The Philadelphia Eagles have been widely lauded for their work this offseason, but safety remains an area that would benefit from some improvement.
With Eagles camp set to begin next week, Jaquiski Tartt and Anthony Harris look like they’ll be Philly’s top safeties. But they aren’t swimming in depth beyond that, and meanwhile the Cincinnati Bengals are at an impasse with their star safety.
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Jessie Bates, who is coming off a real nice postseason, was hit with the franchise tag this offseason. He’s yet to sign it, and all signs are pointing towards him electing not to sign it and holding out of camp in search of a new contract.
That has led to chatter that a trade could be coming, with the Eagles pinpointed as a potential landing spot. Asked for his thoughts on a Bates-Eagles marriage on “Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Team”, former NFL executive Mike Lombardi was hesitant.
“It depends on the contract,” Lombardi said. “I’d be very reluctant to pay Jessie Bates all that money because when it comes to man-to-man and you’ve got to lock in and play man-to-man, he’s not exactly that safety. He’s a good player, don’t get me wrong, but he’s a replaceable player. You can find other guys of the quality of Jessie Bates if you hit in the draft.
“I think what the Eagles have done a very good job of is they’ve improved their team around the quarterback,” Lombardi continued. “... The Eagles are building their team around Hurts. They don’t know if Hurts is good enough, no one knows if Hurts is good enough. Everybody is waiting to see if he is gonna be it—if he’s good enough he’ll get an extension, if not they’ll get a new one. But at least the team is good around him, and I think that’s the benefit the Eagles have. I would be very careful of spending money on a position that is replaceable.”
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The cost very well might be prohibitive for the Eagles. Bates, who is only 25, seems highly unlikely to sign at even a slight discount, so he will probably be expensive to add. If Philly determines he’s more of a luxury than necessity – especially after committing money to the secondary already with the Tartt and James Bradberry additions – then they might bow out of the sweepstakes.
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