Philadelphia Eagles: Vinny Curry’s return cannot be understated
With Michael Bennett now a New England Patriot, Vinny Curry’s return should pay major dividends for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019 as an inside-out pass rusher.
Woooo!
After speculating earlier this offseason about a reunion between the Philadelphia Eagles and Neptune, New Jersey’s favorite son, Howie Roseman has officially made good on re-loading Jim Schwartz‘s defense with a Super Bowl champion in Vinny Curry.
That’s right, much like DeSean Jackson before him, Curry is headed back to the green, white, and black on a one-year, $2.25 million deal.
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And really, that’s a bargain for the kind of versatility the 6-foot-3, 279-pound lineman brings to the table.
You see, after having major success with Michael Bennett as the team’s swing, inside-out pass rusher in 2018, only to have to ship him to New England following public criticisms about his contract, the Eagles could really use a rotation defensive end who can shift inside on obvious passing downs.
That’s pretty much Curry’s game to a T.
Sure, he isn’t as good at the role as Bennett, as Michael has had six more sacks in the last two years (17.5) than Curry has had over his last four (11.5), but still, for $3.5 million (if all incentives are met) the Eagles could do a whole lot worse.
What’s more, it’s not like the Eagles are just replacing Bennett with Curry straight up. No, the Eagles are replacing Bennett with Curry and Malik Jackson for roughly the same money, with an extra fifth-round pick added in for good measure.
That’s great value for a player who didn’t even want to be here.
Because Curry can play all four positions across the Eagles’ 4-3 defensive line, both tackle, and end, Schwartz can get very creative in how he chooses to stagger his rotation going into 2019, forgoing the traditional confines of positional exclusivity to instead confuse offenses with a more varied attack.
Could we potentially see a ‘heavy’ front with Curry, Jackson, Cox, and another tackle (like one selected in the first round) on the field at the same time? Or what about a speedy attack with Curry, Cox, Derek Barnett, and Brandon Graham all sharing the field together? Could we even one day see Chris Long revert to his Patriots-esque role as a standup linebacker and see Schwartz blitz five dedicated rushers?
With Curry in the fold, the possibilities are endless.
And hey, if Curry still can’t get it all together and looks more like a 2.5 sacker as opposed to a double-digit sacker then no harm, minimal foul, the Eagles are only out $2.25 million with no long-term commitment on the book after the season ends.
But in this writer’s humble opinion, the move looks almost can’t miss. Actually, the move looks like a major bargain, as even if Curry can only replicate half of Bennett’s production, it will still provide more value than Timmy Jernigan and Nick Foles, both of whom are counting for more against the cap than the soon-to-be 31-year-old defensive end.
Next. Randall Cobb to the Cowboys is a big ol’ nothingburger. dark
Really, the only question is how much is it going to cost for Vinny Curry to get number 75 back from Josh Sweat?