I'm not sure if the Eagles' acquistion of WR Jeff Maehl from the Houston Texans in exchange for OL Nate Menkin yesterday actually means anything more than both teams needed an extra guy for practice who knew their respective systems…
The thing that gets me as an average phan is "Why a Trade?"… Wouldn't both of these guys be available to claim off waivers in about two weeks or less?
These are the inner workings of the back room chess games going on across the league…
The fact that Maehl is a former Oregon Duck well known to Chip Kelly may speak volumes about the Chippah's desire to recreate his apparent dream of an Oregon-style offense in the NFL…
It may also spell the end of "If-I-hope-he's-any-good" Momah's dream of making it as an Eagles' wide receiver in 2013.
Jeff Maehl was acquired Monday in a trade with the Houston Texans. Maehl spent most of 2011 on the Texans' practice squad before playing in three games late in the season. He spent all of 2012 on the practice squad.
The Eagles sent offensive lineman Nate Menkin back to the Texans. Menkins was claimed off waivers from Houston just prior to the start of last season. He did not appear in a game and was eventually placed on injured reserve with a throat cartilage tear.
Maehl left Oregon tied for the most receptions in a season (77) and a career. He left with the Ducks' single-season record of 12 receiving touchdowns, and is now the fifth Oregon product (Patrick Chung, Dennis Dixon, Isaac Remington, Will Murphy) on the Eagles' roster.
The 6-foot-0, 185-pound wideout didn't have particularly great measurables in some of the main categories coming out of Oregon in 2011. His 40-yard dash time was 4.56 and his vertical leap was 33 1/2 inches. He also doesn't have the size that Kelly seems to favor in his offense, where receivers are asked to block a lot.
So now you know why I am vexed by this "trade"…
I'm the high voice in the chorus of the Michael Jackson music video of "Smooth Criminal" singing "I don't know!…I don't know!…"
Perhaps Maehl has been acquired to set an example for the other wideouts still on the Eagles roster on how to best train and run routes the "Kelly Way" ?
Or does the Chippah really think Maehl has a shot to become the Eagles' version of Brandon Stokley? I say this because their physical measurables are virtually identical…
At least one thing's for sure, Kelly must be feeling very secure about his offensive line prospects since he has deemed Nate Menkin expendable.
Bah…
Here's the link provided by the Great JB-Sage-Lion to Monday's practice….
Eagles Training Camp: Watch clips of Monday's Eagles practice
Maybe you'll see something in the practice video that I'm obviously missing as to why the Maehl-for-Menkin trade was even necessary.
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