Rumors began to swirl after the Philadelphia Eagles traded Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso that the addition of Alonso spelled doom for one of the Eagles remaining two starting inside 'backers from last season, Mychal Kendricks or DeMeco Ryans.
Taking into consider Ryans' advanced age (31), recent Achilles injury and high cap figure - and the veteran bloodletting Eagles head coach Chip Kelly seemed to be partaking in - it then became widely presumed that Ryans was not long for Philadelphia.
Kelly though, stamped out those presumptions when he proceeded to extend Ryans through 2016.
Since, Kelly has spoken of the need for quality linebacking play and has deflected any and all suggestions that Kendricks, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, could be on the move, but really, what else can come of the current logjam the team is facing at the position?
"At this point, I will be mildly surprised if Kendricks isn't dealt before or during the draft, and Kelly handpicks his eventual replacement. That's not how I would play it, but let's reserve judgment until everything is final," writes Andrew Kulp of The 700 Level.
With three starting-caliber linebackers jockeying for spots on a base 3-4 defense that has only two spots on the inside, some player will ultimately wind up on the outside looking in (pun somewhat intended).
Kendricks, just 24, could ultimately be the odd man out in Philly due to factors entirely beyond his control, specifically his height.
Kelly has long maintained that "big people beat up little people" and Kendricks, despite his ample physical gifts in terms of overall athleticism and agility, is very much on the shorter end of the spectrum when it comes to height for the linebacker position - Kendricks goes about 5-foot-11 and inside linebackers in the NFL are typically 6-foot and over.
While that wouldn't seem like a big discrepancy, Kelly is also fond of noting that the more "exceptions" - undersized players - you have on your roster, the larger the likelihood that it will eventually come back to bite you.
There's also Kendrick's injury history to consider: he's never missed more than four games in a season and that only came last year, but he seems to be consistently hampered by some type of nagging concern, something which reportedly may have drawn Kelly's ire last season.
In the end, there's really no reason for the Eagles to move a player like Kendricks who, despite appearing only 12 games last season, managed 83 tackles, four sacks and three forced fumbles, a year after positing 106 tackles, four sacks and three interceptions.
He's a natural playmaker and for an Eagles defense that has so sorely lacked players like that in the linebacking corps in recent years, partings ways with a guy like Kendricks should not be done lightly.
That being said, if the Eagles can move a guy like Kendricks - along with a whole boatload of other assets - and in return trade up to one of the top selections in the 2015 NFL Draft and nab someone like, oh I dunno, Marcus Mariota, it would be difficult to say that it wasn't worth the price.
