Vinny Curry won’t have to answer those tough questions anymore.
No, not the ones from Philadelphia’s hard-nosed media. The ones from his family.
“I won’t get a text message from my cousins, my little nephews saying ‘Hey, how come you’re always on the trading block on Madden?’” Curry said on Wednesday afternoon. “I had no answer for them.”
He won’t need answers anymore. After years of rumors and speculation, Curry, 27, isn’t getting traded anytime soon in Madden or in real life.
Curry, who was set to become a free agent, became a very rich man on Wednesday when he signed a five-year, $47.25 million contract with $23 million guaranteed. Aside from his newfound wealth, Curry also found a sense of relief.
The Neptune, N.J. native is where he wants to be — playing for his favorite childhood team for the foreseeable future.
“I really can’t see myself playing nowhere else,” he said at a news conference. “At the end of the day, man, I bleed green. That’s just what it is.”
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And it almost didn’t happen. Before the Eagles fired Chip Kelly, which by association ended Bill Davis’ time as defensive coordinator, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Curry, a 2012 second-round pick, wouldn’t return.
When asked on Wednesday, Curry said he didn’t think he would be back without a scheme change.
So when the team hired Doug Pederson and then defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who runs a 4-3, Curry realized he’d once again fit with the Eagles.
“I couldn’t stop smiling, man,” he said. “I couldn’t stop smiling. You guys know me. I love to smile, I love to joke around, I love to have fun. But at the same time, I couldn’t be happier.”
For the last three years, Curry has been forced to play defensive end in Davis’ 3-4 system, while he clearly seemed more suited to be an end in a 4-3. In 2015, he played 35 percent of the team’s defensive snaps, the most of his NFL career, but not nearly as many snaps as he’d like.
Now, Curry expects to start.
“That’s the goal,” he said.
But the last three years were tough, and Curry took it all in stride. He never publicly ripped the coaching staff or begged for more playing time. Instead, he likened himself to a sixth man in basketball who comes off the bench to provide a spark.
Still, tough.
“That weighs on you a lot,” said Curry, who would vent to various members of the staff to calm him down. “At the end of the day, things are going to take care of themselves.”
Things took care of themselves in a big way this week. Curry’s deal came on the heels of the Eagles’ re-signing Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson and Brent Celek. Curry said he knew he was next and he thinks it won’t be long before it’s Fletcher Cox’s turn.
While Curry had nine sacks in 2014, he had just 3½ this past year. So why did he warrant that big contract?
“One, because when you look at what’s important to us when we build this team, and that comes from the coaching staff, it’s getting pressure on the quarterback and finding pass rushers and how hard it is to find pass rushers in this league, especially proven pass rushers,” VP of football operations Howie Roseman said.
Roseman pointed toward Curry’s 2014 and said if the two years were flipped, the question would be: How do you let that guy go?
In his brief statement to start his press conference, Curry thanked everyone: Jeff Lurie, Roseman, the PR staff, the media and “Greg [Delimitros] the equipment guy.” Curry said his familiarity with the entire organization and the city would have made it hard for him to leave, although he admitted he was tempted to test the free agent market.
In the end, though, Curry is where he wants to be.
“I knew I was coming back,” he said. “Because I know who I am. … I don’t want to say I knew I was coming back … but I wanted to come back.”