Philadelphia Eagles: Does Chris Long future hinge on the draft?
As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare for the draft, who they ultimately select could impact Chris Long future with the team.
As the Philadelphia Eagles place the final finishing touches on their 2019 draft board, the team received a major boost by signing Timmy Jernigan to a one-year contract (more on that here), however, one of the team’s top defensive rotational talents future still remains very much up in the air.
That’s right, according to USA Today, Chris Long is still unsure as to whether or not he will play football in 2019, and his willingness to do one final dance appears to be waning with each passing month.
The team clearly could still use the versatile edge rusher, has he played a big part in the team’s success last season, recording 6.5 sacks and 23 tackles in 612 defensive snaps, Long seemed apprehensive to put his body through the stress of another conditioning cycle to be relegated to a smaller leadership-focused role.
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And after 11 seasons in the league, winning two Super Bowls in the process, that’s Long’s prerogative.
Right now, that line of thinking seems a bit far-fetched, as the Eagles currently only have four other defensive ends under contract with a realistic shot to make the roster in Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry, and 2018 fourth round pick Josh Sweat, but who knows what could happen in a few short hours whe the NFL draft comes under way.
With an absolutely stacked defensive tackle class, and number of quarterback hungry teams searching for the future signal caller, it’s conceivable that a premier pass rusher could fall to Philly at 25, and if that were to happen, it seems like Long’s future is all but done with the club.
Sure, the team could conceivably draft Mississippi State pass rusher Montez Sweat, foreshadowing an eventual end tandem of Sweet and Sweat, which is pretty ‘sweet’ if you ask me, and that could potentially alleviate Long’s concerns as his 2019 prospects are up in the air due to conflicting reports on his heart, but after receiving less than ideal returns from Sidney Jones post-injury, it’s worth wondering if the team would risk drafting another redshirt prospect in the hopes that he’ll eventually returned to his former glory.
No, after trading out of the first round entirely last season, is pretty safe to assume the Eagles are actually going to be selecting players who are ready to play this year, while hopefully sticking to a best player available strategy when at all possible.
Which means this weekend will be a big old waiting game for Long as he continues to contemplate his future.
dark. Next. Re-signing Timmy Jernigan has no downside
With three pick in the first two rounds, the Philadelphia Eagles will in all likelihood have plenty of options to bolster their line with a variety of different defensive ends; whether or not they actually do so will have a big impact on Chris Long’s future.