missed by the Eagles organization and Eagles fans, and both wish him well. That we can all be certain of. We all hope Burton, at some point, is certain of the same thing.