Eagles Trade For Stallworth

By The Associated Press

Still looking to replace Terrell Owens, the Philadelphia Eagles acquired wide receiver Donte' Stallworth from the New Orleans Saints on Monday.

The Eagles sent veteran linebacker Mark Simoneau and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2007 to the Saints. The trade is pending both players passing physicals with their new team.

Stallworth, the 13th overall pick in the 2002 draft, had 70 receptions for 945 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He has 195 catches for 2,791 yards and 23 TDs in 56 games, including 32 starts.

"We're bringing in an experienced receiver that's coming off of a great year with the New Orleans Saints and he'll fit in nicely into our receiving corps," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "He's got tremendous speed and quickness and he catches the ball very well. He's good with the yards after the catch."

The Eagles have been looking for an upgrade at wideout since parting with Owens, who had 20 TDs in 21 games with Philadelphia. The team considered trading for Javon Walker and had conversations about Ashley Lelie, but wasn't willing to give up higher draft choices.

Denver sent a second-round pick to Green Bay for Walker, a former Pro Bowl receiver who was coming off two knee operations. The Broncos got a third-round pick for Lelie in a three-team trade with Washington and Atlanta last week.

"Donte' is an explosive player who has had a very productive career with the Saints," Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said. "I've said many times earlier that I like the skill position players on our roster, but realize that you can never have enough playmakers."

The 25-year-old Stallworth joins a crowded receiving corps that includes promising second-year pro Reggie Brown, longtime starter Todd Pinkston, rookies Hank Baskett and Jason Avant, and veterans Greg Lewis, Darnerien McCants and Jabar Gaffney.

The Eagles likely will carry six wideouts, so the coaching staff faces some tough decisions before finals cuts must be made by Saturday.

Stallworth, 6-foot and 196 pounds, is the type of receiver that can stretch the field for the Eagles. Among his career receptions, 45 were for 20 yards or more, while 12 of his TDs were from 25 yards or longer.

In 2002, Stallworth became the first NFL rookie in 20 years to catch a TD in each of his first four games. His eight TDs that season set a team record for rookies.

This season could have been Stallworth's last under contract with the Saints, who added depth at that position with the emergence during training camp of seventh-round draft choice Marques Colston and free agent Jamal Jones.

The Saints also appear ready to rely more on third-year receiver and former LSU standout Devery Henderson.

"We've got some depth at that position right now," Saints coach Sean Payton said, pointing out that Colston's progress made Stallworth expendable. "It's a good opportunity for Donte' to start fresh somewhere and it's an opportunity for us to acquire a pick as well as a player."

Stallworth had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in January, missed some offseason work and then missed part of minicamp after Payton sent him home for a day for missing a team meeting.

He ended up practicing mostly with the second team after that and also spent the early part of training camp nursing a sore hamstring.

"He didn't practice that much. I guess he didn't show enough to merit him staying here," Saints wideout Joe Horn said. "I'm not saying Coach Reid and Donovan can't pull Donte' aside and sprinkle some magic on him and make him a 1,500-yard receiver.

"He has some talent and it wouldn't shock me at all to see Donte' catching 10 or 15 passes a game from Donovan McNabb, but it didn't happen here in New Orleans and that's the sad part. They got a hell of deal."

Simoneau came to the Eagles in a trade with Atlanta in 2003 after playing his first three seasons with the Falcons. He started 16 games at middle linebacker in his first year in Philadelphia, moved to the weakside spot midway through the 2004 season and played mostly on special teams last year.

Simoneau even was called upon to fill in for injured kicker David Akers during a game last season and made one of two extra points.

The trade brought the Saints their second new linebacker in less than a week after Scott Shanle arrived in a deal with Dallas.

New Orleans had trouble stopping the run last season and those struggles have continued through three preseason games. In addition, Tommy Polley, working with the first-team linebackers early in training camp, has yet to play in the preseason because of a shoulder injury that required arthroscopic surgery.

"Mark was one of my favorite guys," Reid said. "He was a great person and tremendous player for us, on special teams and at linebacker. We just appreciate everything he did for this organization."


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