DeSean Jackson, Eagles Agree To Longterm Contract

The Philadelphia Eagles signed Buffalo Bills free agent offensive tackle Demetress Bell to a five-year deal on Wednesday, as first reported by Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. On top of signing a new contract, Bell also used the occasion to announce a change in the spelling of his first name, which was previously listed as Demetrius.

Philadelphia was in the market for an offensive tackle after losing Jason Peters to a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right foot. The injury means Peters will miss significant time to start the year, and potentially the entire season. Bell gives the Eagles some insurance at left tackle in Peters' absence.

Bell was limited by injuries, and played in just seven games for the Bills last season as their left tackle. He did start all 16 games in 2010.

A new name and a new contract, not a bad day for Demetress Bell.

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Offensive guard Evan Mathis and the Philadelphia Eagles have reached an agreement on a five-year, $25 million contract according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The deal includes $7 million guaranteed. Mathis was signed by Philadelphia prior to last season from the Cincinnati Bengals.

Eagles and free-agent G @evanmathis69 reached agreement on a 5-year deal, $25 million deal, including $7 mil gtd. Mathis back in Philly.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2012

Mathis made good on his one-year deal with Philly, taking over the starting left guard spot following preseason. He helped the Eagles to the 5th-ranked rushing offense during the regular season last year, averaging 142.2 yards per game. He was drafted in the third round by the Carolina Panthers during the 2005 NFL Draft

For more free agency updates, go to SB Nation's Eagles blog, Bleeding Green Nation. For more on Philadelphia sports, check out SB Nation Philly.

The Philadelphia Eagles placed the franchise tag on DeSean Jackson earlier this year but they can remove that now. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the Eagles signed Jackson to a new five-year deal. ESPN has it worth $51 million while NFL Network has it at $48 million.

Either way, Jackson's going to be an Eagle. It's the long-term deal Jackson has been seeking for a couple of years now.

Jackson was ready to sign his franchise tag which was a clue that a long-term deal was in the making. The Eagles drafted Jackson in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft and he quickly became one of the league's most dangerous returners. He's not a bad receiver either picking up over 900 yards in his first four seasons in the league.

It's been reported as recently as early March that the Eagles would consider trading Jackson but that obviously never materialized.

For more free agency updates, go to SB Nation's Eagles blog, Bleeding Green Nation. For more on Philadelphia sports, check out SB Nation Philly.

The Philadelphia Eagles this offseason gave a contract extension to Todd Herremans, which made Winston Justice more expendable. The Eagles have traded Justice to the Indianapolis Colts for a swap of sixth round draft picks.

Justice was a second round pick in the 2006 NFL draft and earned one contract extension from the Eagles. He lost his starting job midway through the 2011 season and had one of the higher salary cap numbers for the Eagles heading into next season, so his departure from Philly isn't a major surprise.

The Colts have first round pick Anthony Castonzo on the left side so Justice will compete with Jeff Linkenbach and Ben Ijalana on the right side.

The big news of the week in Indy won't be this trade -- it's Reggie Wayne returning on a three-year contract.

For more on the Colts, check out Stampede Blue and SBN Indiana.

The Philadelphia Eagles are trying a last minute push to re-sign some of their impending free agents before free agency officially begins on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Eagles got one player out of the way, agreeing to a three-year contract extension with offensive lineman Todd Herremans, according The Sideline View.

Herremans, who is beginning his eighth season with the team, agreed to a three-year extension worth just over $21 million with slightly over $11 million guaranteed, a source told thesidelineview.com. Herremans was previously set to make just $4.8 million in base salary over the final two years of the contract extension that he signed in March of 2007.

Herremans was originally a fourth-round pick of the Eagles in the 2005 NFL Draft and played his first five seasons in the NFL at left guard for the Eagles. This past season Herremans was moved to right tackle, as the line dealt with injuries.

For more free agency updates, go to SB Nation's Eagles blog, Bleeding Green Nation.

Free agency comes at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday and teams will soon be able to scour the market to bring in talented veterans to help them push for the playoffs in 2012. The Philadelphia Eagles are lucky enough to not have any big talent leaving town, especially since they placed the franchise tag on wide receiver DeSean Jackson, but that doesn't mean that they won't be bringing anybody in.

The Eagles need help at the linebacker position badly, especially inside linebacker. There are a handful of talented middle linebackers in this year's free agency class, including NFL leading tackler and potential former division rival London Fletcher. Other inside linebackers that the Eagles could have an eye on are Dan Connor and Curtis Lofton.

The Eagles have a ton of talent and they were massive underachievers through the beginning and middle of the 2011 season. However, they finished the year on a four-game winning streak. If they can build off of that, they can easily take the NFC East, even over the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

For more free agency updates, go to SB Nation's Eagles blog, Bleeding Green Nation.

The Philadelphia Eagles will be looking for linebacker help in free agency during the 2012 offseason, and an impeding Carolina Panthers free agent could be one of their targets. Panthers linebacker Dan Connor is drawing interest from the Eagles, according to a report by The News Journal.

The News Journal has learned that Panthers free-agent linebacker Dan Connor is on the Eagles' radar. Several league sources confirmed the team's interest in the former Penn State All-American, who just finished his fourth season in Carolina, although the degree of interest remains unclear. At least two sources close to the situation believe Connor, a native of the Delaware County suburb of Wallingford, Pa., is high on the Eagles' wish list.

The report does note however that Connor isn't necessarily the Eagles first option at the linebacker position in free agency, but that there is significant interest there. The Eagles were so interested, according to the report, that the team approached Carolina about a trade for Connor during the 2011 season.

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The Philadelphia Eagles were widely expected to place their franchise tag on receiver and kick returner DeSean Jackson, and that's what they did on Thursday. The team announced on Thursday that Jackson has been named its franchise tag player.

This helps the Eagles keep Jackson in Philly on a one-year contract that will pay him approximately $9.5 million. Another team can make a run at Jackson, but they would have to give up two first round picks, which isn't going to happen.

In comments distributed by the team, GM Howie Roseman was quoted as saying:

"We want DeSean to be an Eagle for the long haul and this is a step in the right direction to accomplish that."

That could be significant because there have been grumblings that the Eagles would be open to trading Jackson. Judging by Roseman's comments, it sounds like they want to get something done. Or, playing devil's advocate, they could be creating the impression they want to keep him in order to increase his trade value.

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Trent Edwards did not take a snap during the 2011 season and finished the year without being on an NFL roster after being cut by the Oakland Raiders. But the former Stanford quarterback is just 28 years old and it appears at least the Philadelphia Eagles are close to signing him, according to General Manager Howie Roseman (via Pro Football Talk).

Edwards is a bit of an interesting case. Although he was only a third-round pick in 2007, he made nine starts as a rookie for the Buffalo Bills and was generally considered to be a solid prospect. He started 14 games his second year, but didn't really take the big step forward usually expected of second-year starters, completing 65.5 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,699 yards and throwing 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

By 2009, he had lost his starting job after suffering a concussion and spent the final seven games of the season on the bench. Edwards has made just three starts since then and has changed teams twice.

For more on this possible signing, be sure to check out Eagles blog Bleeding Green Nation.

Cullen Jenkins will be back with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012 after reworking his deal to make it considerably more salary-cap friendly on Tuesday (via ESPN). The defensive tackle had originally signed a five-year deal with the Eagles last July that included a $5 million roster bonus that was due next month. Without reworking the deal, it would have put the Eagles in a tough position as it would have dramatically effected how much he counted against the salary cap.

"We are very excited about having Cullen back on our football team," general manager Howie Roseman said in a statement on the team's website. "Cullen made an immediate impact for us this year on and off the field. We look forward to a great future together with him in an Eagles uniform."

Under the new deal, he'll receive his roster bonus but be paid $820,000 this year. He's also due to be paid $1.5 million in 2013, along with a potential $1 million roster bonus.

Jenkins enjoyed a solid year in 2011. The 31-year-old made 40 tackles and 5.5 sacks and played in all 16 games.

For more on the Eagles' offseason, be sure to check out Bleeding Green Nation.