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SAV ROCCA SIGNS DEAL TO PLAY IN NFL
Australian Football League star Saverio Rocca signed a contract to join the NFL's
Philadelphia Eagles as a punter. The Australian rules football player now hopes to
follow in the footsteps of Australian-born players like Mat McBriar, Ben Graham,
both of whom have enjoyed success punting in the NFL. The 6-foot-5, 243-pound Rocca
played in 257 career games and scored 748 goals in his 15-year career with the
Collingwood Magpies and the North Melbourne Kangaroos. The 33-year-old Rocca was
Collingwood's leading goalkicker from 1993-1999. He was drafted by North Melbourne
in 2000 and played with the Kangaroos through the 2006 season, leading the team in
goals from 2001-02 and in 2004. Rocca will challenge the incumbent Dirk Johnson,
who signed a new six-year deal prior to the start of the 2006 regular season.
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FEELEY GETS 3-YEAR EXTENSION FROM EAGLES
AJ Feeley wanted to stay in Philadelphia. He quoted, "I love Philadelphia. I love the
city. I love the organization," Feeley said. "It's where I want to be. It was a no-brainer
for me in that regard. There's something to be said for being with a team you love everything
about it." So on February 24, 2007, Feeley signed a 3-year extension almost guaranteeing
his stay in Philly for the next 3 years as Donovan McNabb's backup. His new deal will run
through 2010 and at the same time, just about ensures the final departure of Jeff Garcia,
who led the Eagles back to playoffs after McNabb's season ended with that knee injury.
Feeley has been a pretty good QB in Philadelphia. He was 4-1 as a starter in the last
five regular-season games in 2002, helping the Eagles clinch the division and first place
in the NFC after McNabb and backup Koy Detmer were injured. He was originally traded to
the Dolphins for a 2nd round pick in the 2004 Draft (Eagles chose Reggie Brown). He was
then released by the Chargers last season and was picked up off of waivers.
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WILLIAM JAMES RESIGNS 1-YEAR DEAL TO STAY IN PHILLY
James, who played in three games for the Eagles last season after signing with
them on Oct. 30, had hoped to nail down a longer, more lucrative deal in free agency,
but that payday didn't materialize, for a player whose health limited him to five games
over the past two seasons. James instead is returning to the Birds as their nickel corner -
though he emphasized yesterday that he sees himself as a starter - with hopes of finding
free-agent riches next year. James visited with the Saints and the Falcons this week. He
said he could have gotten more money and a clearer path at a starting job elsewhere, but,
"I love competing, and I thrive in competitive situations, so I chose the Eagles." He turns
28 on June 28 and is unlikely to start ahead of Lito Sheppard or Sheldon Brown, with both
corners locked into long-term, big-money deals. But he isn't looking at it that way.
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EAGLES AGREE TO TERMS WITH KEVIN CURTIS
The Philadelphia Eagles signed former Rams unrestricted free agent wideout Kevin Curtis
to a six-year, $32 million contract on Thursday March 15. The Eagles beat out the
Minnesota Vikings and two other teams for the chance to land the heavily-coveted Curtis,
who will be guaranteed $9.5 million in the deal. Curtis, 28, had played his entire career
with the St. Louis Rams before going into free agency. He wrapped up his visits with other
teams this week, meeting with Tennessee Titans officials, then returned home to Utah to
deliberate the offers from his various suitors. The addition of Curtis is a coup for the
Eagles and team president Joe Banner, not just because of the intense competition for his
services, but also because he figures to be such a good fit with the team's young corps of
receivers. He has played in an offense similar to the design of coach Andy Reid, and the
deep threat he consistently provides will compensate for Philadelphia's recent loss of
wide receiver Donte Stallworth in free agency. One of the NFL's fastest players, certainly
in terms of straight-line speed, Curtis will bring a big-play dimension to the Eagles' attack.
In his four seasons with the Rams, he registered 136 receptions for 1,714 yards and 12
touchdowns. His best season was in 2005, when Curtis had 60 catches for 801 yards and
six touchdowns, playing in the Mike Martz-designed offense.
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THREE MORE EAGLE PLAYERS STAYING IN PHILLY
A busy day for the Philadelphia Eagles. The team's brass resigned three playres today
on Friday March 16. First, the team re-signed Correll Buckhalter to a two-year deal.
Buckhalter had attracted some interest in free agency, but instead of going elsewhere,
stayed with the Eagles. He back ups Westbrook in the Eagles offense, giving the team a
familiar look in the backfield. Buckhalter's best games came late in 2006, so the team
hopes he is on course to have an even better 2007 with the injury two years in the past.
Buckhalter gained 48 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries in the win over the Giants on
December 17 and then followed with 38 yards and a touchdown on 8 carried in the December
25 win over Dallas. Then the Philadelphia Eagles reached agreement with veteran Quintin
Mikell on a four-year contract extension, a move that lends the team some stability in
the interior secondary, and takes a valuable player off the free agent market. Mikell, 26,
signed a four-year contract that includes a seven-figure bonus which, according to several
sources, will make him one of the highest paid nickel defenders in the league. Without
the new deal, Mikell, who has been targeted by the Eagles for an extension since the end
of the 2006 season, would have been eligible for unrestricted free agency on Friday. And
lastly, the team signed DE Juqua Thomas to a 5-year contract extension. Thomas was originally
signed as a rookie free agent out of Oklahoma State by Tennessee in 2001 and played four
seasons for the Titans before signing with Philadelphia during the 2005 training camp.
The 28-year-old Thomas spent the last two seasons in Philadelphia, playing in all 32 regular
season games as a reserve defensive end. In 2006, he posted career highs in tackles (47)
and sacks (6) in the regular season, while adding 5 tackles and 1.5 sacks during the playoffs.
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Correll Buckhalter - RB |
Quintin Mikell - CB |
Juqua Thomas - DE |
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EX-COLT MONTAE REAGOR SIGNS WITH BIRDS
The Philadelphia Eagles strengthened an already deep defensive tackle corps signing
unrestricted free agent Montae Reagor, who missed most of the 2006 after an October
automobile accident. An eight-year veteran, Reagor was released by the Indianapolis
Colts earlier this month in part for salary cap reasons and also because the team was
uncertain of his recovery. Reagor, 29, had played the past four seasons in Indianapolis
after spending four years in Denver. Reagor signed a three-year, $8.3 million contract.
He joins a defensive tackle contingent that already includes starters Mike Patterson
and Darwin Walker and backups Sam Rayburn and Brodrick Bunkley. A starter in each of his
three previous seasons with the Colts, Reagor suffered facial and head injuries in
one-vehicle accident on Oct. 22, just hours before Indianapolis' home game against the
Washington Redskins. He underwent surgery and, while the initial hope was that Reagor
might return late in the season, the severity of his injuries precluded that. The Colts
placed Reagor on the non-football injury list in November, ending his season. Even after
the Colts released Reagor, there was speculation the team would re-sign him to a lesser
contract, but that wasn't the case.
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EAGLES ACQUIRE SPIKES, HOLCOMB IN TRADE
The Eagles addressed the maligned linebacker corps and the No. 3 quarterback position
as they traded veteran defensive tackle Darwin Walker and a conditional
draft pick in 2008 to the Buffalo Bills for two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes
and veteran quarterback Kelly Holcomb. "Takeo Spikes is a proven playmaker in the National
Football League," said general manager Tom Heckert in a statement. "He has the ability
to play all three linebacking positions and we're happy to add him to our defense.
The addition of the former first-round draft pick gives the Eagles a new set of options
for defensive coordinator Jim Johnson to explore. Spikes went to the Pro Bowl after the
2003 and 2004 seasons. In 2004, Spikes had his best season - 111 tackles, five
interceptions and three sacks. The 6-2, 242-pound Spikes suffered an Achilles tear
in 2005, but the Eagles could not ignore what he's done since the Bengals selected
him 13th overall out of Auburn in 1998. He has registered 26 "disruptive plays" -
14 forced fumbles and 12 interceptions - and has scored four touchdowns in his career.
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EAGLES SIGN DT KIMO VON OELHOFFEN
The Eagles showed on Sunday that they are not done tweaking the 53-man active roster
when they signed veteran defensive tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen to a one-year contract
and placed defensive tackle Ian Scott on the minor injured reserve list. Von Oelhoffen
is a 14-year NFL vet who was released by the New York Jets on Saturday to get to the
53-man roster limit. The Eagles did not have to claim von Oelhoffen off of waivers
because players with at least four accredited seasons in the league are not subject
to waivers until the trade deadline in October. Von Oelhoffen said he can offer
"consistency" to the defensive line. While he played end in a 3-4 scheme for most
of his career, von Oelhoffen said he played mostly inside and should have no trouble
preparing to play tackle.
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