Injured Eagles' LB Jordan Hicks Still a Defensive Rookie Of The Year Candidate?
By Kevin McGuire
Following a big win on Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles are spending some time this week trying to figure out how to replace an injured and promising young linebacker and spending time bringing smiles to soldiers overseas. Also, as has been the case all season, the quarterback situation in Philadelphia continues to be evaluated as the Eagles try to figure out what will happen at the position in the long-term future. Is Sam Bradford still the guy? One agent has some concerns.
Injured Eagles LB Jordan Hicks Worthy of NFL Rookie Honors?
Rookie linebacker Jordan Hicks came up with one of the big plays of the Sunday night win against the Dallas Cowboys when he picked off a Matt Cassel pass and ran unchallenged down the left sideline for a go-ahead touchdown. Unfortunately, Hicks is now done for the year after suffering a left pectoral tendon tear injury that has placed the promising rookie on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. The Eagles have never had a player win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Can Hicks still win the award despite having to miss the second half of the season? That may be a tall order, but there is no question Hicks has become a rising defensive star in this year's rookie class.
By the end of the season, Hicks will not have the numbers compared to the final stats of other candidates for the defensive rookie honor, such as Landon Collins or Hau'oli Kikaha. The odds may be stacked against him for now, but if the voters take into consideration the impact he has had in his now limited number of games, he may still be a worthy candidate for the award at the end of the season.
Eagles challenge soldiers in Madden
With the NFL taking time this week to pay respects to those who have served and are currently serving in the United States armed forces, a few Eagles took time to challenge some soldiers to a game of Madden. Mark Sanchez, Connor Barwin and Riley Cooper took on soldiers currently stationed in Afghanistan.
"To be able to play video games and talk with those soldiers and stuff, it really gives us a good feel for what we're really doing on the field," Sanchez told Eyewitness News (you can view the video of the story here).
This was also the first time in at least five years Barwin says he has played a game of Madden. The EA Sports franchise has evolved a bunch in that time off for Barwin as technology has upgraded over time with the hardware used and the software's limits have been extended.
"Impressed with Madden and how real the game is now, but obviously there's a little bit of pressure playing against those guys," Barwin said of Madden and playing against the soldiers.
Agent says Sam Bradford's stock continues to fall
Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford may have helped deliver a win on Sunday night with a solid all-around game, but his stock is still dropping in a contract year according to one former sports agent. Joel Corry, who offers his agent's perspective for CBSSports.com, says the Eagles should be thankful Bradford is not under contract after this season.
"The 2010 first overall pick's lack of mobility is preventing head coach Chip Kelly from utilizing read-option elements in his offense," says Corry. "Bradford, who will have made slightly over $78 million under his rookie deal by the end of the season, will likely get another opportunity to bet on himself next season as a starter because of the NFL's lack of quality quarterbacks."
Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
