The Chip Kelly cleansing continues in Philly.
The Philadelphia Eagles have shed another Kelly-made draft pick, former second-round cornerback Eric Rowe, according to ESPN. Rowe has been traded to the New England Patriots, who will send offensive lineman Josh Kline and a fourth-round pick, per reports, to the Eagles in return.
Rowe was the 47th overall pick in the 2015 draft and was coveted for his size (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) and versatility. He started his college career at Utah as a safety but played cornerback his final season there. Kelly attended Rowe’s pro day and must have come away impressed enough to use a high pick on him.
Kelly had just inherited roster control and say over draft picks in the 2015 offseason, when things were still in his salad days, relatively speaking, with the Eagles. But this offseason alone, the Eagles have released or traded away many of the players Kelly brought in after he was fired by the team late last season.
Rowe played in all 16 games, starting five, as a rookie last season with mixed results. The Patriots got a few good looks of Rowe up close last season when he started against them and played one of his better games in Week 13 — a stunning Eagles victory in Foxboro. Kelly was dumped a few weeks later, in spite of the 35-28 victory.
 | @JimmyKempski | |
Against NE last year, Tom Brady targeted Rowe 13 times. He was 4 of 13 for 37 yards, 0 TDs, and an almost INT.
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No longer viewing him as a core piece of the new defense run by head coach Doug Peterson and coordinator Jim Schwartz, the Eagles tried to trade Rowe last week. The Patriots — and not Kelly’s San Francisco 49ers — apparently were the most interested party.
 | @AdamSchefter | |
Eagles and Patriots nearly had a trade worked out for Eric Rowe last week. But new deal gets done today.
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The Patriots entered training camp with offensive line questions but clearly feel comfortable letting go of Kline, who started 13 regular-season games and both playoff contests. This trade might be a sign that guards Shaq Mason (hand) and Jonathan Cooper (foot) are closer to returning to action.
The Eagles lost some OL depth after the team traded guard/tackle Dennis Kelly to the Tennessee Titans for receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. But it appears that Kelly shouldn’t buy a condo in Philly just yet.
| @AdamSchefter | |
New Eagles' OL Josh Kline might not be in Philly long -- or at all. Eagles already in deep discussions to trade Kline, sources tell ESPN.
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Although the Patriots owned the Seattle Seahawks’ fourth-rounder in 2017, that pick will now belong to the Eagles. It’s a fairly steep price, even for a former second-round pick. The Patriots’ own fourth-round pick was taken from them as punishment for the deflate-gate incident.
But their depth in the secondary is impressive. Rowe joins a group that includes cornerbacks Malcolm Butler (a free agent after this season), Logan Ryan, 2016 second-rounder Cyrus Jones, Justin Coleman and undrafted rookie Jonathan Jones and safeties Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, Duron Harmon, 2015 second-rounder Richards, special-teams ace Nate Ebner and Brandon King.
The Eagles slowly are earning back some of the assets they traded to land Carson Wentz. After trading Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings, they now have recouped a first-round pick for him and the fourth for Rowe.
And they’ve eliminated yet another connection to the Kelly era, which started with promise but ended with a crash.
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