Hutchinson Could Be A Target

[PhillyPhreak54]

This was posted at scout.com and then re-posted on the EMb by several people (#1Eaglesfan1973 and others):

And Eskin was saying this on Friday too, FWIW...

Eagles Look To Formulate "poison pill"

By Scout.com

Date: Feb 26, 2006

Perhaps one of the reasons the Eagles aren't looking to bring back Jon Runyan is because they've made Seattle's Steve Hutchinson their prime target. The addition of Hutchinson could be costly, but it would give the Eagles the offensive lineman that they need.

The Philadelphia Eagles, armed with a decent amount of salary cap room, have very strong interest in signing Seattle Seahawks G Steve Hutchinson who was designated as Seattle's transition player earlier this week.
A transition player designation gives the team the right of first-refusal to match within seven days of an offer sheet being given to the player by another team after his contract expires (which is March 3). If the team matches the offer sheet, they retain the player. If they choose not to, they will not receive compensation.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the Eagles are looking at designing a contract which will make it hard for Seattle to match. The Eagles have one of the best capologists in Joe Banner who put together a contract for then free agent DE Jevon Kearse a few years ago that made it very difficult for the Tennessee Titans to match.

The Eagles, according to the source, could put together the so-called "poison pill contract." This kind of contract is usually front loaded which makes it hard for the originating team to match. It should be noted that Seattle has around $20 million in cap space which is believed to be more than Philadelphia has at this point.

Also, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, it's "highly unlikely" the Eagles will re-sign starting right tackle Jon Runyan. The plan, as of now, would be to move starting right guard Shawn Andrews or second-year offensive lineman Todd Herremans in to his spot.

If we get Hutchinson losing Runyan would be easier to deal with.

Thomas
Hutchinson
Jackson
Andrews
Herremans

Hicks - 1st OT off the bench
Clarke - 1st OG off the bench
Fraley - back-up C

That is one deep and talented OL, y'all.

[The BIGSTUD]

I'll one-up you.

Sign Hutchinson, let Runyan walk and trade up for Ferguson.

Ok... I'm dreaming, but you never know what this FO has up their sleeves. But what would we do for defense if that happened? 

[Feva]

I'd LOVE it.  The Eagles can afford to make things REALLY hard on the Seahawks by going after Hutchinson with a big contract since they've got Alexander to deal with... and Reid has shown that he'll definitely put down big money for his O-line.  The only thing is that'd be one looooooong week waiting to see if they match it or not.

Thomas
Hutchinson
Jackson
Andrews
Herremans = money.

That not only makes the possible loss of Runyan easier to deal with, but we get younger on the O-line... and we don't really lose any vet leadership there.  You could argue that our most questionable part of that line is Thomas, a muti-time probowler.  Add in the depth that Hicks, Clarke and Fraley would provide... yes. 

[rjs246]

Runyan in that lineup would still be a better alternative, but if Herremans can hold his own that would be a nice young pile of beef they'd have up front.

[bobbyinlondon]

They must be thinking that the CBA extension is going to be done soon. I'll tell you why--

1. According to Foxsports.com, the NFL is going to announce its cap tomorrow, and it's going to be 95M--the Eagles, once they cut Owens, will have about 21.2M.

2. Project 4M for the draft and 2M for in-season contingencies, and that's now down to 15.2M.

3. To craft a "poison pill" type deal for Hutchison (like when the Bears signed John Tait a couple of seasons back), they would have to offer him close to 11M IN THE FIRST SEASON, with about 9.5-10M coming in the form of a roster bonus.

4. WITHOUT a CBA, there can be NO RAISES MORE THAN 30% in each succeeding year of the contract.

5. That would leave them with about 4M to deal with a backup QB, a decent DT, a veteran WR, and a playmaking SLB.


Now, if the extension gets done in time, that would provide the Eagles with an extra 12M in cap space, because that 12M right now is earmarked for players who have to have their salary upgraded to conform with the 30% rule. The player who needs the most bumping up would be Donovan--they need to give him an extra 4M THIS YEAR to not violate the 30%rule.

So, they must be confident that the extension is going to get done. Not only that, but it has also been written on cvarious sites that if the union gets their way, EACH TEAM WILL HAVE AN EXTRA 10M in CAP funds. So, that means the Eagles would be actually about 41M under the cap with an extension.

By the way, I get my information from this site--http://www.geocities.com/eaglescap. The guy has a pretty good handle on things.

[BigEd76]

How about the scenario where Hutchinson stays in Seattle and we still lose Runyan....just as likely, maybe more....

[rjs246]

Killjoy.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

How about the scenario where Hutchinson stays in Seattle and we still lose Runyan....just as likely, maybe more....

I'm baffled.  I don't have a proper emoticon to explain how I feel about that comment!

[PhillyGirl]

Ban Ed.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Ban Ed.

2nd!

[MDS]

WAIT. Where does Artis Hicks fit into this starting lineup? He's awsome.

[PhillyGirl]

WAIT. Where does Artis Hicks fit into this? He's awsome.

They're HOLDING out hope that he'll be better.

[BigEd76]

Ban Ed.

2nd!

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

When did Ed go Negadelphian on us?... that's what I wanna know.

[Rome]

How about the scenario where Hutchinson stays in Seattle and we still lose Runyan....just as likely, maybe more....

I'm baffled.  I don't have a proper emoticon to explain how I feel about that comment!

I do: