It’s been a very slow crawl for the Philadelphia Eagles to start free agency. The strap-cashed franchise chose to race toward solving their salary-cap deficit over bringing in high-priced free agents.
However, the Eagles finally made their first move on Wednesday when they inked Adrian Killins to a two-year contract. The undrafted running back out of Central Florida bounced around from the practice squad to the active roster last year and finished with one carry for minus-12 yards. A lightning bolt in college, Killins ran for 2,459 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground and 3,323 total yards from scrimmage in four seasons.
The Eagles also chose not to tender punter Cameron Johnston and tight end Joshua Perkins, leaving both players the option to negotiate with other teams. Johnston was one of the better punters in the league last year but his $2.24 million tender was too high. If no one else signs Johnston, he’ll likely return to Philly on a cheaper price tag.
Perkins is likely gone as the Eagles have a slew of young tight ends in the stable, including Jason Croom, Caleb Wilson, Tyree Jackson, Hakeem Butler. Dallas Goedert is the starter as Zach Ertz seeks a trade.
“Zach is a great person, he’s a great competitor and he’s been a great player for us,” Eagles GM Howie Roseman said on Jan. 4. “Obviously, this year didn’t work out exactly how he wanted either but there’s nothing personal. In fact, saw him after the game last night. Saw him this morning. Zach is one of the truly great guys that we’ve had in this organization in the 21 years I’ve been here.”
The #Eagles make their first move of free agency: Adrian Killins has been signed to a 2-year contract, per @AaronWilson_NFL.
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Roseman Confirms Carson Wentz Wanted Out
It’s been all speculation over whether Carson Wentz asked to be traded or the franchise simply chose to proceed with Jalen Hurts. Until now.
Roseman confirmed that Wentz wanted a “fresh start” in recent comments to the Eagles’ website, saying that the two sides talked before and after new coach Nick Sirianni came on board. It was a mutual parting of ways.
“We had some conversations with him and his representatives about what was the best thing to go forward,” Roseman said, “and when we were doing the coaching search, communicating with him and his agent — really good, productive conversations, really good people — and they talked about maybe it was time for him to have a fresh start, that he was looking forward to a fresh start.”
Go behind the scenes with Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni for an exclusive interview with @EaglesInsider as we kick off the new league year.
They didn’t take the decision to send him away lightly, either. The Indianapolis Colts turned out to be the best trading partner for both Wentz and the Eagles, in terms of compensation and fit.
“As we went through it and went through the offers that we got, particularly the offer from the Colts,” Roseman said, “the opportunity to not only get the picks but also get some financial flexibility back for our football team we decided going forward that that was the right decision going forward for us.”
Wentz Officially Headed to Indianapolis Colts
Meanwhile, the agreed-upon trade sending Wentz from Philadelphia to Indianapolis was made official on Wednesday as the calendar turned on the new league year. It was simply a formality, but the end of the Wentz era is on the books.
Colts officially acquired QB Carson Wentz in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for the Colts’ third-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft and a conditional second-round choice in the 2022 NFL Draft.
“We just felt like it was a fair trade, it was a good trade for the Colts,” Roseman said, via the Eagles’ website, “it was a good trade for the Philadelphia Eagles and where we are right now and so, we pulled the trigger.”
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Eagles Sign First Player in Free Agency, QB Trade Made Official