The Philadelphia Eagles may be preparing to part ways with one aging, descending NFL cornerback and replace him with another younger, ascending NFL cornerback fresh off a Super Bowl appearance.
The Eagles and head coach Chip Kelly, after suffering through some of the most abysmal secondary play in the league last year, are reportedly already planning big changes for their defensive backfield.
Kelly and the Eagles, according to Tony Pauline of Draft Insider, citing talk at the NFL scouting combine, are currently "the front-runners" to land Seattle Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell in free agency.
Maxwell is a pending free agent the team has been rumored to have interest in to help improve their moribund back-end since the seaon ended. With nearly the entirety of the NFL's decision-makers in Indianapolis for the combine, it's the perfect place for back-room deals to be brokered and handshake agreements to be made.
Pauline reported earlier in the day that Maxwell would be seeking a deal on the open market somewhere in the vicinity of $10 million per season. If that's indeed the case, it means the Eagles - or whoever else ends up signing him - will be making a significant investment in his services.
Maxwell, 26 and less than three weeks removed from playing in Super Bowl XLIX, may very well be worth it though, especially for a Philadelphia team expected to replace at least half, if not 3/4ths of their secondary this offseason.
One of those pieces, cornerback Cary Williams, currently has a "50-50" chance of returning to the fold next year, according to a report from Martin Frank of The News Journal.
"The chances of cornerback Cary Williams returning to the Eagles next season are "50-50," an NFL source told the News Journal on Thursday," writes Frank.
"The source said the Eagles haven't reached out to Williams or his agent yet about his status for next season."
Williams is still under contract for next year, but at a seemingly unacceptable cap hit of $8.2 million. He is 30 and has five interceptions and 22 passes defensed in the past two seasons with Philadelphia.
