Fowler Bails on Eagles, Signs with Titans

In a very weird development, restricted free agent linebacker Ryan Fowler, who reportedly signed a four-year offer sheet on Sunday with the Eagles, has opted to sign with the Titans instead.

Profootballtalk.com reports: "Late last week, the Eagles and the Titans were both negotiating with Fowler, who previously played for the Cowboys. Titans G.M. Mike Reinfeldt, however, had to return to Seattle to deal with a family medical issue. Over the weekend, Fowler's agent, Alan Herman, was unable to reach Reinfeldt to determine whether the pending offer from the Titans was their final offer.

Acting under the assumption that they had the Titans' best offer, Herman and Fowler weighed the offers from Tennessee and Philly and Fowler decided to sign the Eagles' offer sheet.
On Sunday, Reinfeldt got back to Herman, and presented the Titans' final offer. It was better than the Eagles' offer. The only problem? Herman already had told the Eagles that Fowler would sign the Eagles' offer sheet.

As we understand it, Herman explained the situation to the Eagles, and Fowler took Sunday night to make a decision. On Monday morning, he decided to sign the offer sheet from the Titans."

The reaction here? Good. Perhaps this will force the Eagles hand at actually going out and drafting somebody worth a damn at linebacker instead of handing out mid-range contracts to nobody's from the NFL's trash heap.

Interestingly, this is the second time in two seasons that a free agent appeared poised to sign with the Eagles before a last minute change of heart. Last year, center LeCharles Bentley spurned the Eagles and signed a mega-deal with Cleveland, only to blow out his knee and miss the entire 2006 season. It currently appears unlikely that Bentley will play in 2007, putting his career in jeopardy.

The Eagles have not yet commented on the matter and it is not certain that they will.