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Eagles Rebuffed in Attempt to Get Fu

October 10, 2000 by Still Mill

Loose Slag From the Still Mill (Sep 21st)

Eagles Rebuffed in Trade for Fu (Oct 10th)

According to SportsLine�

"Resigned to likely playing the balance of the season without Duce Staley, the Philadelphia Eagles are also prepared to do so,

SportsLine.com has learned, with the current tailbacks on their roster. Team and NFL sources confirmed for SportsLine.com that Eagles officials on Monday contacted the Pittsburgh Steelers to inquire about the possible availability of backup tailback Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who is No. 2 on the depth chart behind Jerome Bettis. But rebuffed in their efforts to perhaps upgrade at the position, when the Steelers informed director of football operations Tom Modrak that Ma'afala is not on the market, the Eagles will probably stand pat. Staley, the team's offensive centerpiece and a Pro Bowl performer in 1999, will have his injured right foot examined Tuesday in Columbia, S.C., by orthopedic surgeon Evan Ekman. As reported by SportsLine.com last week, Staley almost certainly will require surgery to repair ligaments in the foot, a procedure which would sideline him the rest of the year."

This is another dumb failure in a long line of myopia in the Stiller front office. Bettis, not Fu, should be traded to Philly, or the highest bidder, ASAP. Like stocks & real estate, you want to buy LOW and sell HIGH. When you have a soon-to-be free agent RB running the ball well, and you know that there's no way you'll re-sign him in the offseason, the ONLY smart move is to trade him to the highest bidder. With Bettis� recent resurgence, we could easily get a 3rd rounder.

All factors heavily weigh in favor of trading Bettis and retaining Fu and Hunt. Bettis will be an unrestricted free agent in 4 months; Hunt is locked up for a while and Fu can only be a RFA. Fu is considerably younger than Bettis, and while Hunt is the same age as Bettis, he doesn�t have even half the wear-and-tear on his body that Bettis has been subjected to. It�s also unlikely the Stillers could unload Huntley, because his entire bonus would count against the cap this year if he was dealt.

When you have depth at a position, but are thin elsewhere, it behooves you to trade from that depth. For the future good of this team, Bettis must unquestionably be traded before the trading deadline.

The Still Mill

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