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The Eagles have received “multiple” trade offers for Joselio Hanson, and it appears there’s a good chance the Eagles will trade the veteran cornerback by final cutdown day on Sept. 3, a league source familiar with the Eagles’ thinking said Friday.
Hanson, one of only nine Eagles remaining from the 2006 team, has played in 82 games in five years with the Eagles, starting 15 but playing mainly in the slot, where the Eagles like his toughness, intelligence and tackling ability.
But with the Eagles’ great depth at cornerback and Hanson’s price tag – he has three years left on a big contract extension he signed in February 2009 – Hanson appears expendable and would enable the Eagles to add to their already large selection of future draft picks.
Hanson’s playing time and performance in 2010 triggered escalator clauses that bumped his 2011 base salary from $1.68 million to $1.88 million and his salary cap figure from $2.235 million to $2.435 million. He’s also signed for 2012 and 2013 at $2.7 million and $3.1 million.
Can the Eagles afford to keep Hanson around at nearly $2 million this year when at best he’ll be their fourth cornerback behind Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuel and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie? Not likely.
A league source said the Eagles have not asked Hanson to take a pay cut.
The Eagles also believe they have three talented young corners that they feel strongly about in rookie third-round pick Curtis Marsh and second-year pros Brandon Hughes and Trevard Lindley. Trading Hanson would mean they wouldn’t have to release any of that group.
Since the final roster cutdown to 53 isn’t until next weekend, there’s no reason for the Eagles to rush to move Hanson.
The Eagles, whose 24 draft picks in 2010 and 2011 are the most in the NFL, already have 11 picks in the 2012 draft.
It’s likely Hanson could bring the Eagles a fifth-round pick or a conditional sixth-round pick that would likely become a fifth-round choice based on playing time. The fact that multiple teams covet Hanson could help increase his value.
Hanson, who turned 30 earlier this month, started a career-high six games last year. He came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the 49ers in 2004 and, after a year out of football in 2005, joined the Eagles in 2006.
Hanson played very little Thursday night in the Eagles’ 24-14 preseason win over the Browns at the Linc, and Hughes took most of the reps that would normally go to Hanson.
Reid said Hanson sat so he and the defensive coaches could get a closer look at Hughes, but it could also have been to make sure Hanson didn’t get hurt just before a trade.
“We were trying to get a look [at Hughes],” Reid said. “We’re in this evaluation process. I know what Joselio can do. Joselio is a good football player. He’s played for me for a number of years. ... I have to see what else I have got and make sure that we give them enough reps to show.
“In the secondary, that is a hard thing. You need quite a few reps to get a decent feel for it. It’s not like with the offensive line where you can evaluate on every snap. In the secondary, in particular at the corner spot, you need more reps to make an evaluation.”
It doesn’t hurt that four former Eagles defensive coaches are now head coaches – Ron Rivera in Carolina, John Harbaugh in Baltimore, Steve Spagnuola in St. Louis and Leslie Frazier in Minnesota. Frazier doesn’t have any direct connections to Hanson, but Spagnuola and Harbaugh were both Hanson’s position coach for at least one year, as was Rivera’s defensive coordinator, Sean McDermott.
Hanson, one of only nine Eagles remaining from the 2006 team, has played in 82 games in five years with the Eagles, starting 15 but playing mainly in the slot, where the Eagles like his toughness, intelligence and tackling ability.
But with the Eagles’ great depth at cornerback and Hanson’s price tag – he has three years left on a big contract extension he signed in February 2009 – Hanson appears expendable and would enable the Eagles to add to their already large selection of future draft picks.
Hanson’s playing time and performance in 2010 triggered escalator clauses that bumped his 2011 base salary from $1.68 million to $1.88 million and his salary cap figure from $2.235 million to $2.435 million. He’s also signed for 2012 and 2013 at $2.7 million and $3.1 million.
Can the Eagles afford to keep Hanson around at nearly $2 million this year when at best he’ll be their fourth cornerback behind Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuel and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie? Not likely.
A league source said the Eagles have not asked Hanson to take a pay cut.
The Eagles also believe they have three talented young corners that they feel strongly about in rookie third-round pick Curtis Marsh and second-year pros Brandon Hughes and Trevard Lindley. Trading Hanson would mean they wouldn’t have to release any of that group.
Since the final roster cutdown to 53 isn’t until next weekend, there’s no reason for the Eagles to rush to move Hanson.
The Eagles, whose 24 draft picks in 2010 and 2011 are the most in the NFL, already have 11 picks in the 2012 draft.
It’s likely Hanson could bring the Eagles a fifth-round pick or a conditional sixth-round pick that would likely become a fifth-round choice based on playing time. The fact that multiple teams covet Hanson could help increase his value.
Hanson, who turned 30 earlier this month, started a career-high six games last year. He came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the 49ers in 2004 and, after a year out of football in 2005, joined the Eagles in 2006.
Hanson played very little Thursday night in the Eagles’ 24-14 preseason win over the Browns at the Linc, and Hughes took most of the reps that would normally go to Hanson.
Reid said Hanson sat so he and the defensive coaches could get a closer look at Hughes, but it could also have been to make sure Hanson didn’t get hurt just before a trade.
“We were trying to get a look [at Hughes],” Reid said. “We’re in this evaluation process. I know what Joselio can do. Joselio is a good football player. He’s played for me for a number of years. ... I have to see what else I have got and make sure that we give them enough reps to show.
“In the secondary, that is a hard thing. You need quite a few reps to get a decent feel for it. It’s not like with the offensive line where you can evaluate on every snap. In the secondary, in particular at the corner spot, you need more reps to make an evaluation.”
It doesn’t hurt that four former Eagles defensive coaches are now head coaches – Ron Rivera in Carolina, John Harbaugh in Baltimore, Steve Spagnuola in St. Louis and Leslie Frazier in Minnesota. Frazier doesn’t have any direct connections to Hanson, but Spagnuola and Harbaugh were both Hanson’s position coach for at least one year, as was Rivera’s defensive coordinator, Sean McDermott.
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