🦅 Hold that line | Sports Daily Newsletter

The NFL draft begins Thursday night and it’s a relief for the Eagles not to feel so darn needy going into it. Winning a Super Bowl will do that for you.

Before Howie Roseman gets a chance to work his latest draft magic, the Eagles have taken care of a vital piece of business, further rewarding the best offensive line in football. Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens agreed to a four-year contract extension that is worth $68 million, according to an NFL source.

That means the Eagles will have four of their five linemen under contract for at least the next few years, including Jurgens, guard Landon Dickerson, and tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. With line coach Jeff Stoutland at the controls, they should be as dominant as ever, if they can stay healthy, which is a big if.

Jurgens played through some serious back pain through the Super Bowl and had surgery about a week later. He is still working through his rehab process.

“When you’re playing for a Super Bowl, that’s going to last forever,” Jurgens said. “Back pain’s going to last however long it wants to last, but I’m going to be a Super Bowl champ forever.”

Even with the big guys locked in, don’t be surprised to see the Eagles draft more help for the offensive line. You know Howie.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, [email protected].

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❓ Who was the Eagles’ best draft pick ever? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Just 41.5% of the pitches that Bryce Harper has seen have been in the strike zone. That’s the lowest percentage in baseball. And it’s also why Phillies manager Rob Thomson moved Kyle Schwarber behind Harper in the lineup two weeks ago and has kept him there since. Harper thinks that the one-two punch puts the pitcher on edge.

Francisco Lindor homered twice on Monday night as the Phillies’ ninth-inning rally fell short in a 5-4 loss to the New York Mets.

Next: The Phillies continue their series against the Mets at 7:10 tonight (NBCSP). Cristopher Sánchez (2-0, 2.96 ERA) will start against Mets right-hander Griffin Canning (2-1, 3.43).

Let’s see what Howie Roseman can do for an encore after last year’s fantastic draft. Our EJ Smith plays NFL Nostradamus by predicting what the Eagles will do this time, round by round. How about a trade out of the first round and a chance to draft one of those offensive linemen to develop? Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson could fit the bill.

On Tuesday, the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial will finally begin in London, Ontario, almost a full seven years after the first allegations were made.

Former Flyers goalie Carter Hart, whose contract with the team expired last summer, was one of five former NHL players who were charged in connection with the case last February.

Here’s what you need to know about the case ahead of the first day of the trial.

The Ivy League dropped to what was long known as Division I-AA football in the 1982 season. This fall will be the first in which its teams will be allowed to play in that level’s postseason. Penn coach Ray Priore is glad to finally get a chance at a playoff game.

“I think it’s great for Ivy League football, and I think it’s great for kids that we’re trying to recruit — they want to see themselves play at the next level,” Priore said. “Through my time here, we’ve had some teams that we feel probably could have done some damage.”

Who holds the Phillies’ career record for doubles with 479? First with the correct answer here will be featured in the newsletter.

A) Jimmy Rollins

B) Chase Utley

C) Ed Delahanty

D) Mike Schmidt

We asked you: What is wrong with the Phillies’ bullpen? How can they fix it? Among your responses:

Why is it so difficult for Rob Thompson to learn: when your relief pitcher (Alvarado) comes in, sets down the Marlins 1,2,3 (with, what, 9/10 pitches), in the ninth inning, and you don’t send him BACK out in the tenth inning! COME ON MAN! GO FOR THE WIN! — George M.

You are correct, let the starters go longer. All our starters are relieved somewhere around 100 pitches. I know Robin Roberts’ arm didn’t fall off after he finished a game with 130 pitches or more. Bullpen is a mess now — the only one we can rely on is Alvarado. Something has to be done, but you and I don’t make those decisions. — Frank P.

I’m not sure it can be, at least in the near future. Getting rid of Hoffman didn’t help. And Topper doesn’t help with his short hook with the starters. He should have let Luzardo at least start the 8th yesterday. And why does he only let them pitch only 1 inning, even if they struck out the side? Hopefully they will improve as the season goes on. Fingers crossed. — Jack H.

Biggest problem for the bullpen is the absence of Jeff Hoffman who right now is 3-0 at 1.59 with the Blue Jays. All the money John Middleton has spent to build this team and then they let Jeff go. That made zero sense and now they realize that too late. So now we have Kerkering at 4.50, Romano at 15.26, Ruiz at 6.14, Hernandez 9.00, and Ross at 7.45 and the Met batters just salivating thinking how much fun it will be to get to these guys. Other than buying Jeff back, I have no idea how to fix it. Big mistake by management. — Everett S.

Bluntly put — not enough talent. And a ton of inconsistency from those who are talented. The Phils seem to pick up players with injury histories and subpar records. Also Thomson has a short memory and puts players in after they have performed terribly. Too many second chances. Extremely poor decision to not re-sign Jeff Hoffman. He is sorely missed. And trade Romano to a Little League team. — Kathy T.

Help needed in more than one place. Aaron Nola a possible consideration for work in innings 6-7-8? I am not sure of the stats but he seems to be effective for 2-3 innings most of his starts and our “low leverage” pen has not been good. Help from Lehigh Valley starting or relief pitching sooner than later would be nice. — Dave H.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Olivia Reiner, Lochlahn March, Gabriela Carroll, Jackie Spiegel, Isabella DiAmore, Gina Mizell, EJ Smith, and Jonathan Tannenwald.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thanks for reading. Bella will be at the newsletter controls on Wednesday. — Jim