Brown to the Browns. And Gocong.

The Eagles continued their offseason house cleaning today, trading Sheldon Brown and Chris Gocong to the Browns for linebacker Alex Hall and a fourth (#105) and fifth (#137) round pick. This is basically a trade the Eagles have wanted to make since last year but couldn't because of depth issues at cornerback. Sheldon has been unhappy with his contract for a while now, so it shouldn't come as a suprise that he's gone now. Whether or not it's a good thing though remains to be seen.


First off, Chris Gocong was used wrong from day one. He never fit this system since he isn't a linebacker and was asked to play...well...linebacker. He probably will work much better as an outside guy in a 3-4, where he can use his speed to rush off the edge. Not sure if that is where the Browns will play him but either way he wasn't in the Eagles future plans. No big loss here.

Sheldon Brown however is a loss. He's a good player and has been for a very long time. Is he an All-Pro? Of course not, but he's been a very consistent #2 cornerback and was almost always on the field (even injured, which one can argue is never a good thing). Howie Roseman has said the Eagles will replace him with Ellis Hobbs, who earlier this week signed his one-year tender. Ellis Hobbs isn't a good cornerback and is probably best remembered for blowing coverage on this play. Anyway you slice it, this is a downgrade. It may not be a bad move for the future, since going younger isn't a bad thing, but as of the moment the Eagles are worse.

The Eagles did gain some more draft day flexibility by adding two more picks and we all know they like to package picks together to move up on draft day. I would suspect they're planning to do a lot of this, because (like always) they have 10 total picks and probably no more than six roster spots for rookies. You have to think the Eagles will use one of their early picks on a cornerback, since Ellis Hobbs isn't more than a one-year stopgap. There is some good cornerback talent in this draft, so hopefully they go that way. The linebacker they got, Alex Hall, was a seventh rounder who hasn't really played much. He did manage three sacks in 2008 but we're probably looking at nothing more than a special teamer or backup here.

Honestly, the Eagles probably got slightly worse for 2011 today, since Sheldon is still more than a capable starter in this league. However, if it means they'll use a high pick on a cornerback, then it might end up being a good thing. If the first round pick isn't a cornerback, safety or defensive end...I'm throwing something.

Anyhoo, we'll miss ya' Sheldon. We certainly won't forget you...and neither will Reggie Bush.