Justin Reid was on Kay Adams’ show and talked about his free agency decision between the Eagles and Saints. He admitted he was very close to signing with the Eagles, but they didn’t have the money he was looking for:

How close were you to (signing with the Eagles)? – “Pretty close actually. Just because me and the defensive backs coach there (Roy Anderson) have a really good relationship. The defensive system was the same defensive system I ran at Stanford. That whole Vic Fangio system. I know it pretty well. The conversations were pretty intense. The only drawback was they were so limited in cap space that we couldn’t make a deal that made sense. But the conversation was happening.” 

That sounds like a guy who prioritized money over winning this free agency. We might never know how far apart the Eagles were from the final three-year, $31 million number ($22 million guaranteed) he received, but if it was in the ballpark maybe the Eagles dodged a bullet. I don’t want a guy who cares more about the dollar amount over winning another Super Bowl. A system he knew he’d be perfect in on a team that he would immediately start and be a leader wasn’t enough. And don’t get me wrong I can’t be mad at a guy for trying to get his for however long he has left in the league. I mean he’s already won two titles. Very few have the drive to win and then get back to that mountain top. Having the will to win three is virtually nonexistent in today’s athlete. I’m just happy we didn’t waste precious cap space on him. Now Reid will be able to kick his feet up, play out the prime of his career in his home state of Louisiana, and maybe compete for a NFC South title. It definitely won’t be for a Super Bowl. He’s only on a three-year deal and the Saints are most likely drafting a QB since there are reports their relationship with Derek Carr is murky. This is a team that only won five games and has a rookie head coach. By the time they’re even in the driver’s seat he’ll be looking for his next deal.

Next man up attitude. Maybe the Eagles will draft Malaki Starks and continue the Georgia to Eagles pipeline. Or maybe Sydney Brown will be the guy opposite Reed Blankenship. Look at these numbers I don’t really understand and know are skewed:

Sure he only played 80 snaps at safety, but this is a Philly guy that’s not afraid to fight the Cowboys: