APWhen defensive end Jason Babin was cut by the Eagles, he probably thought he’d be upgrading his chances of playing for a contender.
If he did, he thought wrong.
Per a league source, Babin was awarded to the Jaguars, who at 2-9 were second on the priority list. At this point, it’s not known who else made a claim for his contract; it’s only known that the Chiefs, who have top priority, didn’t.
The next question becomes whether Babin will make noise about being involuntarily shipped to a bad team, which now holds his rights through 2015. Apart from playing for a bad team, Babin will now be playing in London once per year over the next three seasons.
If Babin opts to retire in lieu of playing for Jacksonville, the Jags would be able to recover $900,000 in signing bonus money, along with the remaining proration of his signing bonus for 2012, which by our calculations is another $88,000.Plus, he’d be giving up $1.69 million for roughly a month of work.
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He could be trade bait…
BOOM!
He had to know what was going to happen. If you have any real skill some bad team is going to get you before a good one will.
It should be interesting to see how he does.
Lucky him….
Now that the Jags have moved on from the Blaine Gabbert experiment (at least for the balance of 2012), the Jags might actually win a few games down the stretch with Henne at QB.
Welcome to pergatory
Purgatory*
from bad to worse Jason
Gene Smith must be behind this. It makes absolutely no football sense for the Jaguars to claim Babin.
But then again Gene Smith is the man that drafted Blaine Gabbert, Tyson Alualu, and a punter in the third round because he’s going to be as he put it “a starter” so it’s not like he knows how to run a football team anyways.
Wanted Bucs to get him. What a joke, the jags just screwed a good player and doomed him to finish his career on a terrible team.
Wow… Sucks to be you Jason.
I don’t think after cutting cut by the 3-8 Eagles and Babin was thinking he would have an opportunity to play for a contender he thought it would be a team contending for a top 5 pick at the top of the draft.
I was going to say something sarcastic about Babin, but after thinking about it, what’s the point.
Can someone explain how this works? I realize the Eagles released him but why would they field calls in regards to a team picking him up?
Outstanding.
My Chiefs have again failed to pick up an available player that could contribute in a meaningful way. Think about it…Tamba Hali, Justin Houston, & Jason Babin on the same pass rush…how many players can one offense double team?
The way things are going, who knows? Andy Reid might be his HC next year in Jacksonville!
Anyone else hear that noise? That is the sound of his career coming to an abrupt end.
The Jaguars are a better franchise top to bottom than the Eagles.
Ha ha ha ha ha! The Jaguars, he’ll be home for the Holidays, ha ha ha!
The bad news it’s the Jags, but the good news is London is closer to Spain then Philadelphia and Blabin can now run with the bulls.
Thank God. I was so worried this loser would end up on a super bowl team.
thats gotta be horrible for him. he goes from a big market east team that could turn it around next season to the joke market of the nfl that won’t be a contender for a long long time. he must be fuming right now. if I were him I wouldn’t retire but I would hold out and see if he could get the jaguars to pull the waiver claim.
Hey Jags….we’ll throw in Nnamdi for your trouble.
Things are going from bad to worse for Babin. But at least he’s not going to Kansas City!
Score One for our side
— The Queen of England
And this is a great example of why the Jaguars are terrible.
Makes no sense for the Jags. They should be going for a youth movement and developing talent. Maybe they kept him from going to a division rival. Other than that this move is a head scratcher. Babin must be considering retirement.
Don’t kid yourself. The Jags are closer to the SB than the Eagles are.
Seems like he is wasted on Jacksonville for this season, but they must like the rest of the contract.
It must be a hard sell to get free agents to sign in Jacksonville when they could choose to play anywhere.
Probably a good move by Jacksonville.
Karma.
Who didn’t see this coming, called it as soon as he was released. They’ve been searching for pass rushers for a few seasons. They got shafted by Kampman when he couldn’t stay healthy. This was a no-brainer for the Jaguars.
Just for starters, there is no state income tax. That’s a pay raise.
Jacksonsville is a GM and a QB away from being decent.
I’d rather be on a team with less talent and tried vs whatever that mess is in Philly…
he could also just holdout and say he won’t play for jacksonville, thats a diff option than retire.
going from one joke to an even bigger joke. he must be livid. I would hold out and see if I could get the scags to pull the waiver claim.
Hahahahaha! Only 2 teams with a worse record then the Eagles and he goes to one. Karma!
This move is rather interesting (the fact the Eagles let him go)… think about it. They signed him as a free agent. The guy crushes it last year. This year he leads the team in sacks (5.5, nearest is 2 sacks) recovered the most fumbles (2) and has an interception.
Statistically hes Philly’s best defensive player this year!
If the Eagles wanted to ‘move’ a player because of sub-performance relative to salary, how is Asomugha still on this roster?
So the defensive firings have gone, Castillo (best DC they had this year…) and Babin (best def player they had this year)
Great job Philly….
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy
All you folks who think Babin is talented or is a good de have obviously not followed his career… Babin sucks… He’s a one dimensional player that has ONLY succeeded in the wide 9 and he can’t even succeed in that now. Thanks to Jacksonville for taking this waste of space off our cap!!!
“Kaz says:
Nov 28, 2012 4:41 PM
Makes no sense for the Jags. They should be going for a youth movement and developing talent. Maybe they kept him from going to a division rival. Other than that this move is a head scratcher. Babin must be considering retirement.”
That’s the problem. They have no talent at defensive end to develop. Jeremy Mincey is mediocre. Andre Branch has been terrible. Austen Lane has been the only guy to show anything and he can’t stay healthy.
It’s ridicolous how many Chiefs fans are upset that KC didn’t pick him up. Chiefs fans have noticed that they play a 3-4 and Babin is a pure 4-3 DE? Overall Babin is a great passrusher but he can’t do anything else on the football field. He’s terrible againsthe run and awful in recognizing plays. His contract is for an all around player not for a third and 15 only player.
Texans have played Jax twice already so no chance he get to take anything out on us this year.
Knew a guy like that wouldn’t last long. If I’m correct Jax has tons of cap room too for this.
He must be PUMPED!
First of all. The eagles are a mess. I know jax is losing games but that’s a talent problem. The eagles have talent and for some reason didn’t let a player finish the season who has 5.5 sacks on a lousy team.
5.5 sacks is a third of what the jax pass rush generates a season.
How can they let him pass thru.
On another note. I’m not worried about LA any more. Now it’s the London Shaguars in about 5 yrs. that’s looking likely
ttommytom says:
Nov 28, 2012 4:44 PM
Just for starters, there is no state income tax. That’s a pay raise.
Jacksonsville is a GM and a QB away from being decent.
I’d rather be on a team with less talent and tried vs whatever that mess is in Philly…
_______________________
Babin lives in Houston, TX. He already doesn’t pay state income tax.
I hope he helps them win a few games so my Eagles can draft in front of Jax.
I said it before -
5.5 sacks is like double our who franchise worth of sacks for 2 seasons.
I’ll take him.
The plus side is that he got out of Pennsylvania for Florida. That alone was a win for him, regardless of how bad the Jags are.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
- Jealous/Bitter Titans fan who LOVED Babin
Trading deadline has passed. Ahh.
Aaron Kampman 2.0.
It’s really not all that much of a shocker that the Eagles let Babin go. Obviously the season is a train wreck and they’ll be rebuilding. He likely wasn’t going to be back next year at his salary. He is an expensive one-trick pony veteran. He’s reportedly a big pain in the rear. He’s a huge liability against the run, and his pass rushing performance this year didn’t make up for it, despite being in a system that is supposed to maximize his value. He had a relatively significant salary, so they clear that away. They were carrying six defensive ends and obviously want to figure out what they really have in Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry.
Yes, there are other guys who are under performing, but none who sort of ring the bell on all the above issues – high priced vet; one-trick pony whose strength was no longer compensating for his liabilities; reported attitude issues; significant and young depth at the same position – like Babin does.
Some people talk about dumping Asomugha, and I understand the frustration with him, but DRC is not under contract next year, and they’re very young at corner outside of those two guys. They certainly have big decisions to make at CB for next year and it’s no guarantee that Asomugha will be back, but it’s a much more complicated situation and position than Babin at DE.
In Jacksonville’s mind this might just be “Hey this fixes our misfire on Aaron Kampman”.
Lest we forget that this man was drafted by the Texans, played for the Chiefs, Seahawks, Titans, Eagles, Titans, Eagles, and now Jaguars.
Good players don’t play for that many teams. Good players play for one team. Unless of course they get old and don’t know when to hang it up and go for any team that wants them. Still, the point remains, good players usually play for a single team, because they are good, and teams don’t let good players go.
Didn’t KC already pass on him when they cut him 2 years ago?
KHAN!
He got what he deserved.
so glad he did not go to the Patriots! Figured he’d go there and explode with sacks. Now he can chill on da beach with the other Jags players in 5 weeks!
towniesman says:
Nov 28, 2012 4:33 PM
from bad to worse Jason
————————————-
No, from worst to bad.
How is it a bad move? We need a pass rush
This is a great move. Our DL hasn’t had a great pass rusher since Tony Brackens. Tyson isn’t a beast, Mincey isn’t sacking anyone. Our inside linemen haven’t been great since the Stroud-Big John days. And, we didn’t have to use a draft pick to trade to get him. We have more cap room than anyone in the league. May as well buy a proven commodity. Can’t get him suited up fast enough.
Andy is trying to help the Jags have a better record than the Eagles. Maybe we’ll get to pick second in the draft.
phillyphever says: Nov 28, 2012 4:42 PM
Karma.
You talking about Babin or your Team???
Most NFL teams are registered in Deleware so the tax thing is a non-issue.
getting out of Philly for Florida as DEC approaches? Already a win for Babin…
no bulls to run with, but I see some gator-wrasslin’ in his future…
The Jags can have him. I saw more effort from Vinnie Curry in the 21 snaps he played Monday night than I saw from Babin the entire season, so no surprise that he got the boot. He’s on the decline, has one move, can’t (and won’t) defend the run, and spends all of his time tweeting rather than actually trying to improve his skills as a football player. He needed to go!
Next up: Nnamdi Asomugha (it should be Andy Reid first and foremost but everyone knows it is not going to happen until the end of the regular season)
Nah, that doesn’t seem right. I’m sensing a trade in the pipeline. A good team in need of his service like my Pats already have a trade deal set up for him with the Jags because that team knew it stood no chance of acquiring him through waiver.
unbreakable02215 says:
Nov 28, 2012 5:11 PM
Trading deadline has passed. Ahh.
__________________________
The team holds his rights until 2015. Ahh. There will be more trading deadlines.
It absolutely makes sense for the Jags to pick him up.
This is a move for the future. This guy is tied up for three more years at very manageable cap figures. If he returns to past form he is a bargain for a team that sorely needs pass rushers.
If they had gone after a free agent DL of Babin’s stature in the offseason, they would have had to pay a huge signing bonus and yearly salaries equal to or greater than what they will pay him. I am pretty sure the cap hit from the original signing bonus stays on the Eagles cap. Even if doesn’t, it’s still Eagles money that paid the bonus.
If it doesn’t pan out over the final five games and he makes it clear he won’t play there, they get rid of him at the end of the year with no future financial ramifications.
This is essentially a free agent signing with no signing bonus and a five game risk free trial run.
anyone think this could be for trade fodder for jacksonville? just saying
8to80texansblog says: Nov 28, 2012 4:59 PM
ttommytom says:
Nov 28, 2012 4:44 PM
Just for starters, there is no state income tax. That’s a pay raise.
Jacksonsville is a GM and a QB away from being decent.
I’d rather be on a team with less talent and tried vs whatever that mess is in Philly…
_______________________
Babin lives in Houston, TX. He already doesn’t pay state income tax.
___________________
FALSE
The Jaguars are quietly building a contender. They need the QB situation to straighten out…..((Alex Smith might be available after 3rd day of new NFL yr.)) MJD, Blackmon, and a serviceable QB and U’ll have a nice core on Offense, and then on Defense the Jags can trade out of the 2 spot and fill some holes on D and add to Babin.
Who will buy his T-shirts in Jacksonville?
I thought he said he wanted to go to a winner. LOL
The problem with most of the people commenting here is that seem to lack the ability to put stats in perspective. 12.5 sacks in 2010 & 18 sacks in 2011 sure look amazing on paper. But the Eagles didn’t just release a 3rd or 4th year player who put back-to-back performances like that together. They let go of a 32 year old journeyman who found himself in a gimmick defensive line scheme that allows him to line up so far off the RT that he’s practically next to the cornerback.
He’s a gimmick Wide 9 DE. He’s not a plug-and-play type player. He played in a traditional 4-3 his entire career before his stint in Tennessee & was anyone clamoring for him then??? He can’t play in a 3-4, he can’t beat a right tackle when lined up traditionally, he can’t play against the run, AND on top of all of that, he likes to blame a poor season on fans for not being “supportive enough.” So glad that garbage is off my team. He will go down as one of the most despised athletes to ever play on a professional team in Philly. Good riddance.
This board won’t allow unbridled joy about him ending up in Jacksonville( I’ve been deleted twice for remarks that are not obscene in any way), so I’ll keep it serious: His play vs the run makes him a liability even when he gets sacks, which he isn’t doing this year. He became a symbol of Roseman’s ill fated foray into FA, he hated the fans, and he won’t be missed.
Low cost look for Jacksonville (with plenty of cap room); potential trade next year; possible rejuvenation and mentor type for Austen Lane and or Andre Branch.
Or…they just cut him. Little risk/cost involved.
I’m all for this. Low risk high reward move. Welcome Jason. Never thought I’d want another FA DE from Philly after that fat lazy bum Hugh Douglas.