The most glaring weakness of the Eagles roster heading into the 2021 season is the secondary. With training camp set to begin on July 27th, Darius Slay is doing his part to try and improve the Eagles secondary group. 2 weeks back, Darius Slay tweeted at free agent cornerback Steven Nelson telling him that the green would look good on him. Nelson quickly responded “ It could all be so simple my man.” It really could be that simple for Howie Roseman and the Eagles.
Aye @Nelson_Island that green will look good on ya
— Darius Slay (@bigplay24slay) July 6, 2021
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Nelson is coming off another impressive season with the Steelers posting 2 interceptions (Both against Carson Wentz), 48 tackles, and 9 pass defenses. Nelson also has played in 30 of his last 30 games during his last two seasons. He’s shown his durability, along with the ability to play man and zone when needed. Along with only being 28, Nelson has finished as one of the highest graded cornerbacks per Pro Football Focus’ end of season rankings. It’s clear he’s a perfect target for Rich Gannon’s defense, and he would add some much needed depth to a group that beyond Darius Slay includes Avonte Maddox, Mike Jacquet, Craig James, fourth-round pick Zech McPhearson, and others. There is a reason why a player as talented as Nelson still has not found a team in late July.
Steven Nelson’s asking price is reported to be the $8.25 million he was due to make this year with Pittsburgh. Most teams either are deep at the position, or are in salary cap trouble that makes it a little more difficult to go out and pay Nelson 8.25 million to be a #2 corner. The Eagles unfortunately fall into that second category. According to the latest NFLPA numbers, the Eagles are currently 4,877,971 under the salary cap. There are still some moves to be made with a Zach Ertz transaction looming. With Ertz gone it would theoretically give the Eagles enough space to acquire Nelson for a price closer to $3-5 million. The question ends up being whether or not Nelson would want to come down from his asking price to join forces with Darius Slay and play for the Eagles.
The #Eagles should sign Steven Nelson https://t.co/RFbKsIU2Nh
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) July 20, 2021
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For now it appears that Nelson still is waiting for a cornerback deficient team to reach out and pay him the $8 million per year that he is looking for. It seems that trading or releasing Zach Ertz sooner rather than later will benefit the Eagles if they want to improve this secondary. With Steven Nelson lined up across from Darius Slay, it would really add to the depth of this defensive back group, giving new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon the ability to slide Avonte Maddox into the slot position. There’s no question Steven Nelson should be a priority for the Eagles. It’s been reported that Nelson and the Eagles have a lot of mutual interests, it just comes down to Nelson’s asking price. After the inevitable Ertz transaction, the Eagles should be willing to go over their initial offer if it means securing some help for Darius Slay. Let’s just hope Darius Slay is as good of a recruiter as he is a cornerback.
Featured Image: (Yong Kim/Pool Photo via AP)
The post How Hard Should The Eagles Pursue Steven Nelson? appeared first on Philadelphia Sports Nation.
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