Philadelphia Eagles debate table: Is calling Chris Long a bad idea?

Let’s open the debate table for this one. Is calling Chris Long a bad idea for the Philadelphia Eagles?

Debate fuels sports fans. Our favorite teams give us something to talk about, especially when they’re losing. In the case of the Philadelphia Eagles, two straight ugly losses (and four losses in their first seven games) have given us all more to talk about than we’ve had to discuss all season. For all of the potential avenues that we’ve discussed and often dismissed, here’s one that we haven’t discussed as much, if at all. What would it hurt to call Chris Long?

The Eagles decided that, after Long’s two seasons with the team, they were in a spot where they wanted to move in another direction. That led Long to retire after eleven seasons (and after crafting a potential Hall of Fame resume) The question now is simple. Based on everything we’ve seen, what does it hurt to give him a call now?

Here’s the thing. Much of the Eagles’ decision was based on the theory that they’d get more from Derek Barnett and they were loaded along the defensive line (or so we thought). Malik Jackson is hurt. Timmy Jernigan may never be the same guy again. Josh Sweat isn’t working out, and none of us are at practice so we aren’t seeing what the coaches are seeing but we can all probably agree on this. It appears that this team’s coaches don’t feel comfortable with giving Daeshon Hall a real shot.

Can anyone say that Long wouldn’t help this team at all? Can anyone say that Long, right now, isn’t, at minimum, just as good as what the Eagles have at defensive end? It’s not like he was on the decline when we last saw him.

He’s a former second-overall selection. He has 341 career tackles, 70.5 sacks and 15 forced fumbles on his resume (including the playoffs). Some of you are of the theory, right now, that this is ridiculous, but that’s because Philly moved on from him at the beginning of the season. Just think about something for a second.

Had they kept him, wouldn’t you have understood their reasons for doing so? Why is it different now then? Don’t you dare say it’s because he’s old! The Eagles are already old. At a minimum, they should at least give Long a workout.