Philly spurned and burned: Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Mike Williams won’t be Eagles | Marcus Hayes

The blows landed hard and painful, like Ali pounding Frazier in Manila.

It was a bruising combination: Within two hours, the Eagles’ three top possible targets all landed in other towns. Aaron Rodgers staying in Green Bay broke right before lunch; then, Mike Williams remaining in Los Angeles long-term with the Chargers; and, worst of all, Russell Wilson choosing Denver, not Philadelphia.

Bam. Bam. WHAM.

Landing Rodgers always was the longest of shots for the Eagles. For one thing, he’s happy in Wisconsin, which is rarely said. The Packers ceded him all the power he desired last offseason, when he threatened to force his way out of Green Bay. The Packers even allowed him to repeatedly violate COVID-19 protocols. They uttered nary a word of criticism about anything, and he responded with a second consecutive MVP season, his fourth overall. And so, on Tuesday, they reportedly agreed to an extension that will pay him $200 million over four years, $153 million of it guaranteed.

He’s 38.

It’s a bargain.

Of course, Rodgers disputed the reported terms. He is, if nothing else, truculent.

At any rate, any trade for Rodgers would’ve cost the Eagles every chance of rebuilding their flawed roster cheaply. Further, Rodgers — as narcissistic and duplicitous a person as you’d ever want to meet — wouldn’t have subjected himself to the rigors of an East Coast media mob. No. it’s probably best for everyone that he remains in a backwater Midwestern city, sending smug Tuesday messages through a podcast hosted by a guy in a tank top spewing profanity every third word.

But damn, it sure would’ve been a hell of a thing to watch the greatest passer in NFL history perform behind an elite offensive line.

Like Rodgers, Mike Williams, a pending free agent, never was likely to land in Philadelphia. The Chargers were always expected to at least slap a franchise tag on the wide receiver, but they beat that deadline Tuesday by reportedly guaranteeing him $40 million as part of a three-year, $60 million contract.

Would the Eagles have done as much? Absolutely, said one league source. As they should have.

Not able to trade for Rodgers or Russell Wilson, and not brave enough to enter the Deshaun Watson debate just yet, the Eagles are serious about surrounding Jalen Hurts with the best weapons. Williams, 27, would have been the best healthy, low-mileage weapon, since Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin is hurt, and Green Bay’s Devante Adams is entering his ninth season, and they got franchised, too.

Williams just posted his second 1,000-yard season, with nine touchdowns, as Justin Herbert’s No. 2 weapon. Former Chargers coach Anthony Lynn once said he saw shades of Terrell Owens in Williams, a 6-foot-4 beast who just enjoyed a breakout fifth season.

This is precisely the sort burgeoning talent Howie Roseman and the Eagles tend to pounce on: Think Troy Vincent, Jon Runyan, and Jason Peters.

Now, they won’t have to chance.

Get ready for all of that scintillating talk about JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Apologies for the poor pun, but when faced with the chance to upgrade from Jalen Hurts to Russell Wilson — no matter how slight the possibility — it’s painful to see the opportunity slip away. Yes, Wilson wanted to stay away from the rugged East Coast, and yes, the Seahawks wanted to expel him from the NFC, but stranger things have happened.

The Broncos reportedly will send two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and a fifth-round pick, along with fourth-year quarterback Drew Lock (yawn) and a pair of productive veterans, defensive lineman Shelby Harris and tight end Noah Fant. Wilson arrives from Seattle with a fourth-round pick.

Denver wins. Philly would have, too, if it had been in the race; if, to be fair, Wilson allowed them into the race.

» READ MORE: Russ or Bust: The Eagles should trade first-round draft picks for Russell Wilson | Marcus Hayes

Wilson had a no-trade clause, so he controlled his destiny, but he’s destined to regret this Mile High move. Yes, the Seahawks’ offensive line was one of the worst in the NFL, but let’s see how happy Wilson is in November after half a season of playing for behind Denver’s lousy blockers, whose 28 sacks surrendered ranked 27th in the league. The Eagles, meanwhile, ranked No. 4 in overall line play, according to profootballfocus.com. They haven’t been out of the top 10 since 2015, and they’ve averaged about a No. 5 ranking the past six seasons.

Rodgers, Wilson, Williams: gone. It hurts. But, just like Frazier, Philly’s going to keep on punching.