The Eagles have signed first-round edge defender Marcus Smith to his four-year rookie contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports first reported earlier this afternoon (via Twitter) that the Eagles were closing in on an agreement with Smith, whose deal will also include a fifth-year team option for 2018.
Smith’s selection at 26th overall was viewed as a bit of a surprise, considering the Eagles already have Trent Cole and Connor Barwin at the outside linebacker spots in their 3-4 defense. Brandon Graham also played well when given the opportunity last season. Still, Smith had an excellent senior season at Louisville in 2013, racking up 14.5 sacks and being named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year. Philadelphia picked up the selection used to draft Smith in a trade with the Browns — the Eagles sent Cleveland the No. 22 pick and also received the No. 83 pick in the swap.
As Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap details, Smith’s signing bonus comes in at just under $4MM, while his four-year total amounts to nearly $7.8MM. Based on what we’ve seen from first-round signings so far, most – but not all – of that money should be guaranteed.
By signing Smith, the Eagles have now locked up all seven members of their 2014 draft class. To keep tabs on all of this year’s draft pick signings, be sure to check out our tracker.