NFL Free Agency Rumors: Eagles, Texans Have Contacted Eric Winston’s Agent
By Josh Hill
Has Andy Reid lobbed up a assist for his old team? Eric Winston was surprisingly cut by the Kansas City Chiefs late Wednesday night and Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that in the hours following Winston’s release, two teams contacted agent Drew Rosenhaus about possibly working out a contract this weekend. One of those teams is the Philadelphia Eagles, Andy Reid’s old team.
Winston makes sense in Philadelphia, as the Eagles desperately need a right tackle to begin patching up their swiss cheese offensive line. The thought process behind adding Winston in Philly is that Chip Kelly has an instant starter he can plug into his line and may even be able to draft another offensive lineman and have him as an understudy to Winston.
Another possibility is that the Eagles won’t have to focus solely on offensive line when they get on the clock and can lean towards drafting Dee Milliner or another best available prospect.
Bowen mentions that the Eagles weren’t the only team to contact Rosenhaus about Winston, as the zone-blocking Houston Texans also reached out with interest in the veteran lineman. Houston was yet again a few pieces short of making a Super Bowl run and the same mistake cannot be made for a third consecutive year. Getting Matt Schaub all the protection he can get is going to be crucial to the Texans chances of making another run at a Super Bowl.
Winston also has a connection to Houston as he was a third round pick back in 2006 and spent the first six years of his career on the Texans offensive line before being released last offseason.
Right now the Eagles would be a favored landing spot for Winston as they are roughly $30 million under the cap and could be even further under that figure if and when they cut Nnamdi Asomugha.
Winston’s release sweetened an already rich tackle pool in free agency and it will be a surprise if he emerges from this weekend without a deal in place.