HEADLINES

Philadelphia Eagles News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/23

July 26th, 2023 at 9:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: WR Cody Chrest
  • Placed on NFI: OT Caleb Jones
  • Waived/injured: WR Jeff Cotton

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Among the additions on today’s list, defensive back A.J. Moore is the most notable. The defensive back spent four years with the Texans to begin his career, compiling 69 tackles in 55 games while primarily playing on special teams. The 27-year-old spent a chunk of last season on the Titans practice squad, and he ultimately got into one game with the big-league club.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/23

July 25th, 2023 at 7:43pm CST by Ben Levine

With a number of teams preparing for the start of training camp, a long list of players were placed on inactive lists today. We’ve compiled all of those and today’s other minor moves below:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Free Agents

Isaiah Wilson hasn’t had an NFL gig since he was released by the Giants in January of 2022. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the free agent lineman was slapped with a three-game suspension, but it’s uncertain what led to the temporary ban. Wilson was a first-round pick by the Titans in 2020 but got into only one game with Tennessee before getting shipped off to Miami. He was waived by Miami after showing up late to his team physical, and his practice squad stint with New York only lasted one season.

Max Garcia is an experienced addition to the Saints OL room, with the veteran having most recently started seven of his 12 appearances with the Cardinals in 2022. The 31-year-old has 59 games of starting experience, although Pro Football Focus was iffy on his production last year (63rd among 77 qualifying offensive guards).

Following a three-year stint in Cleveland, Terrance Mitchell has spent the past two seasons bouncing around the NFL. He got into 14 games (13 starts) for the Texans in 2021, finishing with 60 tackles and 10 passes defended. He spent the 2022 season with the Titans, finishing with 39 tackles in 11 games (five starts). 49ers fifth-round pick Darrell Luter Jr. is set to miss some time with a knee injury, providing Mitchell with an opportunity during training camp.

Latest On Eagles’ RB Situation

July 20th, 2023 at 2:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Eagles will have a new running back group in 2023 after seeing Miles Sanders depart in free agency. A by-committee approach will be used, but some roster trimming will likely be necessary between now and Week 1.

Philadelphia will likely make one or more moves aimed at lowering the number of backs on the roster, as noted by Geoff Mosher of Inside the Birds. The top of the depth chart will feature newcomers D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny. The former was acquired via trade during the draft and is in line to operate as the team’s starter. The latter, signed in free agency, has shown lead-back abilities when on the field but struggled to remain healthy during his time with the Seahawks.

Aside from those two, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott remain in place as returnees in the backfield. Gainwell, a 2021 fifth-round pick, has seen snap shares of just 29% and 28% during his first two seasons in the league, but he totaled 40 touches during the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl, including a larger role than Sanders in the championship game. Scott has also served in a rotational capacity during his tenure in Philadelphia, one which began in 2018. The 28-year-old re-signed on a one-year contract in March.

That quartet represents plenty of experience and potential, but the Eagles also have Trey Sermon in the fold. A 49ers third-rounder in 2021, the Ohio State alum spent only one unproductive season in the Bay Area. San Francisco attempted to pass him through waivers during roster cutdowns last offseason, but the Eagles put in a claim. Sermon handled just two carries last season as a depth member of a crowded Philadelphia backfield.

That unit still has a logjam entering training camp, with 2022 UDFA Kennedy Brooks joining the aforementioned five backs in the summer competition. As Mosher notes, plenty will be determined in the coming weeks as (in all likelihood) Scott, Sermon and Brooks compete for as little as one roster spot behind Swift and Penny – who are pending free agents – and Gainwell, who has two years remaining on his rookie contract.

Eagles To Sign T Dennis Kelly

July 19th, 2023 at 6:38pm CST by Ely Allen

The Eagles have added some true, quality depth to their offensive line, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, signing veteran free agent offensive tackle Dennis Kelly. After seven seasons between Tennessee, Green Bay, and Indianapolis, Kelly returns to the team that drafted him eleven years ago.

Kelly was originally a fifth-round selection for Philadelphia in 2012 out of Purdue, starting 10 of 13 appearances as a rookie. The following season, Kelly didn’t make any appearances, while 2014 only saw him make three appearances, all starts. Despite the lack of playing time, the team signed Kelly to a one-year extension of his rookie contract prior to the 2015 season, keeping him under contract through the 2016 season. He started two games in 14 appearances that year, subsequently earning a second one-year extension through the 2017 season.

Before either of those extensions could be played out, the Eagles traded Kelly to Tennessee for wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. Kelly made an immediate impact in Nashville, starting six games while playing in all 16. He often was used as a sixth-man on the offensive line during rushing situations. His useful role on the Titans earned him yet another extension, this one a two-year deal.

Kelly continued in a swing tackle role over the next few years for the Titans, notably backing up tackles Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin, who consistently provided Kelly starting opportunities here and there for various reasons. When Conklin signed a big-money deal with the Browns, Tennessee made sure to lock up his replacement, inking Kelly to a new three-year, $17.25MM deal. This provided the then-eight-year veteran with his first opportunity as a full-time starter. Unfortunately, despite the new deal that was meant to keep him under contract through 2022, the Titans released Kelly shortly after his first season starting every game of the year.

A free agent for the first time in his career, Kelly signed with the Packers. After playing in 10 games, and starting four in place of an injured Billy Turner, Kelly signed with the Colts to end his second free agent stint. After failing to make the initial 53-man roster and being signed to the practice squad, Kelly still appeared in all but one game for the Colts last year, starting three.

His third stint in free agency will take him back to Philadelphia, where he will now add tackle depth for the team that drafted him. The Eagles’ starting tackles are in place with Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, but past them, there isn’t a ton of experienced, qualified depth. Kelly immediately provides just that for the 2023 season. He should be able to continue his career-role as a swing tackle with spot starting and special teams abilities.

Eagles Sign Fourth-Round CB Kelee Ringo, Finalize Draft Class Deals

July 17th, 2023 at 12:22pm CST by Adam La Rose

With training camp continuing to draw closer, the Eagles have finished the business of signing their draft class to their initial NFL contracts. The team announced on Monday that cornerback Kelee Ringo has inked his four-year rookie deal.

Philadelphia continued its recent practice of adding ex-Georgia defenders during the 2023 draft. Both of the team’s first-rounders (defensive tackle Jalen Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith) spent their college careers with the Bulldogs, as did Ringo. The latter was a key contributor in the secondary of the team’s back-to-back national title campaigns.

Ringo recorded a pair of interceptions and eight pass breakups in 2021, which led to increased expectations (and plenty of buzz regarding his draft stock) entering last season. The 6-2, 210-pounder once again notched two picks, and added seven PBUs, but his work in coverage led to underwhelming reviews. In a deep cornerback class, Ringo found himself having to wait until Day 3 to hear his name called.

Aside from the long list of college teammates Ringo will have in Philadelphia, the NFC champions represent a positive environment for him to begin his NFL tenure in. The Eagles retained Darius Slay on a two-year deal after appearing to be on the verge of releasing him, and gave fellow CB starter James Bradberry a three-year, $38MM pact. The continued presence of those two veterans will give Philadelphia notable stability in the secondary considering the exodus of several other key players in free agency, and allow Ringo to be brought along slowly as he adapts to the pro game.

With Ringo on the books, here is the final breakdown of the Eagles’ 2023 rookie class:

Round 1, No. 9 (from Bears): Jalen Carter, DT (Georgia) (signed)
Round 1, No. 30: Nolan Smith, LB (Georgia) (signed)
Round 3, No. 65 (from Texans): Tyler Steen, G (Alabama) (signed)
Round 3, No. 66 (from Cardinals): Sydney Brown, S (Illinois) (signed)
Round 4, No. 105 (Texans through Cardinals): Kelee Ringo, CB (Georgia) (signed)
Round 6, No. 188 (from Saints through Texans): Tanner McKee, QB (Stanford) (signed)
Round 7, No. 249 (from Chiefs through Lions): Moro Ojomo, DT (Texas) (signed)

Rookie DT Jalen Carter Faces Further Civil Charges Stemming From Fatal Crash

July 15th, 2023 at 5:34pm CST by Ely Allen

Despite his criminal proceedings wrapping up in a plea agreement back in March, Eagles rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter still faced a civil lawsuit stemming from a car crash that resulted in the death of teammate Devin Willock and a Georgia recruiting analyst, Chandler LeCroy. That original lawsuit was filed by Devin Willock Sr., the father of one of the deceased, but he now faces further civil charges being filed by another former recruiting analyst, Victoria S. Bowles, who was injured in the accident.

Willock’s original lawsuit for $40MM, targeted Carter specifically for $10MM. The suit noted two other occasions during which Carter received citations or tickets. It had also been reported that Carter’s driver license was suspended at the time of the accident. Carter had received misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing, paid a $1,013 fine, and is currently serving 12 months of probation, a fairly light sentence that seemed to indicate a lack of responsibility.

Bowles’s lawsuit levies a more severe allegation. According to Alan Judd of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bowles alleges that “Carter illegally left the scene without rendering aid to those injured in the crash.” The lawsuit says that Carter “was jointly responsible for the crash and had a legal duty to remain on the scene.” It details that, “instead, in part obviously fearful of bad publicity and the effect on his NFL draft status, he hoped not to be questioned or take any responsibility for his actions.”

It’s unclear what specifically is being sought from Carter in this suit, but Bowles is reportedly seeking reimbursement for over $170K-worth of medical bills as well as unreported amounts for future expenses, wage loss, mental and physical pain and suffering, and punitive damages. The lawsuit detailed the injuries sustained by Bowles in the crash as “broken vertebrae and ribs, a fractured clavicle, and broken and cracked teeth; lacerations to her kidney and liver; a punctured and collapsed lung; abdominal bleeding; neurological damage from a head injury that causes severe eye pain; and a spinal-cord injury that could progress to permanent paralysis.”

Whatever isn’t being sought from Carter, Bowles is suing the university’s athletic association for. Bowles’s complaint includes screenshots of texts from program officials permitting Bowles and LeCroy to take the recruiting SUVs used in the accident to their personal residences overnight. She asserts that the athletic association overlooked LeCroy’s “deplorable driving history and habitual operation of motor vehicles at high and unsafe speeds.”

Specifically, the lawsuits points to an incident in which the staffer who granted the two permission to take the vehicles home was a passenger as LeCroy received a ticket for driving 77 mph in a 55-mph zone, her fourth such violation in six years and the second that qualified for enhanced penalties due to Georgia’s “super speeder” law. For the same incident, a separate Georgia staffer “asked a court clerk to reduce the speed on the ticket” to avoid those enhanced penalties, a precedent that Bowles claims “gave LeCroy an understanding that the association would continue to intervene on her behalf in relation to future speeding violations, thus encouraging and facilitating her high-speed driving and reckless conduct.”

Carter’s initial reported involvement in the incident, combined with a poor showing at the school’s pro day, led to a number of teams taking Carter off their draft boards entirely. Eventually, the Eagles decided to trade up for him after an evaluation process which did not include extensive vetting of the crash. He has since signed his four-year rookie contract with the Eagles, which has a total value of $21.81MM.

Unlike the Willock-suit, the athletic association isn’t calling the claims “baseless,” but they are choosing to “strongly defend (their) position” by claiming that neither LeCroy nor Bowles “were on duty or acting within the scope of their employment in the hours leading up to the accident.” The initial response does not address the overlooking of LeCroy’s driving history.

Similar to the Willock-suit, Carter’s representation “did not immediately respond” to the lawsuit. It’s unclear whether Carter and his team will deploy the defensive tactics that the university has chosen to adopt or if he will be more cooperative. Regardless, the resolution of both lawsuits is something to keep an eye on as Carter begins his professional career.

2023 NFL Dead Money, By Team

July 14th, 2023 at 4:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Accounting for players who appear on teams’ cap sheets but not on their rosters, dead money is a factor for all 32 teams. This year, dead money comprises more than 20% of five teams’ payrolls. Two teams who followed through (successfully) with all-in missions in recent years — the Buccaneers and Rams — each have more than 30% of their payrolls devoted to dead-cap hits.

Going into training camp, here is how dead money factors into each team’s cap sheet:

  1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $75.32MM
  2. Los Angeles Rams: $74.23MM
  3. Green Bay Packers: $57.14MM
  4. Philadelphia Eagles: $54.73MM
  5. Carolina Panthers: $51.54MM
  6. Arizona Cardinals: $36.96MM
  7. Tennessee Titans: $36.56MM
  8. Minnesota Vikings: $35.54MM
  9. Houston Texans: $31.72MM
  10. Las Vegas Raiders: $29.95MM
  11. Indianapolis Colts: $24.89MM
  12. New Orleans Saints: $24.58MM
  13. Chicago Bears: $23.52MM
  14. Washington Commanders: $23.01MM
  15. New York Giants: $22.74MM
  16. New England Patriots: $21.82MM
  17. Atlanta Falcons: $18.78MM
  18. Detroit Lions: $18.69MM
  19. Seattle Seahawks: $17.91MM
  20. San Francisco 49ers: $17.16MM
  21. Cleveland Browns: $16MM
  22. Dallas Cowboys: $14.64MM
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: $13.26MM
  24. Baltimore Ravens: $10.78MM
  25. Denver Broncos: $9.72MM
  26. Miami Dolphins: $8.43MM
  27. New York Jets: $7.95MM
  28. Kansas City Chiefs: $7.65MM
  29. Buffalo Bills: $5.23MM
  30. Jacksonville Jaguars: $4.7MM
  31. Los Angeles Chargers: $2.19MM
  32. Cincinnati Bengals: $593K

No team broke the Falcons’ record for dead money devoted to a single player. The Falcons’ Matt Ryan trade left them with $40.52MM last year. But the Bucs and Rams incurred some dead money collectively this offseason.

Tom Brady‘s Tampa Bay exit created much of the Bucs’ issue here. Brady not signing another Bucs deal, instead retiring for a second time, accelerated $35.1MM in dead money onto the Bucs’ 2023 cap sheet. The team had used void years increasingly during Brady’s tenure, and his second restructure created the $35.1MM figure. The Bucs will swallow the post-Brady pill this year, with no dead money related to that contract on their books in 2024.

Three ex-Rams combine to take up $55MM of their dead-money haul. The Rams traded Allen Robinson to the Steelers earlier this year, but that three-year, $46.5MM deal Los Angeles authorized in 2022 will result in Robinson’s former team carrying a $21.5MM dead-money hit in 2023. The Rams are eating $19.6MM of Jalen Ramsey‘s contract, and bailing on Leonard Floyd‘s four-year, $64MM extension after two seasons moved $19MM in dead money to L.A.’s 2023 payroll. The Rams did not use the post-June 1 designation to release Floyd, keeping the dead money on that deal tied to 2023 only.

The Packers did come close to breaking the Falcons’ record for dead money on a single contract. Green Bay following through on the Aaron Rodgers trade left $40.31MM in dead money on this year’s Packers cap. Because the Packers traded Rodgers before June 1, that hit will be entirely absorbed this year. It also took a Rodgers restructure on his way out to move the cap damage down to $40MM. The Panthers trading Christian McCaffrey after June 1 last year left the second chunk of dead money ($18.35MM) to be carried on this year’s cap. It also cost Carolina $14.63MM in dead cap to trade D.J. Moore to the Bears.

The Bears used both their post-June 1 cut designations last year (Tarik Cohen, Danny Trevathan) and also have a $13.23MM Robert Quinn cap hold. The Cardinals had already used their two allotted post-June 1 cut designations this offseason. As result, DeAndre Hopkins is on Arizona’s books at $21.1MM this year. Because they cut the All-Pro wide receiver before June 1, the Cards will be free of Hopkins obligations after this year.

While the Raiders built in the escape hatch in Derek Carr‘s 2022 extension, keeping the dead money on their nine-year QB’s contract low, Cory Littleton — a 2022 post-June 1 cut — still counts nearly $10MM on their cap sheet. Fellow 2022 post-June 1 release Julio Jones still counts more than $8MM on the Titans’ payroll. The Cowboys went to the post-June 1 well with Ezekiel Elliott this year, but their 2022 designation (La’el Collins) leads the way with $8.2MM on this year’s Dallas payroll.

Eagles Were Split On Jalen Hurts’ Trajectory During 2020 Draft

July 12th, 2023 at 2:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles’ 2020 first-round decision generated some intrigue, especially as Justin Jefferson made a quick ascent to the All-Pro level and put together the most prolific three-year receiving stretch to start a career in NFL history. The Eagles were split on Jefferson and Jalen Reagor, going with the latter, who was preferred by Howie Roseman and the team’s coaching staff.

That call obviously proved incorrect, with Reagor now one of Jefferson’s sidekicks in Minnesota after an August 2022 trade. But the Eagles made a better choice, albeit an unexpected one, a round later. An extensive research effort into Jalen Hurts, which had begun during his senior year at Oklahoma, led Philly to pull the trigger on the ex-Sooners quarterback in Round 2. The move came despite the organization having extended Carson Wentz less than a year prior.

The Eagles decided on Hurts over safety Jeremy Chinn, with some in the organization preferring to add the Southern Illinois product — who later went to the Panthers at the end of Round 2 — instead of taking a quarterback so early. Again, the Roseman-Doug Pederson preference won out.

“Coach Pederson and myself liked Jeremy Chinn, but our job is to determine the vision and then make sure it’s executed,” Roseman said, via The Athletic’s Dan Pompei (subscription required). “So when we were on the clock and having those conversations, it really came down to the quarterback versus safety. The quarterback we like. The safety we like. We’re going with the quarterback.”

Hurts as a second-round option came about partially because the organization did not want a repeat of 2012, when it intended to take Russell Wilson in the third round before seeing the Seahawks swoop and taking the future Pro Bowl mainstay at No. 75. With no pro days in 2020 — due to the COVID-19 pandemic — the Eagles did not have a good idea how other teams valued Hurts, with Pompei adding the team believed it was possible the ex-Oklahoma and Alabama passer fell into Round 3. But the Wilson experience helped lead to the Eagles ruling out the prospect of waiting until Round 3 for Hurts.

Philly made that pivotal pick at No. 51 overall, leading to outside skepticism due to Wentz’s presence. Some inside the Eagles’ building were not entirely sold on Hurts as well.

“[Hurts] was a polarizing figure in the sense that some people liked him, some saw him as a developmental quarterback and some thought he was a backup,” former Eagles exec Ian Cunningham, now the Bears’ assistant GM, said (via Pompei). “I thought he was a developmental quarterback that had upside.”

At the time, the team based the move on wanting a better backup option behind Wentz. Teams do not exactly make a habit of choosing backup QBs in Round 2, but the Eagles have needed a number of QB2 contributions this century. Donovan McNabb went down with a broken ankle during the 2002 season, leading to A.J. Feeley and Koy Detmer seeing extensive time for an Eagles team that earned the NFC’s top seed. McNabb was lost for the year late in the 2006 season, moving UFA addition Jeff Garcia into the fray. The organization’s controversial decision to sign Michael Vick after his prison term in 2009 led to him replacing McNabb in 2010, and 2012 third-rounder Nick Foles eventually usurped Vick three years later. Foles delivered one of the NFL’s most famous fill-in performances in 2017, taking over for an injured Wentz to lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl title. The Eagles, however, soon made bigger plans for Hurts.

The Eagles cleared the Hurts move with Wentz, with Pederson calling his then-starter to inform him of the pick. But the five-year Eagle struggled in 2020, leading to a late-season benching. The Eagles soon traded Wentz to the Colts, and Jeffrey Lurie angled for the organization not to bring in a starter-caliber QB in 2021. That led to Hurts being given a legitimate opportunity. Lurie was believed to be behind Hurts, even when Roseman had questions about his ceiling, and the Eagles — after showing interest in Wilson and Deshaun Watson — stuck with the former second-rounder last year.

Philly staying with Hurts turned out to be a seminal decision, as the team booked another Super Bowl berth. The Eagles went 16-1 in games Hurts started prior to the Chiefs matchup, with the third-year QB showing significant improvement as a passer. Hurts’ 2022 season earned him a then-record-setting five-year, $255MM extension from the Eagles in April. The Eagles also greenlit their Wentz extension shortly after he became extension-eligible; they will hope the Hurts Year 4 investment turns out better.

Olamide Zaccheaus To Vie For Eagles’ Slot WR Role

July 7th, 2023 at 9:49pm CST by Ely Allen

Aside from running back Miles Sanders, who departed for Carolina in free agency, the Eagles return every starting skill player on offense. For an offense that finished last year second in the league in scoring and total yardage, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for improvement. Still the defending NFC Champions may have found a spot at which to improve, according to Geoff Mosher and Andrew DiCecco of Inside the Birds.

The 2022 Eagles saw quarterback Jalen Hurts spoiled with three star pass catchers in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert. Quez Watkins contributed out of the slot with 33 catches for 354 yards, but that was a big step back from a sophomore campaign that saw him catch 43 balls for 647 yards.

That makes the offseason free agent addition of former Falcons wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus fairly noteworthy. While Watkins took a step back in 2022, Zaccheaus has done nothing but improve year after year. In a year that saw Atlanta struggle behind the arms of Marcus Mariota and rookie Desmond Ridder, Zaccheaus delivered his best statistical season alongside a star-starved cast of rookie Drake London, Damiere Byrd, and KhaDarel Hodge.

With a 2022 line of 40 receptions for 533 yards and three touchdowns and the ability to progress each season, Zaccheaus provides an exciting potential upgrade for Philadelphia on offense. Watkins struggled at times last year, arguably playing a role in some of the team’s few losses. Zaccheaus provides more dependable hands, as well as a size and skill-set not possessed by the team’s top two wideouts.

The team’s fourth receiver last year, Zach Pascal, performed more as a blocker than a receiver, and he can continue in that role in 2023. If unseated by Zaccheaus, Watkins can rotate with Pascal as the fourth receiver, depending on the situation, or fill in for Brown or Smith if either need a breather or get injured.

So Hurts’s targets could look slightly different next year. Aside from new running backs D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny leading that room now, Hurts could be throwing to wide receivers Brown, Smith, and Zaccheaus and the tight end, Goedert, with Watkins and Pascal coming off the bench.

Eagles Eyeing Nicholas Morrow As LB Starter

July 6th, 2023 at 11:44am CST by Sam Robinson

While the Eagles carried notable veteran linebacker contracts on their books in the not-so-distant past, the team has shifted toward a low-cost blueprint at this position in recent years. The defending NFC champions continued down this road this offseason.

Philadelphia let both its Super Bowl LVII regulars at linebacker — T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White — walk in free agency rather than pay up to keep them. Beyond Tremaine Edmunds and Bobby Okereke‘s deals, paying up did not mean upper-crust salaries. The next tier of starter-caliber ILBs received between $5-$7MM in free agency. The friendly market did not prompt Philly to go off-script.

After a developmental year as a second-stringer, 2022 third-rounder Nakobe Dean is in line to start. As of now, a Division III success story is favored to join him as the Eagles’ other ILB regular. Nicholas Morrow, who signed a one-year deal worth just $1.16MM, sits as the frontrunner to start alongside Dean, Zach Berman of The Athletic notes (subscription required).

Morrow, who will turn 28 next week, did not come close to matching Dean’s prospect profile. He played at Greenville (Ill.) University and caught on with the Raiders as a UDFA in 2017. But the unlikely long-term NFLer has extensive experience in starting lineups. Morrow has worked as a first-stringer in 46 games, including 17 for the Bears last season. The seventh-year vet established career-high totals in tackles (116) and tackles for loss (11). This came after Morrow suffered what turned out to be a season-ending ankle injury during a training camp practice in August 2021.

Despite Morrow making his way back from that malady to be a full-timer on a rebuilding Bears team, Pro Football Focus slotted him outside the top 60 at the position. PFF did grade Morrow as a top-30 ILB option in 2020, however.

During Morrow’s second free agency foray, he could not come especially close to the above-referenced second tier of the off-ball linebacker market. While Edwards, White and ex-Eagle starter Alex Singleton fetched AAVs between $5MM and $6.5MM (from the Bears, Cardinals and Broncos), Morrow joined the Eagles for no guaranteed money. This could create a wide range of outcomes come training camp, as players without guarantees are obviously simpler cut candidates. Third-year UDFA Christian Elliss might push Morrow for playing time, per Berman, but the young defender has only played 29 career defensive snaps.

The Eagles once carried Mychal Kendricks and Nigel Bradham extensions on their payroll, though Bradham’s 2018 contract (five years, $40MM) only coexisted with Kendricks’ Chip Kelly-era extension for two months. The Eagles cut Kendricks in May 2018. Since releasing Bradham after the 2019 season, the team has rolled with bottom-tier contracts on its defensive second level. Dean fits the mold, being signed to a rookie deal through 2025. Morrow, who has never played in an NFL postseason game, will have a chance to carve out a higher-profile role for himself on his league-minimum deal.

Load More Posts