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NFL

Source: Foles gets raise in restructured deal

The Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Nick Foles agreed to a reworked contract Friday, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The restructured deal includes a $2 million signing bonus, incentives if he starts and hits certain benchmarks, and a mutual option for 2019. Foles was in the final year of his contract and was scheduled to make a base salary of $4 million this season.

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NFL Network first reported the contract restructuring.

Both parties would have to be on board to exercise the ’19 option. The move gives the Super Bowl MVP a pay bump and provides an avenue for Foles to remain in Philadelphia beyond this season, depending on circumstances.

Foles stepped in for the injured Carson Wentz, who tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee against the Los Angeles Rams in December, and guided the Eagles to their first Super Bowl win.

He completed 73 percent of his passes in the postseason with six touchdowns and one interception, including three TD passes in a 41-33 win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.

Wentz has set the 2018 season opener against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday, Sept. 6, as his target return date. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Wentz said he is in the “running progression” stage of his rehab and is “feeling good with where I’m at” on the comeback trail.

Foles recently expressed the desire to be a starter again during an interview with a Texas ABC affiliate, while also highlighting the positives of remaining with the Eagles for another season.

“We love Philly. I know there was some stuff going around [about] a possible trade, and I would love the opportunity to be a starter again,” Foles said. “I know my spot in Philly. I think I’ve shown what I can do. I’m signed for one more year and I love the team, I love the city. I’m excited for Carson to get back on his feet. I’ll be ready to go whenever they need me. But we’ll see; just living in the moment.”

While some teams inquired about potentially trading for Foles at the beginning of the league year, the Eagles set the price high and no deal was struck.

NFL

Eagles 3.5-point favorites vs. Falcons in Week 1

The NFL schedule is out and so are point spreads for the Week 1 matchups.

The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas has installed the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles as 3.5-point favorites over the Atlanta Falcons in the season opener on Thursday, Sept. 6. The Eagles beat the Falcons 15-10 in the divisional round of last season’s playoffs.

The Green Bay Packers opened as the largest favorites on the Week 1 board. The Packers are 9-point home favorites over the Chicago Bears in the Sunday night game.

The Cleveland Browns, who enter the season having lost 17 in a row, are the biggest home underdogs in Week 1. The Browns are 7-point underdogs to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers. Cleveland has been an underdog in 31 of its past 32 games. The Browns were 1-point favorites over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3 of last season.

The New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders also begin the season as home underdogs. The Giants are 4-point underdogs against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Dolphins are 2.5-point underdogs to the Tennessee Titans, and the Raiders are 1.5-point underdogs to the Los Angeles Rams in second of two Monday night games in Week 1.

The Detroit Lions are 6-point favorites over the New York Jets in the other Monday night game.

Other notable opening Week 1 lines include:

NFL

Forte, Hester to retire as members of Bears

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Former Chicago Bears greats Matt Forte and Devin Hester will both sign a one-day ceremonial contract on Monday, April 23 in order to retire as members of the organization, the team announced Wednesday.

Forte and Hester each spent their first eight NFL seasons with the Bears.

The greatest return man in league history, Hester, who Chicago drafted in the second round (57th overall) of the 2006 NFL draft, played for the Bears from 2006 to 2013 where he was named First-Team All-Pro three times.

Devin Hester, who holds the NFL record with 20 return touchdowns, also amassed over 3,300 yards and 16 touchdowns as a receiver. Scott Kane/USA TODAY Sports

Hester, who was voted to four career Pro Bowls, had a team-record five return touchdowns for the Bears as a rookie, and took back the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI against the Indianapolis Colts 92 yards for a touchdown.

The University of Miami product also set franchise highs in punt returns (264), punt return touchdowns (13), single-season punt return touchdowns (four), kickoff returns (222), kickoff return yards (5,504) and single-game kickoff return touchdowns (two).

Hester added 255 receptions for 3,311 yards and 16 touchdowns as a wide receiver.

Hester, who also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks, holds the NFL record with 20 return touchdowns.

He announced his retirement from the NFL on Dec. 12, 2017.

Selected by the Bears in the second-round of the 2008 NFL draft out of Tulane, Forte is the second-most productive running back in Chicago history with 8,602 rushing yards and 4,116 receiving yards.

At the time of his departure from the Bears following the 2015 season, Forte had led the NFL in yards from scrimmage since 2008.

Forte ranks second, behind only Hall of Famer Walter Payton, on the Bears’ all-time lists for rushing yards, yards from scrimmage (12,718), receptions (487) and 100-yard games (24). He’s third in total touchdowns (64) and sixth in receiving yards. Forte also set a single-season NFL record with 102 receptions as a running back in 2014.

Forte played his final two NFL seasons for the New York Jets.

NFL

Garrett: Releasing Dez a 'challenging situation'

FRISCO, Texas — Speaking for the first time since the release of Dez Bryant last Friday, Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the move was made with careful consideration of a number of factors, from the wide receiver’s production to his cost.

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Bryant went three straight seasons without 1,000 yards and was set to count $16.5 million against the cap in 2018. After much internal deliberation, Garrett said the decision was made to part ways with the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown catches.

“Dez Bryant has been a great player for this franchise during his time here,” Garrett said Tuesday at the Albertsons Companies All-Star Gala in which Pat and Emmitt Smith were presented a Lifetime Achievement Award for their charity work. “Certainly a playmaker, a difference-maker. A guy that we all love. Love him as a player, as a person and that will never change.

“It’s a challenging situation. A lot of different factors go into these kinds of decisions and again the guidepost for all of this is: What’s in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys? And that’s why we made this decision. Wish Dez nothing but the best going forward. He’s a special guy. I love him. I will always love him and the impact that he’s made on this franchise has been significant.”

In an interview with NFL Network after his release, Bryant referred to “Garrett guys” and players who wear the “C,” as captains, as playing a part in the team’s decision. Dak Prescott, Jason Witten and Sean Lee were three of the Cowboys’ six captains in 2017.

“For me, I mean being a quarterback, being a captain, I take the blame,” Prescott said. “I take all the blame. When you lose, things like this happen. So Dez knows how I feel. We’ve shared messages and he knows my stance on everything so I wish him well.”

Bryant and Witten became close over the years, especially since Bryant moved into the same neighborhood as the Pro Bowl tight end. Witten said last Friday “was an emotional day for all of us,” but defended the captains.

“I don’t know what all that’s about,” Witten said. “I know when you go through these processes there’s a lot of things that probably go into it. I know I enjoyed my time with Dez and I think that I appreciated everything that we were able to do. Certainly invested a lot in him and he has helped me become a better player, too. So I appreciate that time together. Look, being a captain is a huge honor for me and the other guys and I know what those guys’ character is all about. There’s really nothing there.”

Lee said the Cowboys’ locker room is as close as any he has been a part of since coming in with Bryant in 2010.

“All I know is that I loved playing with him, and like anything any type of breakup can be tough,” Lee said. “But I know he’s going to be dominant and play the way he can. We can’t get into that (talk). We’ve got to move forward.”

Bryant has let it be known that he would like to play against the Cowboys once — if not twice — in 2018.

“Oh, it would be torture to play against a guy like that, who plays hard like he does, who makes all those plays,” Lee said. “As a linebacker I always felt like it was tackling a running back (with) how hard he ran, how tough he was. So that would be extremely tough for us.”

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