Philadelphia Eagles: Latest Combine News and Rumors

Things are relatively quiet on the news front as the Philadelphia Eagles have been formulating their blueprint for free agency and the NFL draft. However, there’s a good chance business is about to pick up this week.

Front office executives and agents are assembling in Indianapolis for the annual NFL Scouting Combine, which begins in earnest on Friday, February 20.

While the spotlight will be on college athletes running 40-yard dashes and three-cone drills, in the background, NFL teams will be negotiating contracts, angling for free agents and perhaps talking trades.

Until then, let’s get you up to speed on all the latest from one of the league’s few slow periods. This primer may even clue you in on what type of information and rumors will leak out of the Eagles' camp in the coming weeks.

No Reason for Concern on Jeremy Maclin Contract Front

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Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin has made it no secret he hopes to remain in Philadelphia. The Eagles have made it no secret that they like Maclin a lot.

So why isn’t a long-term contract extension already a done deal?

As Geoff Mosher for CSNPhilly.com writes, there’s no need to panic. The dance between Maclin and the Eagles is nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to re-signing impending free agents—which has a lot to do with the same dance that’s going on between players and front offices elsewhere:

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It makes little sense for Maclin to sign his deal before the top two potential free agents at his position, Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, have their long-term deals squared away.

Only after Bryant and Thomas set the market can the inevitable trickle-down effect occur. Whatever money Bryant and Thomas collect, a little less goes to those on deck.

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It’s not just at wide receiver, either. Look around the league. How many impending free agents have signed extensions with their current teams? One or two might come to mind, but by and large, neither front offices nor agents are there yet.

Again, we’ll likely to start to hear of progress between the Eagles and Maclin once the combine gets underway.

Granted, there’s no guarantee the Pro Bowl wideout is staying in Philly, but there’s no reason to be concerned so far either.

3 Teams Interested in Trading for Nick Foles, Including Rams

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Chances are, if the Eagles do somehow manage to trade up into the top five of the draft to select Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota, Nick Foles is as good as gone.

The big questions, then, would be, which teams are interested in the fourth-year signal-caller and what is he worth?

According to Eliot Shorr-Parks for NJ.com in a report filed back in January, as many as three teams have emerged as potential suitors for Foles. Of the three, the St. Louis Rams made headlines, although the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans are also mentioned.

Perhaps the Rams received more attention because they might be uniquely positioned to help the Eagles make the jump from No. 20 into the top of the draft order.

Foles and a simple swap of first-round picks may net St. Louis’ No. 10 selection, for instance.

Of course, it stands to reason if the Titans are interested in Foles, they are considering passing on Mariota with the second overall draft choice. With that said, Foles would be only a very small part of any deal to move up that high.

No doubt, there are plenty of teams who would love to have Foles. Then again, just because teams are interested doesn’t mean the Eagles are selling.

If Mariota tumbles on draft day and he’s available somewhere in the neighborhood of No. 20, you might see Philadelphia pull the trigger. Otherwise, it’s all talk right now.

Eagles Interested in Jake Locker?

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The Eagles may or may not make a move for a quarterback in the draft. One way or another, though, the team must add a passer to at least compete with Matt Barkley for the backup job.

Philadelphia could go the draft route. Granted, probably not with a player as polished as Mariota, but a developmental prospect who could potentially be groomed to take over for Foles down the road if that’s not working out.

Alternatively, the Birds could go the reclamation-project route again, which would be similar to what the club did with Mark Sanchez in 2014.

One intriguing possibility would be Jake Locker from the Tennessee Titans. Mark Eckel for NJ.com is reporting the Eagles may call him when free agency opens in March.

Not unlike Sanchez with the New York Jets, Locker has struggled to adapt to the NFL. Also not unlike Sanchez with the Jets, Locker hasn’t exactly been surrounded with tremendous weapons for the aerial attack, either.

Of course, there are several key differences. On a handful occasions, it did seem the light bulb might turn on for Sanchez in New York, which is why his relatively successful stint as a backup in 2014 was not a total surprise.

Locker has compiled just a 9-14 record over four seasons with the Titans—in part because he hasn’t been able to get on the field and in part because he hasn’t been able to stay healthy when he does.

Still, it’s not difficult to imagine why head coach Chip Kelly would try to fix the former eighth overall draft pick. Locker has above-average arm strength and mobility, so who knows? Maybe he would excel in a so-called quarterback-friendly offense.

If nothing else, he could simply serve to push Barkley for that No. 2 quarterback vacancy.

Tra Thomas Says Marcus Smith Has the Body of a High Schooler

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Those who are hopeful 2014 first-round pick Marcus Smith can rebound from a forgettable rookie year would likely point to the idea that he will come back functionally stronger in his second year after a full offseason in an NFL conditioning program.

It was quite clear the outside linebacker needs to become stronger if he’s going to tangle with offensive tackles in the NFL.

But just how far away is Smith from being able to compete at this level? If you listen to former Eagles left tackle Tra Thomas, who spent 2014 with the team as a coaching intern, it sounds like Smith may not even be close to ready.

Thomas appeared on Comcast SportsNet's Philly Sports Talk (h/t CSNPhilly.com) on February 6, where he made the unflattering comparison of Smith’s body to that of a high schooler. Now, I don’t know how many high-schoolers are listed at 6’3”, 251 pounds, but Thomas’ point remains. Smith wasn’t ready for prime time.

For what it’s worth, Smith admitted Tra was right during a radio interview on local 97.5 The Fanatic, as transcribed by Matt Lombardo for NJ.com:

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My body type has to change. I can't look like a quarterback forever. That's what I used to play. I'm still, during the season trying to look like that type. Right now I'm 265 [pounds], I'm really eating well, trying to maintain that weight ... I'm running with that weight and I'm feeling really good right now.

Everything that Tra has said, he's already told me before. When he says that,It's just the truth. I just have to get bigger and stronger and be productive at that weight so the coaches can be impressed.

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There’s little reason to think Smith can’t bulk up if he puts in the time, which by all accounts he is. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll become a productive player, much less a starter, in 2015.

Then again, he’ll only be 23, so there’s still plenty of time for him to develop.

Chip Kelly, Eagles' Front Office Not Speaking at Combine

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It’s not unusual for coaches and front offices to avoid speaking to the media at this time of year. Of course, few organizations underwent such a dramatic shift in power like the Eagles did.

At some point, somebody is going to have to address why Chip Kelly was given final say over all personnel matters, why Howie Roseman was “promoted” from general manager to executive vice president of football operations and why Tom Gamble was fired as VP of player personnel as all this went down.

And, no, that doesn’t mean submitting a press release.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like we’re going to get any answers at the combine. Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News reports that nobody from the Eagles' coaching staff or front office is scheduled to speak at the event.

The next chance for Chip, Howie or owner Jeffrey Lurie to take questions on the situation will be the NFL owners meetings in March. Maybe they’re all hoping the media will forget between now and then?

It wasn’t necessarily strange that the team did not make anybody available for comment in the aftermath of the supposed “power struggle” that was reported by Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, as Bowen points out, it’s uncommon to dodge reporters at the combine.

We’ll see if there are any changes on that front, but as of now, it looks like we’ll have to wait for answers on the major organizational restructuring that took place this offseason.