First Brian Dawkins, now Greg Lewis?

By Steven Lienert

The Phanatic Magazine

Say it ain’t so, Joe. Say it ain’t so.

Another Eagle has flown the nest, although it’s highly unlikely anyone will make a fuss over Greg Lewis’ departure.

But after what has transpired over the past week, maybe its’ time for the Eagles to clean house.

The defense, for the most part, is young enough to keep intact. But with the revelation that Sheldon Brown may want a contract extension, it may be time to visit the possibility of dealing him instead of allowing the Lito Sheppard scenario to play out again.

And if that’s a possibility, maybe it’s time to go the whole way: deal Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and anybody else close to or over 30 and start fresh.

The Eagles already have a stockpile worth of draft picks, so what’s a few more? With the right deal and one lousy season, the Eagles could realistically hold two of the top four picks in the 2010 draft.

As the Falcons and Dolphins have proved, turnaround can be quick in the NFL. But ya gotta get bad before you can get good, and dealing McNabb and Westbrook while they’re close to peak value only makes sense, especially considering that Dawkins has walked and Tra Thomas has one foot out the door.

Would anybody else like to see Jay Cutler under center for the Eagles, with McNabb joining Dawkins in West Philly, er, uh, Denver? Apparently, the Broncos shopped him to every team in the league at the start of free agency but there weren’t any takers.

In light of recent developments, maybe that’s something the Eagles would like to revisit.

Or how about swapping BWest and some of those picks for LaDainian Tomlinson, who’s been reportedly disgruntled with his contract in San Diego?

While we’re at it, let’s top off the most mega of offseasons by making a deal for Anquan Boldin before signing him to a long-term deal.

Could you imagine how epic the game against the Broncos at the Linc would be? Cutler, L.T., and Anquan versus Super 5 and BDawk? Andy Reid may have to start his press conferences with something other than injuries that week.

It ain’t gonna happen, but, seriously, the timing has never been more right for vast change.

The way the front office has been treating the Eagles’ free-agent veterans thus far hasn’t been handled with the most aplomb to say the least. It would be easier to swallow if the team sent Banner on the radio to tell the fans that the team was moving forward in a new direction.

After all, following the NFC Championship Game loss to the Cardinals, it was Banner that said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result was the definition of insanity.

Right now, some fans are questioning whether or not the Eagles have lost their minds.

Steve Lienert can be reached at stevelienert@hotmail.com