Curtis Signs with Eagles

The Vikings were one of five teams actively pursuing free-agent WR Kevin Curtis, but the Philadelphia Eagles came away with the expensive prize.

The five-team scrum for Kevin Curtis came to an end Thursday, almost two weeks after he started his free-agent visits. Curtis agreed to a six-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles that Scout.com’s Tony Pauline reports is worth up to $32 million, including $9.5 million in guarantees with a $7.5 million signing bonus.

Curtis had a cap number of $1.577 million last year with the St. Louis Rams and was the top-ranked free-agent receiver in 2007, according to Scout.com.

Curtis started his visits on the opening day of free agency with a trip to the Vikings. He continued on to the Detroit Lions, then eventually made his way to the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and finally the Tennessee Titans earlier this week.

“Kevin’s a guy that we’ve liked all along,” Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said in a statement. “He’s got great speed and run-after-the-catch ability. Kevin’s a calm, smart guy that just goes out and plays football. He definitely brings tremendous speed to our team.”
In the last three years as the Rams’ No. 3 receiver, Curtis has caught 32, 60 and 40 passes, respectively, with a career-best 801 yards in 2005. In four years with the receiver-rich Rams, the 5-foot-11, 186-pounder made 11 starts, catching 136 passes for 1,714 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Curtis’ contract is similar to the one his replacement with the St. Louis Rams, Drew Bennett, signed earlier in free agency. Bennett signed a six-year, $30 million deal that included $9.5 million in guaranteed money. Bennett started 57 games in six years with the Tennessee Titans. The 6-foot-5, 206-pounder has 273 catches for 4,033 and 25 touchdowns.

A native of South Jordan, Utah, Curtis walked on at Utah State in 2000, only to be redshirted that year. After leading the nation in receptions per game in 2001, he earned a scholarship in 2002 and went on to earn All-America honors that year. In just two seasons, Curtis caught a school-record 171 passes for 2,789 yards, the second-most in team history.