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Eagles Sign LB Nicholas Morrow

March 21st, 2023 at 10:42am CST by Adam La Rose

The Eagles have seen a number of defensive losses so far in free agency, but they continue to make additions to the unit as well. Philadelphia has agreed to terms on a deal with linebacker Nicholas Morrow, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link). The team has announced that it is a one-year contract.

Morrow spent the first four years of his career with the Raiders, growing into a key role as a notable part of the team’s linebacking corps. His play over his first three seasons earned him a one-year deal to remain with the organization, and he responded with a career-year.

That was followed by another, more lucrative one-year pact in 2021, but Morrow’s campaign was derailed by a foot injury. He wound missing the entire season that year, which no doubt hurt his market in free agency. He inked a prove-it deal with the Bears last offseason, giving him the opportunity to boost his value and serve in a full-time starting role.

The 27-year-old was on the field for every defensive play this past season, logging over 1,000 snaps for the first time in his career. He racked up 116 total stops and 11 tackles for loss, both new career highs. While those figures didn’t translate to an uptick in PFF grades (which have remained relatively underwhelming throughout his career), they showed his ability to handle starting duties and a sizeable workload. The Bears’ considerable investment in the second level of their defense this offseason, however, made Morrow expendable.

The Eagles’ defensive exodus has hit their LB corps, with T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White landing new deals in Chicago and Arizona, respectively. Their absences has left a notable vacancy, one which Morrow will now contribute to filling. The former UDFA will likely be tasked with a lesser workload than the one he had with the Bears, but he should still see significant playing time on the inside along with the likes of Davion Taylor, Nakobe Dean and other members of the team’s recent draft investments at the position.

Eagles To Sign S Justin Evans

March 20th, 2023 at 5:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

After seeing his first game action since 2018, Justin Evans will parlay his 2022 Saints work into a deal with the Eagles. Philadelphia will add the veteran safety, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report (on Twitter).

The Saints gave Evans, a former Buccaneers second-round pick back in 2017, another chance after injuries sidetracked his career. Evans logged 392 defensive snaps with New Orleans last season and, despite the lengthy stay off the field, made four starts for a top-10 defense.

Philly will bring Evans into the fold after losing both its 2022 safety starters. The Raiders added Marcus Epps early in free agency, and the Lions agreed to terms with C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Sunday night. The Eagles will be starting over on their back line, though bringing back James Bradberry and keeping Darius Slay at cornerback will help the defending NFC champions’ cause here.

New Orleans took a league-minimum flier on Evans last year, adding the Texas A&M product nearly 18 months after the Bucs cut ties with him. While Evans was still with Tampa Bay during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, a foot injury sustained during the 2018 season led to his on-field Bucs run ending. An Achilles injury sent Evans back to IR in September 2019, and the Bucs cut the cord late in the 2020 season. Evans, 27, was out of football in 2021.

The first in a wave of DBs the Bucs drafted on Day 2 from 2017-20, Evans did not pan out on the level Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Mike Edwards and Antoine Winfield Jr. have. Rather than a big free agency deal, Evans played for $1MM in New Orleans. Pro Football Focus graded Evans outside the top 60 during his comeback season, but he showed renewed health after injuries threatened his career. Evans made 29 tackles, forced a fumble and logged a 39% defensive snap rate with the Saints.

The Eagles should not be expected to carry Evans into the season as a starter, but Howie Roseman‘s team has some work to do after passing on re-signing Epps or Gardner-Johnson. The latter decision proved surprising given a pre-Super Bowl LVII report indicating Philly wanted CJGJ back, but as the versatile defender surveyed his options last week, the team allocated money to Bradberry and Slay.

Eagles To Sign QB Marcus Mariota

March 17th, 2023 at 12:10am CST by Sam Robinson

As teams continue to fill out their quarterback depth charts, the Eagles lost Gardner Minshew to their former offensive coordinator’s new team. They will respond to Minshew’s Shane Steichen reunion in Indianapolis by adding another Jalen Hurts backup just after midnight.

The Eagles have agreed to terms with Marcus Mariota to step into that role, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The former No. 2 overall pick agreed to a one-year deal worth $5MM, with Schefter adding it can max out at $8MM.

While Minshew and Hurts’ skillsets differed, the Eagles will now have another dual-threat option to play behind Hurts. This is a similar strategy to the Ravens’ plans of recent years, and Mariota will head to Philadelphia coming off an extended run of starter work in Atlanta. That stretch did not end well, with Mariota leaving the Falcons — ahead of a surprise knee surgery — after his late-season benching for rookie Desmond Ridder. But Mariota started 13 games for the Falcons last season and helped the team rank third in the NFL in rushing.

Hurts has suffered injuries that have required him to miss time in each of his two seasons as Philly’s full-time starter. He battled an ankle injury in 2021, one that necessitated offseason surgery, and missed two games with a shoulder issue last season. This brought in Minshew, who has since followed Steichen to Indianapolis. Mariota does not bring much passing upside, but he is on the backup market for a reason. That has been his primary role in three of the past four seasons.

The Titans drafted Mariota back in 2015, but the Eagles — then led by ex-Oregon coach Chip Kelly — tried to trade up to that No. 2 spot for Kelly’s ex-Ducks pupil. Those efforts were unsuccessful, and Mariota ended up remaining the Titans’ starter until October 2019. Since being benched for Ryan Tannehill, however, Mariota has not finished a season as a team’s starter. He sat behind Derek Carr for two seasons in Las Vegas, mixing in occasionally as a change-of-pace run option, and was M.I.A. following Ridder’s December promotion.

Reuniting Mariota with ex-Titans OC Arthur Smith, the Falcons brought him in as their Matt Ryan replacement. Calls for Mariota’s benching rang out for weeks before Smith made that move, and while Atlanta’s passing attack was inconsistent, QBR slotted the 29-year-old passer 13th last season. Mariota threw 15 touchdown passes compared to nine interceptions but only cleared 200 passing yards in one of his final 10 starts. In one of the most obvious cuts in recent NFL history, the Falcons bailed on Mariota’s two-year, $18.75MM deal in February.

Mariota, who rushed for a career-high 438 yards despite playing 13 games in 2022, has made 74 career starts. He piloted the Titans to the 2017 divisional round, leading an upset over the Chiefs in Alex Smith‘s final Kansas City start, and Tennessee picked up his fifth-year option — despite injuries intervening in 2016 and 2018 — before its seminal Tannehill trade. Mariota will now join a fourth team, representing the latest domino to fall on the crowded stopgap/backup QB market.

Here are the quarterback deals to have been agreed to in free agency thus far:

CB Darius Slay Staying With Eagles, Signs Extension

March 16th, 2023 at 10:39pm CST by Ben Levine

Darius Slay is staying in Philadelphia after all. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Eagles have agreed to a new deal with the cornerback. It’s a two-year extension that will keep Slay in Philly through the 2025 season.

[RELATED: CB Darius Slay Staying In Philadelphia?]

Reports yesterday indicated that Slay was set to be released by the Eagles, mostly due to his lofty $26.1MM cap number. This reported transaction followed negotiations between the two sides on a new contract, and the front office also shopped the cornerback to CB-needy teams. Slay himself tweeted about his impending release, a move that would have opened $17.5MM in cap space but left $13MM in 2024 dead cap.

Not even 12 hours later, we heard the Eagles were having second thoughts about releasing the veteran. Reports indicated that the Eagles were having a “hard time” moving on from Slay and were hoping the two sides could come to some kind of compromise. Soon after, Slay took to Twitter and hinted that he may be returning to the Eagles after all.

Now, the new contract has been agreed to, keeping the defensive back with Philadelphia for the foreseeable future. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the three years on Slay’s contract (including the two new extension years) are worth $42MM, including $23MM in guaranteed money.

Philly gave Slay a three-year, $50MM extension upon trading for him three years ago, and Slay has produced during his time with the organization. Pro Football Focus graded Slay as its No. 21 overall corner last season, with the 32-year-old earning his second-straight Pro Bowl nod after compiling 55 tackles, three interceptions, and 14 passes defended.

The Eagles had to invest in the position this offseason when they inked James Bradberry to a sizable extension. This new contract was expected to end Slay’s tenure with the team, but instead, the secondary will only have to deal with the loss of starting safety Marcus Epps.

CB Greedy Williams Agrees To Terms With Eagles

March 16th, 2023 at 8:33pm CST by Ely Allen

As the Browns bring in one 2019 second-round pick who has failed to live up to expectations, it appears they will not be returning another as cornerback Greedy Williams has agreed to a new contract to join the Eagles, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. The 25-year-old is set to join the NFL’s 2022 runner-up for another run in 2023.

As a rookie, Williams started 12 games, missing a four-game stretch near the beginning of the season. He failed to nab an interception and only tallied two passes defensed as he struggled initially in coverage, but he was a strong defender against the run. Williams was forced to miss the 2020 season as he dealt with nerve issues in his shoulder.

Coming back from the injury in 2021, Williams had perhaps his strongest season. While Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome would serve as starters throughout the year, Williams played a large role, as well, playing in every game but one and starting eight contests. Williams received the third-largest snap share out of the cornerbacks room, playing just over half the team’s defensive snaps. Williams was productive in his second season on the field, as well, reeling in two interceptions and breaking up 10 pass attempts.

This most recent season saw injuries return to bite the young corner as he would start the year on injured reserve. Williams would return to the lineup after missing the team’s first five games, but following a 2-5 start to the season, the Browns began to search for possible trade partners willing to give up some value for Williams. With Williams future in Cleveland in question, his playing time plummeted to the point that he was only playing on special teams in the waning weeks of the season.

Williams now finds himself in a secondary with two veteran, established cornerbacks in James Bradberry, who re-signed this week, and Darius Slay, who narrowly avoided release and signed an extension today. Williams will find himself competing mainly with Avonte Maddox for backup snaps in Philadelphia. If he can return to his 2021 form, the Eagles will have four capable corners roaming in the secondary.

CB Darius Slay Staying In Philadelphia?

March 15th, 2023 at 10:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

10:25pm: In the latest update to the Slay-scenario, the man himself has tweeted in reference to the situation. In the tweet, Slay claims to be “back like (he) never left” and asserts that he plans to “run it back” with the Eagles. Still, nothing appears to be official, but things are trending in a much different direction for the Pro Bowl cornerback’s chances of remaining in Philadelphia.

9:45pm: Not so fast. Slay’s tenure in Philadelphia may not be over, after all. Earlier this evening, Josina Anderson tweeted that the Eagles were having a “hard time” letting the cornerback go and were wishing they could keep him. Jeff Howe of The Athletic later tweeted that the Eagles were “working to find a way” to retain Slay, while ESPN’s Adam Schefter goes as far as to tweet that the defensive back is now expected to stay with the Eagles.

9:50am: The Eagles managed to bring back James Bradberry, but his partnership with Darius Slay will end up being a one-off. The defending NFC champs will move on from Slay after three seasons, Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweets.

Mentioned in trade rumors, Slay will end up being released. The three-year Eagle confirmed the news on his own Twitter account. This will deplete a secondary that already lost safety starter Marcus Epps. The Eagles brought back Bradberry, giving the eighth-year veteran a three-year deal, but their stacked 2022 defense has splintered during the legal tampering period.

Philly is designating Slay as a post-June 1 cut, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. This will save the Eagles $17.5MM, though $13MM in Slay dead money will transfer to the team’s 2024 cap sheet. Slay was set to carry an untenable 2023 cap number — $26.1MM, tops on the Eagles’ payroll — in the final year of his deal. Slay’s cap number ballooned to this place because the Eagles restructured his deal in 2021 and ’22.

Slay wound up in trade talks after he and the Eagles did not progress on renegotiations. The team’s efforts to do a restructure with Slay failed, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, leading the Eagles to give him permission to seek a trade. Nothing materializing will push him to the open market Wednesday afternoon.

Although Slay is going into his age-32 season, he should fare well as a free agent. Traded to Philadelphia in 2020, this will be the former Detroit draftee’s first time on the market. He will be officially released when the 2023 league year begins at 3pm CT today.

Philly gave Slay a three-year, $50MM extension upon trading for him three years ago. The accomplished cover man’s rocky relationship with Matt Patricia — now an Eagles target as a position coach — helped lead him out of Detroit. Despite passing 30 in Philly, Slay has continued to be one of the NFL’s better cornerbacks. Pro Football Focus graded Slay as its No. 21 overall corner last season, when teamed with Bradberry to form one of the league’s best outside duos. Slay also allowed a 74.4 rating while in coverage in 2021. The Eagles will move forward with just one 30-something — Bradberry will turn 30 this offseason — at the position, however.

The Eagles faced the Chiefs with the NFL’s third-ranked defense, and although Jonathan Gannon‘s unit did not have a good night, it featured talent on all three levels. Free agency has cut into that collection. Epps, Javon Hargrave, T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White join Slay as Eagles starters who will not be part of the 2023 team. Fletcher Cox has not committed elsewhere yet, and the team has re-signed Brandon Graham.

Trade rumblings notwithstanding, Slay said he wanted to remain an Eagle for the rest of his career. But the 6-foot cover man said he will be prepared to play elsewhere. That time is coming, and Slay will be on track to join a third team soon. Cornerback-seeking teams that missed out on this year’s top options — Bradberry, Jamel Dean, Byron Murphy, Cameron Sutton — now have another option. Slay’s age would point him to a contender, but it remains to be seen what market will form for the 11th-year veteran.

Eagles To Re-Sign DT Fletcher Cox

March 15th, 2023 at 5:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Fletcher Cox is returning to Philly. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the veteran defensive tackle is returning to the Eagles.

Cox is inking a new one-year, $10MM deal with the Eagles. Schefter notes that the player turned down more lucrative offers elsewhere and took a “hometown discount” to stick around Philadelphia.

The 2012 first-round pick has spent his entire career with the Eagles, making six Pro Bowl appearances and earning four All-Pro nods. The Eagles actually released him last offseason to avoid paying him $18MM in guaranteed money, but the veteran ended up quickly re-signing with the team on a one-year deal. He earned $14MM in 2022, so he’ll be taking a slight pay cut for the 2023 campaign.

Cox is two years removed from his last Pro Bowl appearance but is still a productive member of the Eagles defense. He finished last season having started all 17 games, compiling 43 tackles and seven sacks. The 32-year-old got into all three postseason games for Philly, as well, adding another six tackles and one sack. He only finished last season as Pro Football Focus’ 67th interior defender (among 127 qualifiers), the first time he’s finished outside the top-30 at his position since 2013.

Even with the reduced production, the Eagles were surely more than happy to welcome Cox back. The defending NFC Champions have lost a number of defenders during the early stages of free agency, including defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, linebacker T.J. Edwards, safety Marcus Epps, and linebacker Kyzir White.

As Schefter noted in his initial report, Cox turned down more lucrative offers from other suitors. One team that reached out to Cox was the New York Jets, per ESPN’s Dianna Russini (on Twitter).

Cowboys Considered Darius Slay As Trade Option

March 14th, 2023 at 5:44pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cowboys made a splash in their secondary today when they acquired former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore. Before they acquired the cornerback from the Colts, Dallas pondered making a call to a division rival.

[RELATED: Colts To Trade Stephon Gilmore To Cowboys]

While an initial report indicated the Cowboys discussed Darius Slay with the Eagles, these proceedings might not have progressed that far. ESPN’s Todd Archer clarifies on Twitter that the Eagles did not reach out to Dallas, so the Cowboys were clearly sniffing around at CB options. But the team had Slay on the radar. Jane Slater of the NFL Network tweets that the Cowboys indeed kicked around the idea of acquiring Slay.

While the Cowboys could theoretically carve out enough room to afford a pair of pricey cornerbacks, there’s a better chance the two potential moves were mutually exclusive, meaning Dallas preferred Gilmore.

Slay was recently granted permission to seek a trade out of Philly. It’s uncertain which side opted for a divorce; there were reports that the Eagles wanted to keep the cornerback around and that Slay wanted to stay in Philadelphia. The most likely explanation is that the Eagles wanted Slay to take a pay cut, and both sides may be exhausting their options before the player gives in to a reduced contract or is cut.

One year remains on Slay’s Eagles extension, a three-year pact worth $50MM. The 11th-year veteran is attached to a $17MM base salary in 2023 and a lofty $26.1MM cap number thanks to restructures in 2021 and 2022. No guaranteed money remains on the deal. The team could open up $17.5MM in cap space by making Slay a post-June 1 cut.

Addressing the trade topic on his latest podcast, Slay said he still wants to finish his career with the Eagles. That said, he confirmed he will continue his career elsewhere if that is what the Eagles end up deciding. The team locked up James Bradberry earlier today.

“I know what’s going on. I hear the rumors; I hear everything,” Slay said (h/t NBC Sports Philadelphia). “I see everything all over the globe, all over the internet and I just want my fans to know Slay did not ask to be traded. But this is part of the business. There’s no bad blood against neither one of us, me or Howie [Roseman]. None of that. We all good, great understanding. It’s just the business part of it. A lot of guys go up for trades, you know, they got a lot of money involved in this situation so it’s nothing big, nothing too serious. It’s just part of the business, man.

“I do want to finish my career as an Eagle but we’ll see. We be looking forward to it, man. Got time here. But best believe, I do want to be an Eagle. But if my job requires me to go elsewhere, then I’ll go.”

Since joining the Eagles in 2020, the cornerback has earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods. This past season, Slay finished with 55 tackles, 14 passes defended, and three interceptions. He ended up landing at 21st among 118 qualifying cornerbacks in 2022, per Pro Football Focus…a considerable drop from his fourth-place finish in 2021 but a significant jump from his grades in 2019 and 2020. For comparison’s sake, Gilmore finished this past season as PFF’s ninth-best CB.

Cardinals To Sign LB Kyzir White

March 14th, 2023 at 5:21pm CST by Ben Levine

Another Eagles defender is out the door. Linebacker Kyzir White is signing with the Cardinals, reports Jordan Schultz of The Score (via Twitter).

White is inking a two-year deal that can max out at $11MM, per Schultz. The linebacker played last season on a one-year, $5MM deal, and he parlayed his strong performance into a multiyear contract.

White, a former fourth-round pick, took on a larger role during each of his four seasons with the Chargers. This culminated in a breakout 2021 campaign where he finished with 144 tackles, two interceptions, and a pair of forced fumbles. Despite the strong numbers, he had to settle for a one-year deal with Philly last offseason, and he ended up emerging as a key piece on the Eagles defense.

The linebacker started eight of his 17 games, finishing with 110 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He added another 11 stops in three postseason appearances. Pro Football Focus ended up ranking the 26-year-old 33rd among 81 qualifying linebackers. Today’s move will reunite White with new Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, who was Philly’s defensive coordinator last season.

With both White and T.J. Edwards gone, the Eagles will be searching for two new starting LBs next season. Javon Hargrave and Marcus Epps have also left in free agency and opened holes on Philly’s defense.

Eagles Agree To Terms With James Bradberry

March 14th, 2023 at 4:36pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Eagles have, as expected, seen a number of departures on defense so far in free agency. They have managed to retain a major part of their secondary, however. Cornerback James Bradberry is re-signing on a three-year, $38MM deal (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). $20MM is guaranteed, and incentives can push the maximum value to $44MM.

The 29-year-old found himself on the open market last offseason when he was released by the Giants as part of their several cost-cutting moves. That immediately made him a key target for teams looking to add to their secondary, including an Eagles team which added a number of high-quality veterans. His one-year deal signed with Philadelphia proved to be a highly effective one.

Bradberry started all 20 games this season for the Eagles, and played a key role in their success on defense. He notched three interceptions and 17 pass breakups, adding strong coverage numbers as well. The former second-rounder allowed an opposing passer rating of just 51.6, the best such figure of his career. That made him one of the top options on the open market at his position.

It comes as little surprise that the Eagles – who were upfront about their understanding that numerous starters on defense were likely to head elsewhere – have prioritized a multi-year accord with Bradberry. His play throughout the season provided the NFC champions with one of the league’s best corner tandems alongside Darius Slay. The latter is under contract for one more year at a cap figure of over $26MM, so it will be interesting to see if this Bradberry investment will necessitate some financial maneuvering with Slay.

Bradberry did confirm he received better offers from other teams, according to CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson (on Twitter), he said the Eagles entered his price range. The seven-year veteran prioritized his fit in Philly compared to starting over somewhere else, even though he has started fresh three times since being a Panthers second-round pick.

After earning $7.25MM in 2022 on his first Eagles pact, Bradberry has managed to secure a contract nearly identical to the three-year, $45MM one he landed with the Giants in 2020. By earning second-team All-Pro honors last season, the Samford product proved he can still be among the top cover men in the league, and his performances (at least up until the dying moments of the Super Bowl) has given the Eagles an important degree of continuity.

Philadelphia ranked N0. 1 in the league in passing defense in 2022, allowing an average of less than 180 yards per game. They also notched 17 interceptions, which placed them fourth in the NFL. Bradberry’s contributions to those totals has obviously been recognized, and his retention will at least soften the blow of the departures which have already reportedly taken place on defense and those which are likely to follow.

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