Cut downs

I've always had a strange fixation on former U. Miami star and now former Patriot safety Brandon Merriweather. I've long suspected that the Eagles were targeting Merriweather that year to become Brian Dawkins' heir apparent, but then the Pats took him just a couple slots earlier in the first round of the 2007 draft, prompting the Eagles to trade that 1st round pick to the Cowboys, drafting K. Kolb, and kick starting several years of QB drama and the Donovan McNabb departure watch.

My fixation with Merriweather continues and the situation is still odd. The Pats parted ways with Merriweather yesterday, despite having played in the last two Pro Bowls. Reading the Boston papers, it's not entirely clear why he was released - with no real comment on the quality of his play - and the Globe article suggests that recent turnover in the Pats secondary and lack of veterans made it even more likely that Merriweather would have (should have?) been kept.

Ultimately, the Pats and Merriweather found themselves in the exact same position as the Eagles and DB Joselio Hanson, two players that weren't going to make the team but couldn't be traded because other teams knew that they could get them for nothing when they were released.

Knowing the weird Philly-Boston, Reid-Belichek relationship, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Pats snap up Hanson and, admittedly less likely, the Eagles sign Merriweather.