Howie Roseman has made it pretty obvious what he thought of the moves Chip Kelly made last year in his one attempt at being both a coach and a GM. The Philadelphia Eagles have now quickly traded 3 of the players acquired under Kelly’s watch. The first to go was running back Demarco Murray, who underwhelmed with only 702 rushing yards on 193 carries for an average of 3.64 yards per carry. Murray’s failures can partially be blamed on the stubborn coaching of Chip, which insisted on running him from the shotgun. I would not be surprised to see him go on to succeed on the Tennessee Titans, where he was traded for draft pick compensation to be named later. The Eagles, however, certainly made the right move as they now are free of the remainder of his $42 million dollar contract.

Roseman then pulled off another trade, sending Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso to the Dolphins to switch draft picks from 13^th overall up to 8^th. It may seem a little expensive just to move up 5 picks, but it was another salary cap related move. Maxwell underwhelmed just as Murray did, and did not play up to the $63 million dollar contract he was given. It appears his earlier success was more a product of being a part of Seattle’s powerhouse defense than anything else. Alonso was originally obtained in the infamous LeSean McCoy trade that left many scratching their heads. He spent a majority of the season on the bench as well, dealing with a partial ACL tear in the knee he had already torn in the past.

Ultimately the Eagles are not trading for anything but potential and the ability to make more moves. They are not losing anything that was vital to their team last year. Trading up to 8 will give them a better caliber player and allow them to choose before teams such as their division rival New York Giants. They will also now have plenty of cap room to pursue other players. Shortly after the Dolphins trade was confirmed they signed Rodney McLeod to bolster their secondary, which will still need more attention later in the offseason.  Things are looking up after the blazing fire left by stubborn and shortsighted Kelly.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com

Cover photo courtesy of csnphilly.com