6:19pm: The Eagles have announced that they’ve officially signed McLeod.
11:45am: The Eagles and free agent safety Rodney McLeod have agreed to terms on a five-year, $37MM contract, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The deal, which averages more than $7MM annually, will feature $17MM in guarantees, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It can be made official after 3:00pm central time today.
McLeod, 25, has started all 48 regular season games in the Rams’ secondary over the last three seasons, picking up five career interceptions and six fumble recoveries during that time. Pro Football Focus has been fond of McLeod’s play, ranking him 10th among safeties in 2015, grading him as both a solid run defender and coverage man.
In Philadelphia, McLeod will be the most recent addition to an Eagles’ defensive backfield that’s seen turnover already this offseason. Cornerback Byron Maxwell, signed to a massive free agent deal just last year, will be shipped to the Dolphins, while fellow CB Nolan Carroll is a free agent. The Eagles did agree to an extension with safety Malcolm Jenkins last month, but the signing of McLeod likely means that Walter Thurmond, who played well in his first season after transitioning to safety, will head elsewhere on the open market.
The Rams, meanwhile, will lose the second key member of their secondary, as McLeod will follow corner Janoris Jenkins — who earlier today agreed to sign with the Giants — out the door. Los Angeles did place the franchise tag on CB Trumaine Johnson, so they still have at least one solid option in the defensive backfield, but with a lot of cap space in reserve, the secondary might be an area the club targets in the coming days.
McLeod was ranked as PFR’s No. 14 free agent. He becomes the second high-profile safety to agree to terms today, as George Iloka has reportedly agreed to return to the Bengals.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.