t96

Yeah it's a fair opinion, I just haven't really seen enough of Henderson yet to definitely put him over Bouye right now. Longer term obviously Bouye should be better, but I think against the Cowboys Bouye played better than Henderson. People forget Bouye was an All-Pro just a few years ago.

Yeah I saw him at training camp the year after he retired or maybe it was before the 2015 season, was staying in the same hotel as him I honestly could not believe it was him and that he lost that much weight in that short a period of time. He's a really cool dude and definitely awesome how healthy he is after playing in the NFL for a decade

It's hunting season, pretty sure he's just living it up enjoying the outdoors, fishing, etc. Certainly don't blame him there

The quote from my first post was from when he retired in early 2020, not recent. I haven't seen any teasers or hints about him actually considering returning

I wonder if that Huddler who broke Luke's retirement shortly before it was public is still around. I know he had some connections to Luke and was 100% spot on on that. Wonder if we could get an answer as to if this is a possibility (even if just like 5%) or if we should end the speculation before it even begins.

Yeah very well could be. I just can't help but think about this D with Luke. Carter is the weakest link on D right now and we have the GOAT MLB on our reserve list...

A bit of an exaggeration but still he lost a ton of weight https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/07/28/the-incredible-shrinking-jordan-gross/

I honestly think Gross at his current 185 pounds would be a better LT than anyone we've had since he retired besides the 1 year of Oher.

Let a man dream! Of course I fully support Luke and if he is truly done and doesn't have the itch to return then good for him. But I do think that quote about his retirement leaves it open a bit especially the "Now is an opportunity to step away with what’s going on here.” That says to me that a decent sized factor in the retirement decision was us going into a rebuild and getting rid of Cam, etc. He may have the itch to return with the team looking much better than expected and especially the defense he'd get to play with.

It depends on the recovery but yeah it's definitely a stretch and especially getting back into game shape. Even once he's full healed with it being a leg injury he'll need another 2-3 weeks at least to get back into game shape. I could see him being fully healthy and in game shape by the playoffs IF the recovery goes very smoothly but definitely not something I would bet on. Safer bet is like you said, we'll see him next year.

Right now I'd say: 1. Horn (hurt) 2. Jackson 3. Gilmore (could easily prove himself to be 1 or 2 and do so very quickly but we just need to see it on the field) 4. Bouye 5. Henderson 4/5 has room to change too

It's gotta be extremely tempting Luke to come back and join this talented D... That last line makes me think a return is possible, even if unlikely. He wants to play and took an opportunity to step away while the team was entering a full rebuild essentially. Well that rebuild has been expedited and if he came back he would step right into the best D he's ever played on.

Jackson has actually been great this year, I think Horn was more impactful and likely still should be upon his return. Gilmore is just yet to be seen but if he plays to the level he's capable of and did 2 years ago then yeah Jackson is our 3rd best CB on the roster (2nd best healthy). That's pretty friggin nuts if you ask me because D Jax is balling out too. Then we have Henderson and AJ Bouye who have some serious pedigree. Just an insane group of CBs, especially compared to what we've trotted out there in the last decade.

look at the source

Reports are also that he's completely healthy and running full speed and that the "quad injury" is more part of his holdout from the Pats. It certainly is pretty interesting that he was holding out for a new deal in NE but open to playing out the year with us. I'll take it though

Rhule deserves credit for the aggressiveness too, he has final roster say.

Yep

They haven't gotten there yet, opportunity hasn't really presented itself except for Slater I guess but you can't really argue against taking Horn there.

And no extension right now

I saw this on the Pats board: I don't know if this is true but if so then best we could do is get a 5th, but that's obviously still better than the 6th we gave up and I can't imagine him walking in FA and not netting a 5th or 6th round comp pick. So even if it is a 1 year rental we're getting him for free, really.

I don't think we're extending Gilmore.

Wow. That's a shock to say the least. Never been super high on Gilmore, but he should definitely still be a solid starter. For the price you can't really argue with this being a great move. I worry a bit more now though about what this means for Horn's potential to return this year. One thing that is extremely encouraging -- it's 100% clear that this front office puts a ton of value in the secondary, which Rivera/DG/Hurney never did. In a passing league you can't just ignore the secondary like we have in the past.

Good point I forgot about that.

He was here for 18 years I think it's important to note the Panthers connection on a Panthers forum... Not meant to be clickbait, it's a pretty massive story and he had a huge role here under JR and Hurney.

If Shaq is out I think Goedert lights us up. The rest of the offense doesn't scare me one bit though. I'd put Chinn as a spy on Hurts. Philly's D has been pretty banged up and I expect we'll be able to put up point on them.