Well, here's an interesting tidbit that came up in a recent New England Patriots column from ESPN's Mike Reiss. According to Reiss, the Eagles actually had interesting in extending Bradley Fletcher's contract prior to the 2014 season (hat tip to Birds 24/7):

"Seven-year veteran cornerback Bradley Fletcher is going to be one of the more interesting players to follow for the Patriots. If the season started today, he's probably one of the team's starters. What some might not realize is that prior to the 6-foot, 200-pound Fletcher flaming out in Philadelphia last season, the Eagles were considering signing him to a contract extension that would have reflected his value as a solid starter."

Talk about dodging a bullet. Fletcher really struggled in 2014, especially down the stretch. The Eagles seemingly made no attempt to re-sign him this offseason. The Patriots took a chance on him while the Eagles did everything they could to upgrade the cornerback position by signing Byron Maxwell and drafting some rookies.

A recent Football Outsiders article argued that Fletcher wasn't as bad in 2014 as he seemed. The author of the article specifically said Fletcher is an "above average" cornerback. That seems generous.

Fletcher appeared to be more serviceable in 2013 than he was in 2014, but he's never been a player that a team should be desperate to reward. It's best that the Eagles ultimately didn't get a deal done.