Eagles Fumble in Letting Receiver Moulds Get Away

By letting the Buffalo Bills disgruntled wide receiver, Eric Moulds, sign with the Houston Texans, they guaranteed themselves that they won’t have a top-20 caliber starting wide receiver once the 2006 season gets under way.

Why is this so crucial – especially when the Birds have proven in the past that they can win with mediocre wideouts?
Because this isn’t the past and if you recall, the Eagles couldn’t advance past the NFC championship game all those years with the “no-names” sporadically catching passes from Donovan McNabb.

And speaking of McNabb, he was also younger then and more prone to make a play with his feet to help the Eagles out back then than he is now.

So, it appears as if the Birds will try to address their needs through the draft – once again. But why did the Eagles pass on Moulds’ services even though the Birds were clearly his first destination of choice?

More likely than not, it came down to money – and of course, with the Eagles – age is always a factor.

However, I believe the Eagles could have – and more importantly, should have – signed Moulds to be their number one receiver, at least for a couple of seasons. Believe me when I tell you that Moulds is much better than any current receiver on the Eagles roster. Whether that is a knock on the current group of Eagles receivers or not is beside the point – it’s the reality of the situation.

Moulds signed with the Texans for four years and $14 million – numbers the Eagles could have easily matched.
Moulds, who had the Bills’ permission to seek a trade, also got a $5 million signing bonus, but the Birds could have afforded that as well. It’s not clear what the Texans traded to Buffalo, but it’s believed to be a fourth- or fifth-round pick in this month’s draft. Whatever the case, it’s a deal the Birds should have been looking to make – especially with the loss of their own problematic wide receiver, Terrell Owens.

I’m sorry, but there is no way that head coach Andy Reid, GM Joe Banner or owner Jeff Lurie, can justify not signing Moulds.
Moulds has 675 career catches for 9,096 yards and 48 touchdowns. Only Andre Reed has more catches (941) and yards (13,095) among Bills receivers. No current Eagles even comes close to those numbers so I won’t even waste my time writing their miniscule statistics.

Although Moulds is now a 10-year veteran – who has lost a step from a decade ago – he still more than capable of putting up another 1,00 yard season – and I believe he would have felt rejuvenated as well, finally leaving the rebuilding Bills, who haven’t won anything of consequence in nearly a decade.

Moulds is also a class act even though he wanted to be dealt by the Bills. I think his presence would have been invaluable to the Eagles current wide receivers and whomever else they pick up in the draft.

Now, I’m sure the Eagles have some kind of master plan to acquire a wide receiver – once again, most likely through the draft. They may even acquire another veteran when final cuts are made before the regular season begins, but by not going out and at least inquiring about finding a legitimate number one to replace Owens, I think they have dropped the ball on this one big time.

All I’m going to say is that when the Eagles are having trouble moving the ball through the air this season, don’t say I didn’t warn you.