The Sports Xchange

PHILADELPHIA — Chip Kelly has been a very busy boy since Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie made his head coach the team’s de facto general manager in early January.

He traded away his star running back (LeSean McCoy). He swapped quarterbacks with the St. Louis Rams, giving them Nick Foles in exchange for talented, but injury-cursed Sam Bradford.

He released his starting right guard (Todd Herremans), who had 124 career starts on his resume. He cut loose his best pass rusher (linebacker Trent Cole).

He handed out guaranteed money in free agency like it was candy, giving former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell, who has just 17 career starts, $25.5 million in non-refundable money, and another $28 million to running backs DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews and cornerback Walter Thurmond.

Then, over the weekend, he signed former Denver Broncos and New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, presumably to compete for the team’s No. 3 quarterback job behind Bradford and Mark Sanchez.

Throw in linebacker Kiko Alonso, who was acquired from Buffalo in the McCoy deal last month, and the Eagles, who finished 10-6 last season but missed the playoffs, are looking at having at least – at least – nine new offensive and defensive starters on the field when they open the season in September.

A lot of Kelly’s acquisitions come with buyer-beware tags. Bradford is coming off back-to-back ACL tears. Alonso missed all of last season with a torn ACL. Matthews was healthy for just eight games last season and has managed to play a full season just once in his five years in the NFL. Thurmond missed all of last season with a torn pectoral muscle.

“We don’t want to bring in injured players,” Kelly said. “But I think when players like that are available, there usually is a reason. Some guys are available because it’s a money reason and you don’t have the cap room or you’re not willing to go that high for that individual player. And some players are available because there was an injury.”

Kelly has used New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees as a classic example of a player who no one wanted because he was coming off a major injury (shoulder), but has turned out to be enormously successful.

“Give the Saints credit,” he said. “They didn’t count Brees out and look how it paid off for them. That’s some of the chances you take.”

Even with all of the changes and additions they’ve made, the Eagles still head into the draft with holes that need to be filled. They need a capable cover safety to line up next to Malcolm Jenkins. They need an edge rusher. They need a wide receiver to replace departed Jeremy Maclin. And they need young reinforcements for their offensive line.

While they addressed the corner position in free agency, they were unable to sign a safety. They were poised to make a play for New England’s Devin McCourty, but never got the chance. He re-signed with the Patriots. If they don’t find a safety in the draft, Earl Wolff and Jaylen Watkins are the leading in-house candidates.

While the Eagles cut Cole loose, they at least re-signed Brandon Graham, who had 5.5 sacks last season. But unless they’re planning on moving Alonso or Mychal Kendricks outside, they have no edge-rushing depth.

They tried to keep Maclin, who had a team-high 85 catches last season, but were outbid by the Kansas City Chiefs. Kelly is high on 2014 third-round pick Josh Huff, who had just eight catches last season. But since this draft has an extremely deep wide receiver class, the Eagles likely also will draft one.

Herreman’s tentative in-house replacement is 30-year-old journeyman Allen Barbre, who has just eight career starts and only one in the last four years. Left tackle Jason Peters and left guard Evan Mathis both are All-Pros. But they’re 33, and the Eagles need to start thinking about their potential replacements.

2014 Record: 10-6, 2nd in NFC East

First Draft Pick: #20 Overall

BEST FIT: WR Breshad Perriman, Central Florida

The Eagles lost their top wideout, Jeremy Maclin, in free agency. Kelly is a big believer in having long wideouts who can use their size to win battles for contested throws. Perriman is 6-foot-2 and ran a sub-4.3 at his Pro Day workout. He’s a little bit raw, but has powerful hands.

TEAM NEEDS

1. Safety: The Eagles bolstered the cornerback position in free agency, but still need to do something about the safety spot next to Malcolm Jenkins. That’s not going to be easy. This is a poor safety class.

2. Wide receiver: Their leading receiver, Jeremy Maclin, signed with Kansas City. Chip Kelly is bullish on second-year man Josh Huff as a possible replacement, but the Eagles also figure to draft one early. This is another outstanding wide receiver class.

3. Guard: The Eagles released long-time starter Todd Herremans. His tentative replacement is 30-year-old Allen Barbre, but he has just eight career starts. Their other guard, Evan Mathis, is 33 and has been on the trade block.