Eagles sportswriter asks, should Philly pursue Britt?

With Kenny Britt and Eagles, a connection to consider

Tim McManus

http://www.espn.com/blog/philadelphia-eagles/post/_/id/20209/with-kenny-britt-and-eagles-a-connection-to-consider

The Philadelphia Eagles have two things Kenny Britt values: a potential franchise quarterback and receivers coach Mike Groh. That should make Philly a desirable landing spot should the stars align come March.

Every receiver wants a quality quarterback for obvious reasons, but that desire can be heightened when stability at QB has proved elusive. Since being drafted in the first round by the Tennessee Titans back in 2009, Britt has been teamed with Vince Young, Kerry Collins (in his late 30s), Rusty Smith, Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Locker, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Austin Davis, Shaun Hill, Nick Foles, Case Keenum and Jared Goff.

Safe to say, the idea of locking in with a long-term (and perhaps top-end) signal-caller would be appealing to the eight-year veteran.

The shaky quarterback scene continued for Britt last season, as the Los Angeles Rams split duties between Keenum and Goff, who went 0-7 as the starter in his rookie season while completing 55 percent of his throws. Britt saw a big spike in production, however, eclipsing the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the first time while shattering his previous high in catches (68) and scoring five touchdowns. Some of that can be attributed to the high number of targets (111), but much of the credit has been given to Groh, who worked as the receivers coach in L.A. last season before taking the same position with the Eagles last month. (Groh also worked with pending free agent Alshon Jeffery in Chicago.) Given the success he had under Groh, Britt would no doubt welcome a reunion.

He is scheduled to become a free agent when the league year begins March 9, and could very well be moving on from the Rams. A decent market likely awaits.

Whether the Eagles jump into the fray remains to be seen. There’s no doubt they’ll be on the lookout for a wideout who can take the top off an opposing defense, which is part of the reason why Kenny Stills and DeSean Jackson have been regularly connected to Philly; Britt has some speed (he ran a 4.5-second 40 coming out of Rutgers) but at 6-foot-3, 223 pounds, he has a different style of play than the burners. Eagles vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas, though, sounds open to receivers of varying skill sets.

“There’s a lot of great receivers and everyone has a different style, whether it’s a guy with all the tools like a Julio Jones and Calvin Johnson to a rough and rugged guy that’s just going to impose his will on guys like Hines Ward and Anquan Boldin. There’s a lot of different ways to skin a cat in regards to that position,” Douglas said when asked what type of receiver he prefers. “Honestly, I’m just looking for the guy that’s going to come in here and compete and be productive and be the best player he can for the Eagles.”

Douglas & Co. have to do their homework on Britt, who had legal troubles earlier in his career. Groh could be a resource in that respect, having worked with Britt very recently. Depending on their comfort level and how Britt compares to the rest of the class from a production-versus-cost standpoint, he could be a player on the Eagles’ radar as the free-agency period approaches.

Money typically talks in these situations, but if it’s close, the Eagles have enough of what Britt wants to win a potential tiebreaker.