 | Feature: Brown and Gocong to the Browns |
The Eagles have traded cornerback Sheldon Brown and linebacker Chris Gocong to the Browns for fourth and fifth round draft picks and linebacker Alex Hall, the team announced today.
The Eagles will have the 104th overall pick in the fourth round and the 137th overall pick in the fifth round. They now have ten draft picks.
“Sheldon Brown has been a very good football player for the Eagles over the last eight years,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said in a statement. “He’s a good person, a legitimate tough guy and he’ll do a good job helping the Browns. Chris did a good job converting from defensive end to linebacker and helped us win a lot of football games. We wish both of them all of the best.”
Messages left with Brown and Gocong and their agents were not immediately returned.
Brown was an unhappy camper the last year. He publicly griped about his contract last April and the Eagles responded with a press release that essentially said shut up and play. For the most part, he did. He played in every game -- once again -- and had one of his better seasons, recording 68 tackles and five interceptions. Reid admitted last week at the owners' meetings that the Eagles had received inquiries about their last holdover from the 2004 NFC champion starting defense.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, during a conference call, said that moving Brown was a football decision and had nothing to do with his contract situation. Roseman was asked what he would say to fans that were upset about Brown's departure.
"What I'd say is we're trying to build a great team and a great defense and a team that they're proud of," Roseman said. "And we're going to execute that. Sheldon is one of my favorite players. I told him that when I spoke to him today."
With Brown gone, Ellis Hobbs will step into his cornerback spot, Roseman said. Hobbs suffered a season-ending neck injury last November and had surgery to correct a herniated disk the following month. The Eagles expect him to be back by the start of the season.
Roseman also mentioned Joselio Hanson as an option to replace Brown. Roseman would not say if Macho Harris was being moved from safety to cornerback. He also said that there could be a cornerback in the draft capable of stepping in and starting right away.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-eagles/Brown_and_Gocong_to_the_Browns.html
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