NFC East: Eagles add star-caliber center Bentley
Eagles add star-caliber center Bentley
Saturday, March 11, 2006
By MARK ECKEL
Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- By the time you read this, Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley already will be an Eagle.
Bentley, who went to the Pro Bowl last season as a member of the New Orleans Saints, agreed to a mega-deal with the Eagles before free agency began at 12:01 a.m., according to a source close to the situation.
A key member of another team, which also was interested in Bentley, said the Eagles had a deal in place with the center for close to a week, and waited through the several delays to the start of free agency.
The league and the players union agreed to put off the start of free agency for a total of eight days as a new collective bargaining agreement was finalized.
All the terms of Bentley's deal are not known, but according to the source he will earn a guaranteed $17.5 million over the first three years of the contract. More than half of that money will come in either a signing bonus, a roster bonus or a combination of both.
Bentley, a 2002 second-round pick (No. 44 overall) of New Orleans, just completed a four-year deal with the Saints that paid him a total of just around $3 million and included a $1.55 million signing bonus.
The 6-foot-2, 313-pound Cleveland native out of Ohio State played in -- and started -- 14 games as a rookie, missed three games his second year with a knee injury, and two games last year with a leg injury.
He was named to the Pro Bowl as a guard after the 2003 season, but did not go because of the knee injury and was replaced on the NFC roster by Steve Hutchinson of Seattle. Last year he was named to the Pro Bowl as a center.
The Eagles are expected to play Bentley at center, letting veteran Hank Fraley and Jamaal Jackson compete for the backup job. Jackson, who played well late last season, could be moved to guard or tackle, where he played at Delaware State.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
By MARK ECKEL
Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- By the time you read this, Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley already will be an Eagle.
Bentley, who went to the Pro Bowl last season as a member of the New Orleans Saints, agreed to a mega-deal with the Eagles before free agency began at 12:01 a.m., according to a source close to the situation.
A key member of another team, which also was interested in Bentley, said the Eagles had a deal in place with the center for close to a week, and waited through the several delays to the start of free agency.
The league and the players union agreed to put off the start of free agency for a total of eight days as a new collective bargaining agreement was finalized.
All the terms of Bentley's deal are not known, but according to the source he will earn a guaranteed $17.5 million over the first three years of the contract. More than half of that money will come in either a signing bonus, a roster bonus or a combination of both.
Bentley, a 2002 second-round pick (No. 44 overall) of New Orleans, just completed a four-year deal with the Saints that paid him a total of just around $3 million and included a $1.55 million signing bonus.
The 6-foot-2, 313-pound Cleveland native out of Ohio State played in -- and started -- 14 games as a rookie, missed three games his second year with a knee injury, and two games last year with a leg injury.
He was named to the Pro Bowl as a guard after the 2003 season, but did not go because of the knee injury and was replaced on the NFC roster by Steve Hutchinson of Seattle. Last year he was named to the Pro Bowl as a center.
The Eagles are expected to play Bentley at center, letting veteran Hank Fraley and Jamaal Jackson compete for the backup job. Jackson, who played well late last season, could be moved to guard or tackle, where he played at Delaware State.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:14 AM
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