By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
While the players and coaches of the Eagles are busy preparing to play the Chicago Bears on Sunday in what they hope will be the first of many playoff wins this season, GM Howie Roseman is looking to the future.
All teams can begin signing players to futures contracts now that the season is over. Just because the Eagles made the playoffs does not mean Roseman is going to miss out on chances to improve the roster next season. On Thursday, the Birds signed Marken Michel, the brother of Patriots first-round pick Sony Michel, to a futures contract, according to Stampeders reporter Danny Austin.
I can tell you that:
Marken Michel will be signing with the Philadelphia Eagles, while James Vaughters will sign with the Chicago Bears— Danny Austin (@DannyAustin_9) January 3, 2019
Michel spent the last two seasons playing with the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football league. The wideout made 72 receptions for 1215 yards and eight touchdowns in that time. He was a nominee for the Rookie of the Year award in the CFL in 2017 prior to suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
Michel spent the 2016 training camp with the Vikings before being released at final roster cutdowns and heading to the CFL.
A similar story to Michel’s is that of Penn State alumni and defensive end Cameron Wake, who was picked up as an undrafted free agent, spent two seasons in the CFL, won Rookie of the Year and then returned to the NFL as one of the game’s best players. Obviously, that is not the norm and may not occur with Michel, but it certainly reminds you how big a minor signing like this could become.
Michel will officially join the team for training camp in the spring.
