Eagles Cut Kelley Washington, Trade Tracy White

Washington is a cut the Eagles could live to regret.


Adam Caplan said he was hearing Kelley Washington was going to be the guy on the short-end of the battle for the fifth wide receiver spot, and it turns out he was right. The Eagles are announcing that Washington has been cut, which means Hank Baskett is the guy.

As I've said, Baskett is definitely the better receiver, but is a notch or two behind Washington in terms of special teams play -- something the Eagles desperately need.

So if releasing Washington wasn't enough of a blow to the special teams, the team also announced they've traded linebacker Tracy White to the New England Patriots for a late-round pick in the 2012 draft.

The team is really counting on young guys like Keenan Clayon, Jamar Chaney, Kurt Coleman, and others to step up big time on special teams. All the backups are certainly capable, but it takes a certain mindset to play special teams and I'm not sure a lot of the guys on this team have it -- as evidenced by their poor play during the preseason.

For me, Andy Reid and Howie Roseman are taking a huge gamble. But the fun part is we won't know whether or not it paid off until about midway through the season.