[PinPointPenning10]

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PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Eagles made a big move to bolster the middle of their defense, acquiring two-time Pro Bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans from the Houston Texans for a fourth-round draft pick in 2012.

The Eagles and Texans also announced Tuesday they were swapping third-round choices in 2012. The Eagles now have the 89th pick overall, while the Texans have the 77th pick.

The 27-year-old linebacker and team captain leaves Houston as the Texans' all-time leader with 637 tackles, eight sacks, six forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries and two interceptions in his six-year career. He earned Pro Bowl honors after the 2007 and 2009 seasons and was an Associated Press All-Pro selection in 2007.

Ryans missed most of the 2010 season after tearing his left Achilles.

"DeMeco is a proven Pro Bowl linebacker in this league and we're excited to be able to plug him into the middle of our defense," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "He's been the signal caller and a leader on a very good Texans defense for the last several years. He's a tough, instinctive football player and he'll be a great fit for our team."

Ryans was a second-round draft pick in 2006, the same year Houston took Mario Williams with the top overall pick. Ryans made the bigger initial impact of the two stars, making 156 tackles to earn the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year honor.

He was also durable, starting all 16 games in his first four seasons. He tore his left Achilles in the sixth game of 2010 and the season collapsed, with the Texans dropping eight of their final 10 games.

Houston used most of its 2011 draft picks on defensive players, and Ryans had a reduced role because of more injuries and the emergence of Brian Cushing and rookie Brooks Reed.

The Texans ranked second in total defense last season (285.7 yards per game), finished 10-6 and earned their first division title and playoff berth. But they lost key players in free agency, including Williams, right tackle Eric Winston and right guard Mike Brisiel and now Ryans, the team's union representative.

Dealing Ryans left some of the remaining players wondering about the team's direction. Defensive ends Antonio Smith and J.J. Watt talked about losing Ryans on the NFL Network on Wednesday night.

"It's a big surprise to me," Smith said. "I don't know what is going on at this moment, but DeMeco is a great player, a leader. He's going to be an asset to each and every team he plays for. Our defense is going to miss him.

"That's all I can say about it."

Watt, Houston's first-round draft pick last year, said Ryans was "the most respected guy on the defense, our leader."

"He's a guy that everybody turns to, especially when things are going tough," Watt said. "It's tough to see him go, but at the end of the day, what can we do? He's obviously going to go play great football for the Eagles. Now it's time for the rest of us, as a defense, to step up and find a new leader and go out there and play football. We can't do anything about that, so it's time for us to go out there and do it on our own."

Ryans played collegiately at Alabama, where he earned first-team All-America honors in 2005. He was a teammate of Eagles left guard Evan Mathis with the Crimson Tide. While in the NFL, Ryans has been a leader on and off the field and his work in the community has been highly regarded in the Houston area.

"We appreciate all the hard work and effort DeMeco invested in our organization and wish him only the best moving forward," Texans general manager Rick Smith said. "He is a class act."

Wow, great move for Philly. They needed linebacker help badly. If the Texans could only get a fourth for him, doubt we'll be able to get much for Scott.

[Rawrk]

philly has been having a pretty quiet, solid offseason.

i hate the eagles.

[alleycat9]

are the poor texans even going to have a defense next year?

[Jetphan73]

another winter, another off-season Eagles championship!

[IIMeanDeanII]

I can't believe they got Ryans so cheap. That doesn't bode well for the likely hood of trading away Bart Scott. We won't get shit for him, I guess they are probably just looking to move his contract though. So who knows.

[davecrazy]

Originally Posted by alleycat9

are the poor texans even going to have a defense next year?

Ryans barley played, they don't need him. Considering what the LB market is like they're lucky they got what they wanted for him.

[VanderbiltJets]

$6 million cap number

[JetsUK]

Originally Posted by IIMeanDeanII

I can't believe they got Ryans so cheap. That doesn't bode well for the likely hood of trading away Bart Scott. We won't get shit for him, I guess they are probably just looking to move his contract though. So who knows.

Yeah, $6m cap number for the cap strapped Texans

If only we couldve cut Bart (w/o cap penalty) and got Ryans instead :(

[ppls17]

Im still trying to figure out where the eagles are getting all this cap. 6 million for ryans after resigning some lineman. They have 3 cbs getting paid a whole defensive line a wr just got his and the qb makes like 20 million so confused

[BamaZeus]

this website says they still have $15 million + in room. Maybe the Desean Jackson deal freed up a lot of room for them. It seems to indicate that the vast majority of it is carryover money from last year.

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[Kevin Arnold]

Originally Posted by ppls17

Im still trying to figure out where the eagles are getting all this cap. 6 million for ryans after resigning some lineman. They have 3 cbs getting paid a whole defensive line a wr just got his and the qb makes like 20 million so confused

In Philly, they say Joe Banner is great at finding loop holes to get under the cap. Supposedly, they build in unattainable bonuses for players which if they aren't reached, you can count get a credit against the next years cap. So for instance, you have a defensive end get a $250,000 bonus for getting 15 sacks in the season. If he doesn't do that, they can discount that off the next years salary cap. That's what I've heard on the radio in Philly.

[dcm1602]

I heard it helps you have plenty of cap space when you dont have an offensive line

[Chrebet Fo' Ever]

Originally Posted by dcm1602

I heard it helps you have plenty of cap space when you dont have an offensive line

Jason Peters and Evan Mathis are pretty damn good.

The Eagles might be the only team to be spending more on CBs than the Jets. I guess their cap comes from having shitty LBs (though with Ryans...)

[FriendlyGiantsFan]

Originally Posted by Chrebet Fo' Ever

Jason Peters and Evan Mathis are pretty damn good.

The Eagles might be the only team to be spending more on CBs than the Jets. I guess their cap comes from having shitty LBs (though with Ryans...)

McCoy and Maclin still being on rookie deals help (though McCoy is getting paid soon and will receive lot, he just turned DOWN 6 million a year). They aren't spending too much on the OL as a unit and they have shitty linebackers receiving chump change (outside of Ryans) and journeyman safeties getting paid journeyman money. It's not a huge mystery where their money is coming from.

[TheMadHatter]

I was surprised to hear this trade happened, when I heard it they had two texans as guests in the show... E mood and faces when the news came through was priceless

[LetsGoJets11]

Good and bad move. Ryans ain't 23 anymore, but Eagles need LB's. Casey Matthews will never amount to anything.