Michael Bennett makes a formidable Eagles front seven downright scary.
Here are five thoughts on some of the big trades that have occurred in the NFL this week.
1. The Eagles Re-Create the Fearsome Foursome With Bennett Acquisition: The Eagles acquired defensive end Michael Bennett and a seventh round pick from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for wide receiver Marcus Johnson and a fifth round pick. Bennett has been rumored to be on the move and the Seahawks had several potential suitors including the Falcons and the Patriots. In the end, Seahawks general manager John Schneider took the Eagles offer.
Philadelphia already had one of the most dominant defensive lines in all of football with Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham. Now they add Bennett as a replacement for Vinnie Curry who the Eagles are releasing. It’s addition by subtraction. Bennett is an upgrade over Curry because of his speed and versatility.
Bennett was a pro bowler last season racking 8.5 sacks for a Seahawks defense that underachieved. He has 54 sacks in his nine year career.
2. The Giants Add an Impact Player in Ogletree: I love this trade for the Giants. Ogletree is a versatile three down linebacker that can play in all situations and packages. He has had injury issues in the past but when you think about the fact that the Giants only gave up a fourth and a sixth round pick to get him, it is well worth it.
The Giants have had issues at linebacker the past four years. Ogletree will bring some much needed experience and stability to the position. He will make an impact from day one.
3. Richard Sherman to Hit the Market: Sherman was released on Friday by the Seahawks. He was scheduled to make this $13 million this season. While he won’t get that in the open market, he could still land a $10 million dollar a year contract somewhere else. The Patriots will be among the teams that are interested in his services but they will probably look to do a similar deal with him that they did with Darrelle Revis a few years ago. They will not commit to Sherman long term.
Where Sherman ends up will all come down to how much he wants to win another Super Bowl. Does he go to New England, compete for a title and hit the market again next season or does he opt for the long term money and stability somewhere like San Francisco where he is familiar with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Either way, watching this all play out will be interesting because Sherman is his own agent.
4 Talib to the Rams: I am not going to applaud the Rams like the rest of America is doing. They traded for Marcus Peters but then traded Robert Quinn and Alec Ogletree. Yesterday, they traded for Aqib Talib. What exactly is Les Snead’s plan? I get upgrading the secondary but you still need to be able to rush the passer. It just makes no sense to me. Peters and Talib will form the best cornerback tandem in the league but who is going to rush the passer other than Aaron Donald? Ethan Westbrooks? The Rams will need to add a pass rusher in free agency or the draft because right now, they don’t have enough of them.
5. Jarvis Landry is Traded to the Browns: The Miami Dolphins traded wide receiver Jarvis Landry to the Cleveland Browns for a fourth round pick in 2018 and a seventh round pick in 2019. Miami slapped the franchise tag on Landry last month which meant that they would have had to pay him $16 million dollars next season. Miami wasn’t going to do that based on Landry’s production.
Cleveland isn’t exactly the best spot for Landry given the Browns quarterback issues and the presence of Josh Gordon as the potential number one receiver. Landry will probably get more touches but he will not have the role he was envisioning.
This could be a terrific deal for the Browns but until they solve their issues at quarterback, it will be hard for any skill player to succeed there.