We won't have to wait until Tuesday to find out where the top cornerback lands in free agency.
"I'm going to Philly," cornerback Byron Maxwell told Josina Anderson of ESPN. NFL Media's Albert Breer confirms that Maxwell has been telling his Seahawks teammates that he plans to sign with the Eagles on Tuesday.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that Maxwell's deal will be six years for $63 million with $25 million guaranteed for the first three years.
The top of the cornerback market was laid to waste in a 24-hour span this past weekend. Maxwell says he is going to be a member of the Eagles, while Brandon Flowersreturned to San Diego and Kareem Jackson went back to Houston before free agency started.
That takes the top three cornerbacks off the market, with guys like Chris Culliver, Davon House (who will joing the Jaguars), and Tramon Williams next on our top 101 free agents list. Maxwell will be paid like a true No. 1 cornerback after two years of playing in Richard Sherman's shadow in Seattle. While he's not going to track the top opposing receiver around the field, Maxwell has been excellent the last two seasons. He will immediately upgrade a shaky position for the Eagles. Cary Williams was recently released and 2014 starter Bradley Fletcher is a free agent. Look for Philadelphia to investigate spending big money to improve their safety position, too.
Maxwell isn't technically allowed by NFL rules to agree to anything before free agency starts on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. In reality, we are seeing multiple big name free agents zero in on a destination before the party officially starts. Many players had agreed to new contracts at 4:01 pm ET last year in what must have been the fastest negotiations in history. Maxwell's quote just highlights the issue a little more baldly than most.
Within an hour of Maxwell's quote, his agent Alvin Keels realized that he could be flying in the face of NFL rules.
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