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The Eagles will stage their final minicamp workout today, with the scene shifting from the NovaCare Complex to Lincoln Financial Field, the team's sparkling new home, which sits just off I-95.
After today, the countdown to training camp begins with rookies and injured players reporting to Lehigh University on July 25. The Monday night season opener against those Tampa Bay Buccaneers is only 89 days away.
So what have we learned from this eight-day minicamp?
Most notably, we have discovered that cornerback Bobby Taylor and running back Duce Staley are unhappy about the Eagles' unwillingness to negotiate contract extensions right now.
The Eagles are in a show-me state and the players, both of whom are going into the final season of their contracts, believe they have already shown enough to warrant extensions. The players protested by staying away from this voluntary camp.
As controversies go, this one fits somewhere between Larry Brown's unceremonious departure from the 76ers and Donovan McNabb's displeasure with the free-agency exodus of so many of his veteran Eagles teammates during this off-season.
Could Taylor and Staley's discontent be a future problem for a team that still has legitimate Super Bowl aspirations?
Of course it could. Though both players have informed the Eagles they will report to training camp, the fact that they feel as if they're the next two veteran players who will be shown the door is not good for team morale. The Eagles are already perceived, by their fans and by some of their players, as a team that disposes of veteran players once they get to that 30-something age.
After today, the countdown to training camp begins with rookies and injured players reporting to Lehigh University on July 25. The Monday night season opener against those Tampa Bay Buccaneers is only 89 days away.
So what have we learned from this eight-day minicamp?
Most notably, we have discovered that cornerback Bobby Taylor and running back Duce Staley are unhappy about the Eagles' unwillingness to negotiate contract extensions right now.
The Eagles are in a show-me state and the players, both of whom are going into the final season of their contracts, believe they have already shown enough to warrant extensions. The players protested by staying away from this voluntary camp.
As controversies go, this one fits somewhere between Larry Brown's unceremonious departure from the 76ers and Donovan McNabb's displeasure with the free-agency exodus of so many of his veteran Eagles teammates during this off-season.
Could Taylor and Staley's discontent be a future problem for a team that still has legitimate Super Bowl aspirations?
Of course it could. Though both players have informed the Eagles they will report to training camp, the fact that they feel as if they're the next two veteran players who will be shown the door is not good for team morale. The Eagles are already perceived, by their fans and by some of their players, as a team that disposes of veteran players once they get to that 30-something age.
