Deep breaths, Eagles fans. Deep breaths.
What I'm about to say is going to hurt, but, much like ripping off a band aid, the quicker you get it over with, the quicker the pain goes away.
Here goes: linebacker, fan favorite and human sack-machine Trent Cole may very well be gone after this season.
There. It's over. Feel better?
Probably not. But neither do Billy Davis or Chip Kelly, I bet.
As the Seattle Seahawks were outclassing Kelly's Philadelphia Eagles Sunday afternoon, a couple things became abundantly clear - the Eagles won't win in the playoffs with Mark Sanchez at quarterback and the team needs to upgrade several key positions on their defense - namely safety and cornerback - but none more so than Cole's spot at right outside linebacker.
Yes, it was just one game.
Yes, Trent Cole is still a quality player who can contribute positively to the Eagles defense. But the issues in this one game belied deeper, more troubling issues that go beyond the surface of a single bad outing.
The bottom line at this point is; Cole is an aging, descending player and he's on his last legs in Philadelphia and, possibly, the NFL.
Cole, never a burner to begin with, has always depended on studying opponent tendencies and a relentless ferocity to achieve a good get off at the snap and fight his way through the traffic in the trenches.
But at times he's also a victim of his own tenacity and intense focus, and at some point those attributes will no longer be able to mitigate his now-limited athleticism - an athleticism that was never elite to begin with.
Cole gave the Seahawks a free first down and negated a potential three-and-out when he jumped offside late in the second-quarter. That particular instance - while frustrating for fans and his defensive brethren - is not the biggest issue.
What happened on that play showed that Cole is worried that his reactions are no longer operating at the speed they once were, either before the snap or after. He rushed across the line with his trademark reckless abandon and was nearly four yards into the backfield before he realized what had happened and attempted to throw on the brakes.
Why?
Because he knows that his fading athleticism means he needs every possible advantage he can get - especially in a game like that, especially after Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson's 26-yard rushing touchdown earlier in the second quarter - the image of which is, no doubt, imprinted on the brains of Eagles fans everywhere and shows in stark clarity the difference between a fading Cole and a rising Wilson.
Eagles defenders spoke all week about how prepared they felt they were to finally face a team that would run the read-option. But on this particular instance, Wilson was able to freeze Cole with the fake to the running back, veer outside him and turn the corner before zooming into the end zone, untouched.
The replay of that touchdown run shows the agile, fleet-footed Wilson pulling away from Cole with ease as he streaks to pay dirt - the big, lead-footed steam engine losing power as he rapidly loses ground to the speedy bullet train.
"It's hard. When you've got a fast quarterback like that, and you come up, and you don't know whether he's going to hand it off or pull it [back]," Cole said afterwards, per Andy Schwartz of CSNPhilly.com "I still thought I had outside contain, but he outran me. So it is what it is. I can't do anything about it."
Cole was contrite and offered an altogether unnecessary apology to his teammates for his inability to bring Wilson down on the play.
"I will take that play back," he said. "I lost contain of Russell Wilson. I owe my defense one."
But it's not Cole's fault. Not really. He's a proud veteran doing his best at a position he's only been playing for two seasons.
I'll be willing to bet that, though the Eagles and Kelly would never admit this, they quietly hoped when they selected Marcus Smith II out of Louisville with the 26th pick in the first-round of this past April's draft that he would be eating into Cole's snaps by now.
As it is, Brandon Graham has already been doing that for some time - and to great effect - but as the only capable back-up outside linebacker on the roster, he's expected to provide breathers to both Cole and Connor Barwin. Add in the preseason injury to inside backer/outside backer Travis Long and the Eagles are perilously thin on the perimeter, meaning that a positional rotation that should have consisted of four to five players consists of only three. It also explains why Cole, whose current contract carries him through 2017, is still seeing the amount of snaps he's seen in years past.
This season, Cole has a cap hit of $6.6 million and dead money value of $4.8 million - if he is cute during this year. The cap hit on his deal spikes to $11.625 million next season, but the dead money goes down to a much more manageable $3.2 million. It pays him $12.6 million with $1.6 million in dead money in 2016, and $14 million with no dead money in 2017.
Cole currently has 46 tackles, 6.5 sacks and three forced fumbles on the season. His leadership and overall veteran presence are important - especially on a team led by Kelly, who places such a massive emphasis on culture and doing things the "right" way - but coupled with good, not great, production, it's not important enough for him to warrant $11.625 million next season.
Barring a restructuring of his deal, there's zero chance he suits up for Philly next year.
The good news for Cole and for Eagles fans is that he's still strong at the point of attack and in pursuit and he's not completely lost in coverage. He plays with a ferocity that endeared him to fans in the past and will continue to until his final day in an Eagles uniform.
He has value. He provides quality play and a strong locker room presence.
He's simply not worth anywhere close to $12 million.
But for Cole, who has the second-most sacks in Eagles history and is 48th on the NFL's all-time sack list with 85.5, the end of the line in Philly, and potentially the NFL, is drawing closer.
Whether he can fend it off for a few more seasons is anyone's guess. But for a former fifth-round draft pick that had to fight and claw just to make it onto an NFL roster, betting against him is probably an ill-advised decision.
