Sports fans know better than most people that just because something makes total and complete sense doesn’t mean it will happen.
Such are the recent rumors that the Eagles and Saints are in talks to strengthen one another’s core weaknesses.
After news broke that Saints center Max Unger injured his foot and wouldn’t be healthy when the 2017 season begins, New Orleans now has a big hole at the middle of its offensive line. With the Eagles on the market to trade or even cut Jason Kelce before the end of training camp, their Pro Bowl center is no doubt an appealing piece for the Saints, who will need all the help they can get protecting new running back Adrian Peterson and gunslinger Drew Brees.
The Eagles have depth at offensive line with Stephen Wisnewski and Isaac Seumalo each able to step in and start at center.
The addition of Peterson makes last year’s starter, 27-year-old Mark Ingram, expendable. And he plays a position, running back, that the Eagles are desperately thin at. He also is being paid around $1 million less than Kelce is, making the salary issue more or less irrelevant for a swap to work. One or both teams may need to throw in draft picks to smooth it over, but the deal makes sense — in theory. It is even more realistic given that NFL.com insider Ian Rapoport tweeted that the move is a possibility. But would the Saints be willing to give up on Unger for the entire year?
Well, #Eagles do have crazy OL depth. A few backups who would be starting elsewhere. ??? https://t.co/F2aeMFnWzS
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 8, 2017
The Saints could choose just to rely on back ups to make it through the absense of Unger, for however long it would be. But there is little doubt that a veteran 1,000-yard rusher would be a huge asset to the Eagles, particularly with them expected to cut ties with injured back Ryan Mathews at some point this offseason.
Some other sources suggest that talks have happened between the two teams but there has been no concrete news on the rumor of late.
