February 21, 2022
Last offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles were forced to sit out the fun part of NFL free agency, as they were mired in "salary cap hell." In 2022, the Birds still face challenges in becoming cap healthy once again, but with the salary cap expected to rise substantially in 2023, they can be a little more aggressive in adding talent on the open market.
Here are three likely medium-priced free agents that I believe make sense for the Eagles.
Previous Eagles free agency targets
The Eagles reportedly made a run at Smith-Schuster last offseason... or did they? Agent pawn Adam Schefter tweeted that Smith-Schuster turned down more money from the Eagles to sign back with the Steelers.
JuJu Smith-Schuster also turned down more money on a multi-year deal from the Eagles than he took to return to the Steelers, per source. The Eagles’ were a secret suitor. But Smith-Schuster loved Pittsburgh and its fans too much to leave. https://t.co/X8gitZYxwd
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 19, 2021
Howie Roseman then likely texted Schefter, like, "What the hell, dude" and Schefter immediately reversed course on that claim.
In this case, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s agent called the Eagles to gauge their interest; those were the discussions. The Eagles did not wind up courting him. JuJu back to Pittsburgh, which was what he wanted. https://t.co/IWTvGIfzxs
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 19, 2021
Whether the Eagles tried to sign Smith-Schuster or not, he makes sense for them this offseason. Smith-Schuster is a big, tough slot receiver with run-after-catch ability, or at last, that's what he was. After a fast start, Smith-Schuster's career has fizzled a bit.
| Juju Smith-Schuster | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2017 (14 games) | 58 | 917 | 15.8 | 7 |
| 2018 (16 games) | 111 | 1426 | 12.8 | 7 |
| 2019 (12 games) | 42 | 552 | 13.1 | 3 |
| 2020 (16 games) | 97 | 831 | 8.6 | 9 |
| 2021 (5 games) | 15 | 129 | 8.6 | 0 |
Smith-Schuster's yards per target numbers have also declined each year:
Over the last two seasons, he has averaged 6.2 yards per target. While some of that can be explained by terrible quarterback play in 2020, still... that's Greg Ward territory. He did at least score 9 TDs in 2020.
Smith-Schuster made $8 million on a one-year deal last season. After missing 12 games with a shoulder injury in 2021 — and not producing much in the games he did play — Smith-Schuster's earning power will almost certainly decrease in 2022.
So why is he a good fit? Well, he's still only 25 years old, and even if he never regains his 2018 form, he's a player who is willing to do the dirty work, making tough catches over the middle, and as a blocker in what will once again be a run-heavy Eagles offense if Jalen Hurts returns as QB1. The Eagles also need a slot receiver. A trio of DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, and Smith-Schuster, combined with Dallas Goedert at tight end, would be a nice receiving group.
If he can come even remotely close to the player he seemed to be in 2018, Smith-Schuster could be a steal, so there is some reasonable upside.
In 2020, Reddick finished with 12.5 sacks and six forced fumbles, though five of those sacks came against an awful Giants offensive line late in the season. Prior to 2020, Reddick only had 7.5 sacks in his first three seasons in the NFL. He was also seen as sort of an oddball player, in that he's listed at 6'1, 235, which isn't exactly an ideal size for your prototypical edge rusher.
The Panthers took a shot on him, signing him to a one-year deal worth just $6 million (fully guaranteed), and it wound up being one of the rare good moves they made last year. Reddick wasn't just a one-year wonder, rewarding Carolina with 11 sacks, 18 QB hits, and two forced fumbles.
In the Eagles' scheme, Reddick would be an interesting fit in their SAM linebacker role, which was occupied by Genard Avery in 2021. However, it would only make sense for the Eagles to shell out good money for a player like Reddick if they intended to increase the presence of that role in their defense. It was certainly understandable for Jonathan Gannon not to use the SAM backer often, when the best option at his disposal was Avery, who really wasn't good at any of the three main job requirements (rushing the passer, playing the run, and dropping into coverage).
Reddick played 852 snaps in 2021. 438 (51.4%) of those were rushing the passer, 341 (40.0%) were against the run, and he dropped into coverage on 73 snaps (8.6%), according to PFF. Avery's usage in the passing game for the Eagles was a little more of a 50-50 split, as he rushed the passer on 88 snaps, and dropped into coverage on 86 snaps. If that's emblematic of how the SAM linebacker is going to be deployed in Gannon's defense, then signing Reddick to a big deal would be a waste. However, unlike Avery, Reddick would be on the field rushing the passer on all obvious pass rush downs as a DE.
The bottom line is that the Eagles sacked opposing quarterbacks 29 times in 2021, second-worst in the NFL. They need more players who can get after the quarterback, and Reddick has proven over the last two seasons that he can do that. The Eagles would just have to trust that Gannon can find creative ways to get him as many pass rush opportunities as possible.
Oh, and he's a local guy who went to Temple, if that does anything for anyone.
The Eagles have attempted to convert safeties into linebackers over the last few years, like Kamu Grugier-Hill, Nate Gerry, Davion Taylor (sort of), and JaCoby Stevens. That track record isn't exactly awesome, obviously.
If they're still looking for linebackers who can cover like safeties, the Raiders had success converting Morrow from a safety into a linebacker after signing him as an undrafted free agent in 2017.
In 2020, Morrow allowed just 4.5 yards per target, per pro-football-reference.com. He was also a threat as a blitzer, as he collected three sacks and eight pressures on the season. Breakdown of his game here:
In 2021, Morrow was a free agent, but he signed back with the Raiders on a fully guaranteed one-year deal worth $4.5 million. However, he suffered an ankle injury during training camp and missed the entire season, though he nearly returned in time for Vegas' wildcard round matchup against the Bengals.
Morrow is a free agent once again in 2022, and his price will probably come down. He could be a high upside bargain signing for the Eagles at linebacker.
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