When the team traded cornerback Brandon Boykin to the Steelers suddenly over the weekend, there were those who felt linebacker Mychal Kendricks would be next.
Chip Kelly's chopping block has rarely fallen in single blows.
But Kelly confirmed Kendricks would remain with the Eagles this season, speaking ahead of the first day of training camp in South Philadelphia on Sunday.
"Mike Kendricks is not going anywhere, I can tell you that right now," he said. "You can write that down in ink, not pencil. Mike's not going anywhere."
Kendricks appears happy about that, saying he is "glad to be here" when he took the practice field on the first real Sunday morning of the NFL season, adding that he wouldn't be thinking about the fact that his contract expires after this season until this season is over and done.
"That doesn't even matter, man," he said about his deal. "We're here to play ball and to do the best that we can do while we're here. After the season is after the season. We'll worry about that then. Until then I'm just going to ball out like I've been doing."
He features to be an integral part of a talent linebacking corps for Philadelphia that last year did some balling of its own. Currently occupying the right inside position, he lines up beside recent acquisition Kiko Alonso and DeMeco Ryans. The three of them will likely rotate on the inside, but the Eagles are touching Ryans with kid gloves -- he turns 31 soon and is coming off his second career Achilles tear.
Alonso, too, though young, is recovering from an ACL he tore last summer.
The sum of those parts, along with Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham to the outsides and their confident defensive line play, is one of the surest front-sevens in football. Kendricks played his part, finishing last season with 108 tackles and three forced fumbles.
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