Joe Banner, longtime president of the Eagles, expressed regret over how he handled the Brian Dawkins situation a few years ago. "I think that there were times where the true appreciation we had for the contributions of some of our players, you know, Brian Dawkins comes to mind the most," Banner said. "That certain situations were handled in a way that maybe the true, sincere, deep caring we had for those people didn't show the way it should have. I think those players were close enough to us personally to know how we felt, but I also understand how perceptions are driven. And those are people we care about deeply and cherish and value and were invaluable to what we were trying to do here, and there were times I wish that could have been handled a little cleaner, primarily from a public relations perspective." Dawkins signed with the Broncos as a free agent at a time when it appeared that the Eagles had low-balled him. He went on to play three solid seasons with Denver.