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Originally Posted by ptlyon
Well Thanks DAN!
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sorry, didn't know it was a register only view. Somehow I got the link from a friend and it worked for me.......
The Trotter watch continues
By LES BOWEN
[email protected]
THE EAGLES were hoping to hear before midnight last night that middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter had accepted their contract offer and was passing up unrestricted free agency.Though team president Joe Banner declined comment a few hours before the deadline, there was no announcement of an agreement. Sources close to the situation said silence should be taken as an indication that Trotter, the team's top priority among its dozen unrestricted free agents, now that Corey Simon has been franchised, seems likely to sign elsewhere. At least, that's the Eagles' assumption, a source said.Neither Trotter nor his agent, Jimmy Sexton, returned calls from the
Daily News last night. On Monday, Sexton indicated that talks were continuing. He said he would not characterize his feelings toward them as optimistic or pessimistic.Of course, the Eagles still are allowed to sign Trotter as an unrestricted free agent, but history indicates that is unlikely. When Eagles starters become free agents, sometimes talks continue, but the team doesn't tend to dramatically boost its offers.A source close to the situation said these talks have been much more cordial than the ones between the Eagles and Trotter 3 years ago, which ended with an angry Trotter being released and signing a 7-year, $35.5 million contract with the Redskins. When Trotter was cut last year, he signed a 1-year deal with the Eagles for the veteran minimum of $535,000. He became a starter midway through the season and ended up making the Pro Bowl.Teammates credited Trotter, an emotional, forceful leader, with changing the attitude of the Eagles' defense, and Trotter told reporters after the Super Bowl that he was "very confident we'll get something worked out.''But Eagles officials never have seemed as emphatic as their fans about the difference between Trotter and Mark Simoneau, the 2003 starting middle linebacker who was moved to the weakside at midseason to get Trotter back into the lineup. When assessing Trotter's value, they note that he doesn't play on passing downs, and that he suffered a serious knee injury playing for the Redskins in 2002.If Trotter leaves again, the Eagles might have to deal with fan reaction even more negative than when he was allowed to leave the first time; though the Eagles say they like Simoneau and last year's free-agent rookie, Mike Labinjo, the team might be pushed toward a high-profile free agent such as Baltimore's Edgerton Hartwell, or at least making middle linebacker a priority in the draft.Trotter, restricted free-agent running back Brian Westbrook (tendered at $1.43 million) and defensive tackle Simon, upon whom the Eagles placed the franchise tag, are believed to be the only Eagles the team so far has made an effort to bring back. Right now, the Birds are not believed to be in the running for any prominent free agents from other teams. Among the remaining 10 unrestricted Eagles, several players and agents said they haven't heard anything from the team."I'm just waiting,'' defensive end Hugh Douglas said yesterday from Atlanta, where he is rehabbing from postseason shoulder surgery. Douglas agreed that being 33 and fresh off having his rotator cuff repaired wasn't a great way to greet free agency. Douglas has said he suffered a shoulder injury in the season opener, and it got worse as the year progressed."If I'd had the surgery early on, I might have had a better chance [of attracting offers],'' Douglas said.Linebacker Ike Reese, 31, reiterated his desire to stay with the team that drafted him in the fifth round in 1998. "I want to be here, man,'' Reese said from his South Jersey home. "Hopefully it will work out so that I can retire an Eagle.''But the Eagles have a contractual logjam at linebacker, where both Trotter, who just turned 28 in January, and Adams, who is 25, are both significantly younger than Reese. It's unlikely the Eagles will sign all three LBs.