Jim Trimble, the former Philadelphia Eagles head coach who spent more than four decades in professional football, has died. Trimble died Tuesday at his home in Indianapolis after a battle with emphysema, the New York Giants said Wednesday. He was 87. Trimble was the Eagles' coach from 1952-55 and later coached in the Canadian Football League. He spent 12 years as the Giants' director of player personnel, beginning in 1969, and was a consultant to the organization for more than a decade.

The Eagles have announced that Paul Grasmanis has retired from the NFL. Grasmanis posted 126 tackles and 10.5 sacks in 54 games in Philadelphia since the year 2000.

The Philadelphia Eagles have signed Univerity of Texas Quarterback Matt Nordgren. Nordgren was the backup of the Tennessee Titans' third overall selection and Rose Bowl MVP Vince Young. Nordgren played high school football with Eagles running back Ryan Moats in Dallas.

Philadelphia traded wide receiver Billy McMullen to Minnesota for rookie free-agent receiver Hank Baskett. A third-round draft pick in 2003, McMullen never really found a steady role in Philadelphia with 22 catches for 294 yards and one touchdown in three seasons. He'll be reunited with news Vikings coach and former Eagles offensive coordinator, Brad Childress, and quarterback Mike McMahon in Minnesota.

There was a point last season when Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb felt his teammates were starting to lose confidence in him. Now it seems many of those fears have gone away and McNabb is throwing the ball like it is his rookie season again. Asked if he is confident now that his teammates have his back, McNabb replied with those words. Flash back to the Super Bowl: McNabb acknowledged he wasn't pleased that teammates said they wanted Owens back on the team, after T.O. was suspended. "What message does that send to you?" he asked that day. By Saturday, McNabb clearly was ready to move on, to the extent that he declared: "There never was a point where I felt I was losing my teammates." Running back Brian Westbrook, among others, said that was true. "I think last year our confidence in each other as a team, not just in Donovan, or not just in any other player, it just kind of wavered, because we were losing," Westbrook said yesterday. "When you lose, you second-guess things, you wonder why, why - why are we losing? Is it because the running back can't run, or the quarterback can't throw? You just question a lot of things. I don't think it was anything directly toward Donovan or anybody else, but as the leader of the team, he always is the focal point of all the arguments, whether that's good or bad. Everybody looks to him and wonders, 'Why?' "As a team, we still have confidence in Donovan. We still have confidence in our offensive line and everything. We just have to close things in a little bit tighter, we just have to work a little bit harder."

Brian Dawkins is 32 and entering his 11th NFL season. He's also entering the final year of his contract with the Eagles. Unlike some of his former teammates, Dawkins did not boycott minicamp, and he has no plans to be a late arrival to training camp at Lehigh in July. The five-time Pro Bowl free safety acknowledged, however, that he'd love to continue his career with the Eagles beyond this season. "I have said from the beginning that I would love to finish my career here," Dawkins said. "It's the place that I started. I have a great connection with the fans. I always have. I love being here and playing here. If I had my choice, I would certainly want to end my career here."

Freddie Mitchell continues to wait for an NFL team to give him another chance. "I don't want to say I'm being blackballed, and I know it's not Andy Reid," Mitchell said, excusing his former head coach. "But somebody is blackballing me. There has to be something going on we don't know about." Mitchell admits his health was a question last year after he injured his knee in training camp with Kansas City and received an injury settlement from the Chiefs after he was released. "I guess some people in Philadelphia didn't get the memo I was hurt," he said. "But I'm healthy now, the knee is fine. I'm working out with T.O. (Terrell Owens, for those who live under a rock) in Atlanta just waiting for something to happen. Camps don't open until July, so there is still some time."

Westbrook expects to contribute much more than a little bit. The Eagles have given the 5-9, 205-pound running back out of Villanova assurances he will be used in a fashion befitting a Pro Bowl performer that only last fall signed a five-year, $25 million contract extension. "Coach (Andy) Reid said he was going to hand the ball off a lot this year, so I?m trying to get ready for that," Westbrook said. "And I?m definitely working forward to it. I?ve always said the more I touch the ball the more I get into a rhythm, and the better I will be as a player. Last year I didn?t touch it as much in the run game as I wanted to, and pretty much every game we already had a great player on our team with T.O. And Donovan was able to make plays, as well.

The Philadelphia Eagles are giving an NFL chance to Jeremy Bloom, the Olympic skier who was a wide receiver and kick returner at the University of Colorado. The Eagles, as part of their busy draft weekend, selected Bloom in the fifth round yesterday. Bloom abandoned college football before the 2004 season after losing an eligibility fight with the NCAA but wants to return to the sport. He hurried to the scouting combine in Indianapolis in late February after returning from the Olympics in Turin, Italy, and gradually worked back into football-playing shape. He said at the combine he was retiring from skiing to devote his full attention to football.