Careful what you wish for. The divorce between the Eagles and Rasul Douglas has taken another twisted turn.
The Super Bowl-winning cornerback has been rumored to be on the trading block for at least a month, and those winds are swirling around again. First, it was ProFootballTalk that ignited the chatter, and now Douglas himself is fanning those flames on Twitter. The 24-year-old posted a cryptic tweet late Thursday night when he wrote: “Two middle fingers up as I make an exit.”
Two middle fingers up as I make an exit
The words certainly sound like a possible move out of Philadelphia is imminent. Then again, Douglas often posts song lyrics to his account and the phrase above comes from the hit song “Lose You” by Drake. In it, the Canadian rapper talks about the struggles of dealing with increased fame and losing his fanbase. The lyric Douglas references refers to Ohio State’s Marcus Hall who threw up two middle fingers after being ejected from a game in 2013.
Did Douglas Mean to Imply He Was Leaving Philly?
Cryptic posts often surface when players are unhappy in their current situations (see: Stefon Diggs) but sometimes they are just misinterpreted. Douglas quickly downplayed his “two middle fingers” message and countered by saying that “people assume too much.”
But the damage was done. Eagles fans were in a lather about his possible exit. Douglas appears to be the odd man out in the team’s secondary this season after the Eagles traded for Darius Slay and signed Nickell Robey-Coleman in free agency. Avonte Maddox and Sidney Jones are expected to battle for the starting spot opposite Slay.
Did I lose you ??
Remember, Philadelphia could save a nice chunk of change by cutting ties with Douglas. He could be a valuable trading piece in a deal to possibly acquire Jaguars pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue. Or, the team could release him and save approximately $2.1 million in cap space.
Eagles GM Discusses Making Trades at NFL Draft
On Thursday, Eagles GM Howie Roseman met with the media in a virtual question-and-answer session. He discussed a range of topics regarding the upcoming draft, including possible trades. The Eagles could be very active.
“I think when we are moving up in any round — first round, second round, third round, fourth round — I think we just look at the value of the player, where the board drops off,” Roseman told reporters. “If we see a big gap and there’s a big drop off, then we’ll look at that. If we feel like there’s a group of guys that we really like that we can choose from, then we’ll probably stay put or move back.”
Roseman specifically brought up what the Eagles did in 2010 when they traded up for Brandon Graham in the first round (13th overall) and then traded some later-round picks to recoup more draft capital.
#Eagles GM references 2010 trade for Brandon Graham as way to utilize your picks — Eagles have 8 after Darius Slay trade — to move up or down.
Philly sent first-round pick (24th overall) and 2 third-round selections (Nos. 70 and 87) to Denver to move up 11 spots in 2010.
“I remember in 2010 when we traded up for Brandon Graham and then we moved back in the second round and got some of those picks back,” Roseman said. “There’s ways to do that, there’s different ways to go through this draft process, and we’ll be ready for all those opportunities.”
In 2010, the Eagles sent their first-round pick (24th overall) and two third-round selections (Nos. 70 and 87) to Denver to move up 11 spots and take Graham. They also made a flurry of Day 2 moves, including sending the 59th overall pick to Cleveland in exchange for a third-rounder and two fifth-rounders. Anything can happen next week.
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Super Bowl Champion Teases Eagles Exit in Cryptic Tweet