Eagles special teams coordinator Bobby April was careful not to completely close the door on kicker David Akers returning to Philadelphia in recent comments to Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Still, April made it clear how excited he is to work with fourth-round pick Alex Henery when the lockout ends.
“If he ends up being what we think he ends up being, he’ll lead the team in points for 10, 15 years,” April said. “That’s a big weapon, now.”
Translation: Akers is gone, and we’ll get a lower-cost veteran alternative if there are any hiccups with Henery in his rookie season.
April lauded Henery’s toughness and confidence, believing that will help his transition to the NFL. You just don’t take a kicker that high in the draft unless you believe he’ll be a potential Pro Bowler.
The last kicker to go as high as Henery was New England’s Stephen Gostkowski, and that worked out pretty well.