Notes: Eagles, Hicks Agree To Terms
Photo By Jeff Fusco
The Eagles and third-round selection Jordan Hicks agreed to terms on a four-year contract Thursday, the team announced. All six of their draft picks have now agreed to terms.
There is not much to haggle over when it comes to rookie deals under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. As Andrew Brandt explained, the length of the contract (four years, with a fifth-year option for first-round picks), salaries and signing bonuses are essentially predetermined under the new CBA.
There was some wrestling early on over the inclusion of “offset language” in contracts for first-round picks, which provides some financial protection for a team if they decide to release a player and that player ends up signing elsewhere. Without it, a player is able to double-dip, receiving both the guaranteed money from his old club and whatever his new team pays him. This seems to be less of a conversation now league-wide, as teams have dug in on this issue. The Eagles have made sure offset language is included in their first-round contracts, and that applies to Nelson Agholor‘s as well.
Sports science additions
Chip Kelly has added to his sports science staff. Zach Berman explains.
[Shaun] Huls received a promotion this offseason to “director of sports science and reconditioning,” according to the Eagles’ website. The Eagles do not announce these types of changes and hirings, but Kelly has made some other additions this offseason. New personnel include James Hanisch as “high performance analyst” and J.P. Crowley Hanlon as “logistics coordinator.”
Hanisch was previously the sports science coordinator at Oregon. He came to Oregon from Australia, where he was a performance analyst in the Australian Football League.
Barwin, Sanchez come up big
Finally, a very nice gesture from two Eagles players that have been big contributors in the community since arriving in Philadelphia. From the team’s website:
On Wednesday, linebacker Connor Barwin and quarterback Mark Sanchez showed up unannounced at Temple University Hospital to provide comfort for victims and families of the Amtrak train derailment. They also thanked the hospital staff who have worked around the clock since the accident that claimed the lives of seven people and sent more than 200 to area hospitals happened late Tuesday night.
Hospital staff posted photos of the players on social media.