Eagles notes: Birds reportedly tried to trade for Dion Jordan; Eli Manning and Tony Romo are aging

The draft is just under 4 weeks away, but as typical with any Eagles offseason, there is seemingly never any downtime. Yesterday, a report emerged that the Birds are trying to acquire former Oregon star and current Miami Dolphin Dion Jordan. We'll get to that and more in 'Eagles notes.'

According to Bob Grotz of pottsmerc.com, the Eagles offered Brandon Graham and a 2nd round pick to the Dolphins for Dion Jordan. A trade for Jordan has been rumored for some time, but this is the first report of substance to date.

The Eagles are said to have included a second-round pick and linebacker-defensive end Brandon Graham. For now Jordan is still part of the Dolphins, who say they're going to find a way to get him more snaps next season.

Almost everything about a deal for Jordan still makes sense, including the contract should the Eagles package in some way a first-round pick.

Jordan's contract wouldn't be a huge obstacle to a trade. The Eagles would be picking up the remainder of his four-year, $20.572 million fully guaranteed pact according to Overthecap.com. The Dolphins would take a $10 million salary cap hit this year if they traded Jordan before the draft. After June 1, the Dolphins would be able to spread the cap charge over two years.

Dealing Jordan is extremely prohibitive for the Dolphins because of the big cap hit, not to mention, common sense. To part with the 3rd overall pick in a player's second year for the kind of compensation the Eagles reportedly offered is unlikely. Jordan is a 6'6, 248 pound athletic specimen, who can cover, run, tackle, and has upside as a pass rusher. Players with the size and athleticism that Jordan has simply don't come around very often.

There's a perception that Jordan stunk out loud last year for Miami. That is simply not true. Here is a fantastic breakdown by Chipwagon that goes beyond a stat line and evaluates his 2013 season in full. It is also noteworthy that Jordan did not benefit from a full offseason program last year as he was recovering from a shoulder injury.

The Dolphins are flush with DE talent. Cameron Wake has 46 sacks over the last 4 years, and Olivier Vernon had a breakout season in 2013 with 11.5 sacks. But that doesn't mean the Dolphins should unload a potential rare talent for inadequate compensation. This would be a great deal for the Eagles, but to get a player with Jordan's upside for just a 2 and Graham is a pipe dream. It would be hard to imagine the Dolphins dealing him to the Eagles for anything less than their 1st round pick, and possibly more.

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Eli Manning suffered a high ankle sprain in the Week 17 finale against the Redskins last year. His recovery has not gone as hoped, and he'll have surgery to clean out his ankle, per the Giants' website.

"I went through the recovery and rehab after suffering the sprain," said Manning. "I was still experiencing some discomfort as I began my normal offseason preparation, and after consultation, we felt the right thing was to have Dr. Anderson clean out the ankle. The doc tells me I should be running in about six weeks. I'm looking forward to the start of the offseason program on the 21st. I will be in the weight room and in the meeting rooms so we can all learn the new offense. I got some good work in this week at Duke, and I think it's smart to get this procedure done now so the ankle isn't an ongoing issue. I'm eager to get to work with our new offensive coaches and system."

Manning isn't the only NFC East QB who would not be ready to play if the season began today. Tony Romo is still recovering from the back surgery that caused him to miss the "NFC East Championship Game" against the Eagles.

Romo and Manning are the 6th and 7th oldest projected starting QBs in the NFL. Here's where every projected NFL starter ranks in terms of age, which the disclaimer that the draft will change this some.

As you can see, Nick Foles is the 6th youngest projected starting QB in the NFL.

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The Patriots and Eagles may be getting together again for joint training camp practices this year. Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston reported that the Eagles are the top candidate for the Pats once again.

The Eagles and Pats got together for training camp last year, and the Pats looked far superior to the Eagles in so many ways. The Eagles have really come a long way since August of 2013.

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski