TUESDAY, 10:23am: The deal is now official.
SUNDAY, 5:05pm: The Eagles have reached an agreement with free agent linebacker Stephen Tulloch, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter links). The deal is worth up to $3MM, and contains $1.75MM in guaranteed money, per Florio.
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Tulloch, 31, had long been connected to Philadelphia given the presence of new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who was Tulloch’s head coach in Detroit. The Eagles were said to be in “heavy negotiations” with Tulloch more than two weeks ago, but a contract apparently took awhile to hammer out.
Philadelphia has been on the lookout for help at linebacker, as multiple reports have indicated that the club wanted to add more talent to their front seven, a need that became even more pressing when seventh-round rookie Joe Walker went down with a torn ACL. Moving back to a 4-3 defense following three years playing a 3-4 front, the Eagles are projected to start Jordan Hicks at middle linebacker, with Nigel Bradham and Mychal Kendricks flanking him on either side
In his fifth year in Detroit, Tulloch started all 16 games, racking up 108 total tackles, one sack, and two fumble recoveries. However, he wasn’t quite an every-down player, as he saw time on less than 70% of the Lions’ defensive plays. Tulloch also graded out relatively poorly in Pro Football Focus’ rankings, placing as the No. 54 inside linebacker among 97 qualifiers.
The Dolphins had also recently expressed interest in Tulloch, and had discussed having him in for a workout. However, the club made it clear that it would only consider a cheap deal, which Tulloch apparently wasn’t willing to settle for.
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